Mechanisms for Reducing Conflict Between African Elephants and Humans

Elephants require an enormous range in order to accommodate their feeding requirements, given their social and mating systems. Their survival depends upon preserving large tracts of land outside of natural reserves and parks, which depends on developing programs that minimize elephant damage to the local population and maximize the economic incentives for people to co-exist with elephants.

Elephant populations residing outside of national parks confront multiple challenges, but people in Africa also have subsistence issues that conflict with elephant ranges. The goal of this Behavioral Biology Division project is to incorporate local people into elephant conservation efforts in a way that will enhance the preservation of elephants outside of national park areas, as well as promote the economic interests of the local population.

The Northern Rangelands Trust is an umbrella organization involved in community conservation efforts that covers an area approximately 1,587,680 acres (642,500 hectares) in size. The area is host to a variety of wildlife, including Grevy’s zebras, elephants, African wild dogs, giraffes, buffalo, kudu, oryx, gerenuk, and many other species. To ensure community support for conservation efforts, a more solid understanding of the interactions between elephants and people in the area is needed so that programs can be designed to mitigate problems. This program is one component of a larger effort to augment the San Diego Zoo's elephant conservation plan and help design conservation management plans for the region.