Our vision is to see all captive elephants in South Africa rehabilitated and reintegrated into a reserve where they can roam as free animals again. Simultaneously, research plays a critical role in this process of learning how to best go about meeting the unique social and biological needs of elephants, whether it be saving them from captivity or ensuring their optimal well-being in managed fenced reserves.
The successful release of captive elephants back into the wild, first requires restoring the health of any compromised individuals, followed by a process to disengage them from the intensive management they would be accustomed to and giving them back their independence to allow them to regain their autonomy before embarking on the last step which is to release them into a wild system where they can reintegrate into their own community without further interference from humans.
ERT is committed to improving the lives of elephants and translocation has helped us to achieve that goal. Whether it is to save a family of elephants from a culling operation, or saving a fence-breaking bull, we always ensure that the individual’s well-being is the priority.
Most of what we understand about elephants was based on studying elephants in free roaming wilderness landscapes in other African regions and not in the context of smaller, more intensively managed reserves which have continued to increase in number in many other African countries. We are dedicated to filling this gap in knowledge to ensure management practices remain relevant.
Having an elephant fitted with a GPS collar enables the tracking of their locations at predetermined time intervals. This is a tool used for live time tracking of elephants on wild systems. This means one is able to more efficiently locate study animals for behavioural monitoring. This enables the continuous logging of all the animals movements, both across their home range and with other collared elephants on these systems.
We provide expertise for reserves on elephant management concerns including:
Photo credits: (1) Clive Curtis
We have big dreams at ERT to ensure all elephants life the life they deserve and we need you help to achieve it. Supporting us achieve our goals goes beyond financial contribution, it’s about starting the conversation, spreading the word and ceasing support for captive facilities.
All support, big or small is deeply appreciated.
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