Tracking the unique elephants of Kenya’s Mount Elgon

In rural areas like Mount Elgon on the Kenya-Uganda border, elephants find human crops a handy source of food, spurring conflict and risks to people and elephants. How can that be addressed? 

It turns out that gathering precise information on the movements of elephants is key to minimizing human-elephant conflict (HEC). Our primary tactic has been a monitoring program where field scouts track elephant herds and report instances of HEC.  This data is analyzed to anticipate conflict hotspots and guide decisions in wildlife management.  

Now, we have gone beyond that. In September, satellite tracking collars were fitted to three elephants from separate herds, providing real-time updates of herd movements across the slopes of Mount Elgon.  The collars have already provided novel insights into the crop-raiding habits of these elephants. We anticipate that the information gained will reduce the amount of time needed to intercept HEC and provide a better understanding of elephant movement routes across the mountain.    

The collaring operation was undertaken by the Kenya Wildlife Service), the Wildlife Research and Training Institute and the Mara Elephant Project.  

Mount Elgon is an ancient volcano that juts out of the landscape, rising 3,000 meters above the surrounding plains. The high altitude (4,321 masl) and solitary nature of Mount Elgon makes it an essential water tower and a refuge for wildlife seeking respite from the hot plains below.  It is part of the Greater Mara Ecosystem, and the mountain features a series of transitioning ecosystems from grassland to moorland and alpine montane forest. This makes Mount Elgon an important area for endemic and rare species, including a population of roughly 500 forest-dwelling elephants.    

Mount Elgon elephants attract a great deal of interest due to their unusual “cave mining” behaviors.  Mount Elgon is pitted with a series of caves that contain salt deposits. These caves are visited by elephants who gouge the cave walls with their tusks to lick the exposed salt. These are the only elephants known to go deep into caves to mine salt. 

We are seeking funds to equip a small control room near Mount Elgon National Park with TV monitors, laptops, and tablets which, with the necessary training, is budgeted at US$6,000. Please get in touch with us if this is something you would like to support.