We need to act now

BTEH is dedicated to the well-being and survival of African and Asian elephants, fostering socio-ecological resilience in communities seeking human-elephant coexistence, and striving for a world where both elephants and people can thrive. Our community-based conservation approach, developed since BTEH’s founding in 2004, emphasises shared decision-making, sustainability, equality, and partnerships. Through our projects, we promote evidence-based solutions that achieve human-elephant coexistence through range expansion, habitat restoration and supporting farmers in elephant-friendly livelihoods and land use, generating benefits for people, elephants and the ecosystems they share.

Elephant Research Experience Thailand:
October 1-10 2025

Dive into the heart of Thailand’s Kuiburi National Park and make a real impact on elephant conservation! Join Bring The Elephant Home’s groundbreaking research team and experience the thrill of studying wild Asian elephants up close! As one of our selected research assistants, you’ll track elephants through lush jungles, decode their behaviours, and work alongside expert researchers and local communities. Contribute to a cutting-edge elephant ID system and community-driven conservation projects that transform human-elephant conflict into coexistence.

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For the future of elephants!

Elephants are a keystone species in the ecosystems they are part of. Elephants disperse seeds, maintain grasslands and find water, all crucial for the survival of other species.

The mission of Bring The Elephant Home is to increase the chances of survival for elephants
in the wild and strive towards a
harmonious world where both humans and elephants can thrive, mutually benefiting from
coexistence.

Antoinette van de Water – founder BTEH

We need your help

We always welcome partners, volunteers, donors and sponsors for our projects. Please consider supporting our activities in Asia or Africa by making a donation. You can follow the latest news here.

Meet the team

Bring The Elephant Home is active on three continents. There is a lot of work to do for our various projects around the world, and we help to realise our ambitious plans is always welcome! More info: support@bteh.org. Meet the team!

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Latest news

Podcast Protecting the Wild: Merging Tourism and Conservation in Africa

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Bringing down fences: one year on.

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RAGweek Nijmegen

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Newest video

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  • 🌍🐘 Celebrating Mo & Kie – Our Coexistence Impact Fellows! 🐘🌍 Mo and Kie, two of our dedicated team members, have been participating in the Cincinnati Zoo’s Coexistence Impact Fellows Program. This fellowship supports conservationists working in their own countries to create solutions for people and wildlife to thrive together. Earlier this year, Mo and Kie traveled to the USA for a week of collaboration, training, and connection with conservation leaders from around the world! During Fellows Week, they shared their work on human-elephant coexistence in Kuiburi, brainstormed new ideas with Zoo staff, and brought fresh skills and inspiration back to Thailand. As part of this fellowship, Mo and Kie have been undertaking incredible fieldwork in Kuiburi, supporting our ongoing research evaluating the use of alternative crops to mitigate human-elephant conflict and conducting an impressive occupancy survey of around the borders of the national park to better understand the distribution of Asian elephants across the region, especially in remote areas. We are so proud of Mo and Kie and grateful to the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden for championing community-led conservation. 🌱@cincinnatizoo You can read more and watch an interview with these conservation queens at this link! https://buff.ly/PShlBZ3 #BringTheElephantHome #Coexistence #ElephantConservation #CincinnatiZoo #ConservationFellows #HumansAndElephants #WildlifeCoexistence #Thailand
  • Today is World Nature Conservation Day! 🌱 We’re working toward a future where people and elephants can truly thrive together through community-led conservation. In Thailand, our efforts to better understand wild elephants and create lasting solutions to human-elephant conflict wouldn’t be possible without the conservation heroes on the ground every single day. Your dedication makes this work a reality – thank you. 🌏🐘🌱 You can help keep this mission moving forward. Donate or Adopt an Elephant today. 🌐 www.BTEH.org #WorldNatureConservationDay #BringTheElephantHome #Coexistence #elephants #thailand #southafrica #conservation
  • 🐘🍎How Elephants Gesture! New research by Eleuteri et al. is catching attention. In their latest study, researchers found that elephants use their trunks to make intentional gestures like pointing, reaching, and swinging to request their favorite treats. Just like humans might wave or point when they want something, elephants only gestured when humans were watching, then kept trying if they didn’t get what they wanted. Researchers recorded 38 different types of gestures, showing that elephants use body language in deliberate, thoughtful ways. While great apes have long been the stars of gesture research, this study reveals that elephants also communicate with purpose and persistence, offering deeper insight into how complex communication may have evolved in social species. 🔗 Read more: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.242203 #Elephants #AnimalBehavior #Communication #Cognition #ConservationScience
  • 🐘🌳Raining Seeds? Africa’s Ancient Seed Dispersal System During field observations in Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park, we documented elephants targeting mature camelthorn trees (Vachellia erioloba) for their protein-rich pods. When elephants shake these 20-meter giants, hundreds of seeds cascade to the ground, a behavior that drives one of Africa’s most effective seed dispersal mechanisms. The data tells a remarkable story: - Seeds travel 15-50km through elephant digestive systems! - Germination rates increase 3x after gut passage. - 60% of seeds escape beetle predation when dispersed. - Each adult elephant processes 150-300kg of vegetation daily. The camelthorn anchors dryland ecosystems across southern Africa. Its deep taproot (up to 60m) accesses groundwater in regions receiving just 40-650mm annual rainfall. The tree fixes atmospheric nitrogen, enriching soils that support 65+ bird species and provide critical dry season browse for ungulates. This coevolved relationship shapes entire landscapes. Elephant-dispersed camelthorns create resource islands, shade patches that lower ground temperature by 15°C and concentrate nutrients, enabling establishment of other plant species. In an era of habitat fragmentation, understanding these ecological partnerships becomes critical for conservation planning. #WildlifeResearch #SeedDispersal #ElephantEcology #Hwange #ConservationScience #AfricanSavanna #FieldResearch
  • 🐘We were thrilled to host @savetheelephants at our Bring The Elephant Home field station in Kuiburi, Thailand! The visit sparked insightful conversations and meaningful exchanges on strategies to address human-elephant coexistence, bridging experiences across continents from Africa to Asia. Check out Save the Elephants’ valuable Human-Elephant Coexistence (HEC) Toolbox—a fantastic resource packed with practical solutions, community insights, and innovative ideas for coexistence. Together, we’re stronger for elephants and the communities who live alongside them. 🌱🤝🐘 Learn more about the toolkit here 👉www.savetheelephants.org #HumanElephantCoexistence #ConservationCollaboration #Kuiburi #SaveTheElephants #BringTheElephantHome
  • 🎥 Big news! Bring The Elephant Home and @elephantreintegrationtrust are collaborating on creating an Elephant Rewilding Reserve in South Africa’s Eastern Cape. Why it matters •⁠ ⁠Autonomy: A place for South Africa’s captive elephants to roam wild again. •⁠ ⁠Science: A living lab for cutting-edge rewilding research. •⁠ ⁠Communities: Local jobs, eco-education, and reconnection to wild lands. •⁠ Ethics: Puts South Africa on the path to ending elephants in entertainment. 🎬 Watch our first trailer and share to help make it real. https://youtu.be/dGnTj4e0Rg4 Learn more ➜ https://rewildingelephants.org/ #ElephantFreedom #RewildingReserve #EndCaptivity #EasternCape #Conservation #Rewilding