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We need to act now

Worldwide, elephants are struggling for survival. People intrude on their habitat; their food, water and migration routes disappear. To survive, elephants are forced to search for food and water outside of protected areas, resulting in conflicts between elephants and people.

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 create a world where people and elephants can thrive by promoting social-ecological resilience and conservation action that respects and incorporates the knowledge and values of local people.

Antoinette van de Water – founder BTEH

We need your help

We always welcome volunteers, donors and sponsors for our projects. Please consider participating in one of our initiatives or supporting our mission 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: [email protected]. Meet the team!

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The value of elephants: A pluralist approach

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  • In areas where humans and wildlife frequently interact, community attitudes towards measures mitigating such interactions from turning into conflict are crucial to ensure effective management. Questionnaires in the Western Corridor of the Serengeti Ecosystem, Tanzania, indicated most respondents were generally positive towards the installation of electrified fencing in that area some years earlier. In addition to mitigating human-elephant conflict, respondents perceived the fencing as effective in controlling problematic animals other than elephants, and in reducing conflict between domestic and wild animals. HEC mitigations need to be evaluated and adapted based on local attitudes towards and from both humans and wildlife. A point of investigation remaining for this fence in Tanzania is for instance its effect on the migration of wildebeest, zebra and Thomson gazelle between Maasai Mara in Kenya and Serengeti in Tanzania, a crucial migratory route. #sciencesaturday #science #research #Serengeti #HEC #humanelephantconflict #human #wildlife #elephant #conflict #fencing #mitigation #community #conservation #africa #tanzania #kenya #migration #attitudes Matata, M.T., Kegamba, J.J., Mremi, R. & Eustace, A. (2022). Electrified fencing as a mitigation strategy for human-elephant conflict in Western Serengeti: Community perspectives. Journal for Nature Conservation, 70:126271. DOI: 10.1016/j.jnc.2022.126271
  • Interested in having a hand in groundbreaking conservation research? Bring The Elephant Home needs volunteers for our elephant research project in South Africa. Join us from February 23-March 4th by applying at the link in our bio or heading to our website bring-the-elephant-home.org It's coming up quick so don't hesitate on this incredible opportunity 🐘 #elephantconservation #elephantresearch #researchvolunteer #conservationcommunity #elephantbehaviour #wildlifevolunteer #volunteeropportunities #volunteersouthafrica #kariegagamereserve #bringtheelephanthome
  • It's #ScienceSaturday !! Supportive social relationships with other elephants diminish an individual’s stress response, a recent study has shown. Bonds among individual elephants are strong, especially between mother and calf. However, African elephants are endangered due to, amongst others, poaching. In such poaching events, maternal and other adult elephants may be removed from their families, potentially inflicting stress on the calves that are left behind. Parker and colleagues (2022) measured stress levels in a population of elephants in Kenya, using glucocorticoid levels in dung samples. The group contains some orphaned elephants (due to poaching and extreme drought) in which the authors investigated whether the loss of maternal care correlates with (long-term) high stress levels. Results show that elephants that had more age mates in their group showed lower average glucocorticoid levels, and that based on (consistency of) greenness of the vegetation (relating to seasonality and rainfall) hormone levels oscillated throughout the year. However, contrary to their expectations – orphans did not show higher stress levels compared to non-orphans. This may be due to the complexity of hormonal responses, especially under long-term stressors, where long-term social stressors could perhaps have led to an adaptive response to such consistently high glucocorticoid levels, eventually downregulating their production and leading to lower levels in orphans. These results suggest that social buffering likely does occur in African elephants, adding to our understanding of the benefits of sociality, but that ecological factors, such as relating to resource availability, are more important in affecting glucocorticoid levels of wild African elephants. #elephants #elephantresearch #science #animalbehavior #elephantbehaviour #sociality #glucocorticoid #africanelephant #socialbuffering #sysk Parker, J.M., Brown, J.L., Hobbs, N.T., Boisseau, N.P., Letitiya, D., Douglas-Hamilton, I. & Wittemyer, G. (2022). Social support correlates with glucocorticoid concentrations in wild African elephant orphans. Commun Biol., 5:630. doi: 10.1038/s42003-022-03574-8
  • Product spotlight: Natural Tie Dye Coexistence T-shirt 🐘🐝 Hand-dyed by a community group in Ruam Thai village, a hotspot area of human-elephant conflict. The purchase of this unique t-shirt directly supports elephant conservation projects and the local people living alongside wild elephants. Your t-shirt comes with a great story too: elephant dung and mineral-rich soil are used in the tie-dye process! "Bee the change" and grab yours today through our online shop. #supportlocal #communityengagement #thailandproducts #madeinthailand #conservationeducation #thailand #handmadethailand #shopthailand #beethechange
  • Now taking applications for our next elephant research program in South Africa, February 2023! We hosted one back in August and here's what our most recent volunteer researchers have to say about it! 👇 "I am so grateful to BTEH for giving our group the opportunity to be part of such an important step in the future of elephant conservation and research. Working under these passionate and hard-working researchers and biologists was encouraging for someone like me pursuing a career in conservation, or anyone interested in making a difference! You will meet so many amazing individuals and have experiences that challenge your way of thinking and give you first-hand experience in conservation. I highly recommend this program." -Mikayla "This trip is an incredible opportunity to meet knowledgeable and inspiring professionals who work at the forefront of the Eastern Cape’s conservation efforts. Led by truly inspiring people with an enormous breadth of knowledge in conservation and elephant behaviour, this trip is a must for wildlife enthusiasts, and those looking to enter the field. I can't recommend it enough." -Ashley "Working with such a dedicated team on such a worthy project was an honour. The conservation of elephants at this time is of upmost importance. Bring the Elephant home is dedicated to the future populations of both Africa and Asian elephants and truly makes a difference. To be part of collaring elephants was a once in a lifetime opportunity and an amazing experience. I would urge anyone who has a passion for elephants, conservation or to make a difference to join their expeditions. You will learn a lot, be part of an important project and have a brilliant time along the way." -Emma
  • Join us for another 10 day field research program in South Africa February 23-March 4, 2023. As Kariega Game Reserve is preparing for range expansion, we have collared six elephants to track their movement and assist in monitoring their behaviour before and after fence removal. Bring The Elephant Home is now recruiting elephant research volunteers to help collect and analyse elephant behaviour data, as well as other activities, thereby making a valuable contribution to elephant conservation and management. During your stay, you will have a unique opportunity to learn about elephant behaviour and conservation challenges and actively contribute to sustainable solutions! Activities vary from: Track and identify wild elephants. Use new elephant conservation technology. Record elephant behaviour. Contribute to elephant identification kit and database. Other tasks to support elephant conservation: (social) media, website, graphic design, etc. Share this opportunity with someone you know would be a great candidate! #rangeexpansion #southafrica #southafricawildlife #collaring #southafricaza #wildlifeconservation #humanelephantcoexistence #elephantconservation #conservationbiology #wildliferesearch #wildlifebiology #volunteerresearch #volunteerprograms #wildlifevolunteer #conservationvolunteer #conservationprogram #volunteersouthafrica