Save the Elephants
Save the Elephants (STE) was founded in 1993 by Iain Douglas-Hamilton. A research & conservation organization, Save the Elephants (STE) is a UK-registered charity headquartered in Nairobi with its principal research station in Samburu National Reserve in northern Kenya.
 | |
| Founded | 1993 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Iain Douglas-Hamilton |
| Type | Non-profit organization |
| Focus | Wildlife conservation |
| Location |
|
Area served | Based in Kenya, projects across the continent |
Staff | 80[1] |
| Website | www |
STE’s mission is to secure a future for elephants and sustain the beauty and ecological integrity of the places they live, to promote man’s delight in their intelligence and the diversity of their world, and to develop a tolerant relationship between the two species.
The elephants of Samburu are now one of the best-studied elephant populations in the world, with detailed histories of almost 1,000 individuals and their interactions over the last 29 years. Data from their behaviour and population dynamics have allowed scientists to understand the impacts of the ivory poaching crisis on populations across Africa.
Pioneers in radio and GPS tracking of elephants, STE works to understand ecosystems from an elephant’s perspective. Real-time information on their movements is proving a powerful tool to protect herds from poachers, and long-term data allows us to influence landscape planning to take elephants into account.
With four members of staff on the African Elephant Specialist Group, we aspire to be a leading source of information on the status of elephants across Africa.
The ivory poaching crisis is a continental issue that cannot be solved by any one organisation – or even nation – on its own. In 2013 STE launched the Elephant Crisis Fund run jointly with the Wildlife Conservation Network to fuel the growing coalition of organisations that are working to stop the killing, stop the trafficking and end the demand for ivory to secure a future for elephants. Since then, the ECF has funded 104 partners conducting 415 projects in 44 countries across Africa and Asia, with 100% of funds raised reaching the field.
Pillars
Save the Elephants works to secure a future for elephants. Specialising in elephant research, they provide scientific insights into elephant behaviour, intelligence, and long-distance movements and apply them to the challenges of elephant survival and harmonious coexistence with humanity.
High-tech tracking helps plan landscapes while low-tech beehive fences, among other tools, provide people and communities living with elephants with protection as well as income. Education and outreach programmes share these insights with local communities as the true custodians of this rich heritage.
Save the Elephants runs the Elephant Crisis Fund in partnership with the Wildlife Conservation Network, providing flexible and responsive support to NGOs combatting the ivory trade, promoting human-elephant coexistence, and protecting elephant landscapes.
Science
We conduct vital research on elephant behaviour and ecology and pioneered GPS radio tracking in Africa to provide fresh insight into the life of elephants. At our research station in Samburu National Reserve, northern Kenya, STE researchers study wild elephants on a daily basis. Over 900 identified elephants have been recorded using the Ewaso Ny’iro river over many decades, and our intimate knowledge of their family structures and history has opened a rare world into the behaviour of elephants. At our second research station in Tsavo, southeastern Kenya, our Human-Elephant Coexistence team is investigating solutions to the long term challenges that elephants face.
Communication
Save the Elephants is proud to be at the heart of a growing coalition united to save elephants. By linking arms for the natural world, sharing knowledge and collaborating with partners, we can create a harmonious future for elephants and people. Our Human-Elephant Coexistence Toolbox has been shared with hundreds of partners across Africa and is helping communities coexist alongside elephants without risking their livelihoods, or their lives.
Impact
Save the Elephant’s priority is to promote connectivity between the vital parts of elephant range as much-needed development expands, and to find ways to mitigate conflict between elephants and people through education, collaboration and working with communities. In the last 30 years, more than 20,000 children in 27 schools have engaged with our educational activities in northern Kenya and we have awarded more than 359 student scholarships. Our Elephant Crisis Fund has disbursed more than $31m to hundreds of organisations in more than 40 countries, while 90 sites in 23 countries have adopted our beehive fences. We have also identified nine wildlife and livestock corridors in northern Kenya by STE tracking data. You can read more by clicking on the projects under each category on this page.
Coexistence
Africa’s human population is set to double by 2050, creating enormous pressures for elephants. As farmland spreads and infrastructure developments fragment habitat, elephants are being forced into increasing conflict with people. A key focus of STE’s work involves engaging with local communities and other stakeholders, such as government and conservation partners, towards sustainable ways of protecting elephant habitat such as migratory routes.
Elephants and Bees
The Elephants and Bees Project is an innovative study using an in-depth understanding of elephant behaviour to reduce damage from crop-raiding elephants using their instinctive avoidance of African honey bees.
The project explores the use of novel Beehive Fences as a natural elephant deterrent creating a social and economic boost to poverty-stricken rural communities through the sustainable harvesting of “Elephant-Friendly Honey”. Dr. Lucy King established this award winning research project, and leads this exciting collaboration between Save the Elephants, Oxford University and Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
Elephant News Service
The subscription-based Elephant News Service is a substantial resource for elephant lovers, scientists and conservationists across the globe. It comprises all articles, stories and publications on elephants and elephant conservation from around the world. The service is managed by Save the Elephants however the stories published on the listservs do not necessarily reflect the views of STE.
The Elephant News Service subscription process gives people the option to subscribe, unsubscribe, as well as receive a daily digest option. The daily digest provides subscribers with one email a day featuring all the stories rather than receiving each individual story one by one. To set up and manage subscriptions, change email address, etc, please go to the following pages:
For African elephant news: http://elephantnews.org/mailman/listinfo/african-elephant_elephantnews.org
For Asian elephant news: http://elephantnews.org/mailman/listinfo/asian-elephant_elephantnews.org.
References
- "Charity Overview". Charity Commission. Retrieved 29 January 2009.