Episode 13: Amboseli Trust for Elephants

Wild For Change

On a new Wild For Change podcast, we will be speaking with Dr. Vicki Fishlock – resident scientist of Amboseli Trust for Elephants in Kenya.

The Amboseli Trust for Elephants is a not-for-profit organization that focuses on the long-term conservation and welfare of Africa’s elephants in the midst of human expansion, through scientific research, outreach, advocacy, and training.

Dr. Cynthia Moss and her co-founder, Harvey Croze created the Amboseli Elephant Research Project in 1972 and is the longest-running elephant research program globally. Currently, over 1800 elephants are monitored over the Amboseli Ecosystem. The research covers many areas including: social organization, behavior, demography, ecological dynamics, spatial analyses and mapping, communication, genetics, human-elephant interactions and cognition.

The beauty of the Amboseli Elephant Research Project is what has been learned about elephants and their family dynamics.
Dr. Cynthia Moss stated;

“Elephants form deep bonds with each other, which last for decades. Elephant survival is strongly affected by access to the social and ecological knowledge that older elephants hold; where to go, what to eat, how to avoid danger.”

This research provides the basis that elephant familial bonds are an integral element to their continued survival, which also helps us as humans relate to another species and see the importance of ensuring their place on earth.

In the podcast, we will learn how the ongoing research provides;

• Important data on reproduction
• Why familial bonds are so important
• What family structure is like
• How elephants interact within their herd as well as other herds
• How elephants respond when in stress
• How elephants adapt and move across changing landscapes
• The importance of elephants in the Amboseli landscape as ecosystem engineers

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