The male elephants of the Makgadikgadi

Dear friends,

Thanks to your generous support, we’re excited to share that Elephants for Africa has successfully completed the first stage of our elephant uncollaring mission.

This effort marks the next chapter in a project that began in 2022, when we fitted GPS collars on mature bull elephants in the Makgadikgadi region of Botswana. Enough time has now passed that we can begin removing the collars and turning our focus to analysing the wealth of data collected. This data is invaluable—it will help us better understand the movement, habitat use, and social dynamics of this unique, predominantly bull elephant population, found nowhere else in the world.

The recent uncollaring operation was no small feat. Working within a narrow window of time, we had to move quickly to coordinate a complex operation - securing permits, testing telemetry equipment, briefing ground crews, preparing camp for support staff, and notifying nearby stakeholders. Perhaps most challenging of all was synchronising with a highly sought-after wildlife vet, two in-demand pilots, and both a plane and a helicopter!

Thanks to this tremendous effort, we safely removed GPS tracking collars from six of the seven targeted bull elephants. Five were located within Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, and the sixth was found on community land west of the main highway. We’re incredibly grateful to have lead this operation and for the opportunity to deepen our understanding of elephants in this remarkable ecosystem.

We also attempted to remove the final collar from a bull elephant in a private concession roughly 90 miles from camp. While we successfully located him, the dense mopane woodland made a safe darting and landing impossible. Despite our best efforts to guide him into more accessible terrain, we had to make the difficult but responsible decision to postpone—always prioritising the safety of both people and elephants.

We continue to monitor his movements and hope he’ll eventually move into a more logistically feasible area. That said, he seems quite content where he is - surrounded by breeding herds, food, and water!

None of this would have been possible without your support. Thank you for being a part of this journey and for helping us push the boundaries of our understanding of these incredible animals.

With gratitude,
The Elephants for Africa Team