The Growing Human-Elephant Conflict in Africa: An Insider's Report
- Mar 8, 2024
- 9 min read
So let's go back in time, just a few months ago -spring 2023- I was in Kenya for my masters program and decided to prolong my stay over the summer months. Why go back to Belgium while I already purchased this ticket to Kenya and could maximise my time here. I was able to join the non-for-profit organisation Mara Elephant Project, also know as MEP. For six weeks, I had the incredible opportunity to intern with the research department of a remarkable organization dedicated to helping the local elephant population and their habitat.
In this post, I aim to take you on a journey through what is human-elephant conflict, the vital work this organization undertakes, the significance of their mission, and how I was able to play a small, yet meaningful, role in supporting their cause.
Human- Elephant Conflict
Maybe you are already familiar with terms such as, human-elephant conflict (hec) or of the more broader term human-wildlife conflict (hwc), both of which are gaining attention for their significant impact and urgency in today’s world. These conflicts represent any form of dispute between humans and wildlife, in this post with a particular focus on elephants.
Such conflicts can range from being chased by an elephant, to injuries and fatalities, to the destruction of crops and property damage. These incidents not only lead to financial losses but also have a profound social impact on communities living close to elephants [1][2].
Such incidents have led to negative perceptions of elephants among affected communities, who see these majestic creatures as pests that devour their crops, destroy lands and properties, and pose threats to safety and well-being. Elephants are also viewed as
economic burdens, compelling people to invest considerable time and money in crop guarding, protection measures, and additional agricultural inputs [3].
The escalating encounters between humans and elephants are primarily due to the expanding human population and the consequent need for more agricultural land.
This expansion converts natural ecosystems into agricultural land, and since elephants do not recognize concepts of land ownership, they roam across various territories in their quest for food and water. During their search, they encounter abundant vegetables rich in nutrients and minerals and eat as much as their belly can take. Dinner is served!
It's essential to acknowledge the difficulties faced by those living in close proximity to elephants. The interaction between humans and elephants, once less common, has grown into a pressing issue due to these overlapping habitats.
Furthermore, given elephants' size and strength, managing these encounters can be dangerous, underscoring the complexity of finding sustainable solutions to mitigate conflict and coexist peacefully.
While highlighting these challenges, it's important not to cast elephants in a negative light since they do not harm with the purpose to inflict pain or destroy land, but rather to emphasize the need for comprehensive strategies that address the root causes of conflict, ensuring the safety and well-being of both humans and elephants.
MEP
This organisation, Mara Elephant Project is located in the south of Kenya, situated right above the Maasai Mara National Reserve, focuses on mitigating human-elephant conflict and tries to change the narrative from conflict to coexistence between elephants and people in the Greater Mara Ecosystem.
Before this internship I wasn't fully aware that this is actually a huge issue in Africa and Asia.
But staying there just a few weeks made this all become very real. Nearly every day there is a notification of a tracked elephant (limited amount of elephants have a GPS collar to enable us to follow their path) that crosses a virtual boundary -these are key boundaries set by the Mara Elephant Project that, when crossed, require closer examination of the elephant's path, signaling to MEP that the individual is heading towards a village potentially leading to conflicts with the local people.
Ever so rarely, in my few weeks at MEP, there is a notification about a human dying due to elephants. I couldn't fully grasp this at the time, and still have difficulties now. These incidences are not infrequent and more often than not lead to revenge killing of the elephant by family members, leading to more bad perceptions of elephants among the community -you can spot a trend here happening [4].
It is just shocking especially since I am a tourist in this country and seeing wildlife and of course elephants is so cool and breathtaking for me. I could only hope everyday that the research team was heading out to go spot elephants, so I could join them in analysing these beautiful, intelligent and graceful beings. While not much further away people where being intimidated, chased and even injured by them.
This feels very conflicting cause wildlife is a huge source of income in Kenya, but is also viewed as pests for some communities.
Mara Elephant Project is supported by dedicated teams committed to their mission with the 2 major ones being: the ranger and research teams.
The rangers are on the front lines, responding quickly to reports of elephants approaching villages. They employ tactics such as deploying fireworks and drones to deter the elephants safely -elephants are super scared of bees, and drones sound just like an angry swarm of bees coming their way.
Beyond immediate response, they also tackle the root causes of wildlife threats by infiltrating wildlife trade networks, aiming to apprehend dealers and buyers involved in the illegal trade of ivory, bushmeat (meat of wild animals), and fur aiming to halt these illicit activities since they are highly punishable.
They conduct patrols across various conservancies to locate and dismantle snares, bushmeat traps, timber logging and charcoal burning sites, addressing not just elephant-related issues but all actions that harm wildlife and their habitats. This holistic approach underscores the understanding that elephants, along with other species, rely on a shared ecosystem and cannot thrive in isolation.
The research teams collect and analyze data from a few satellite-collared elephants to create maps that illustrate their movements and behaviors. This analysis helps them gain a deeper understanding of the individuals living in the area. By visualizing this data, they can identify which conservation measures need reinforcement and where new strategies are required.
Human Injuries & Deaths
I am going to delve a bit deeper in my tasks performed at this organisation, starting with my very first one.
The MEP rangers, along with other organizations in the area, remains alert for any reports of wildlife conflicts. In the event that injuries or fatalities occur before their arrival, they diligently document these incidents, including human injuries and deaths.
This task was the focus of my initial project: monitoring the incidents of humans killed or injured by wildlife encounters.
Many non-profit organizations in conservation collect tons of data but often don't have the time or money to process it all. As a result, this valuable data sits unused, and no insights or patterns can be drawn from it. That's where my internship came in. I worked on making sense of this data, specifically focusing on tracking the number of humans killed and injured by wildlife. Below, I've put together a graph that shows these incidents year by year, starting from 2016 all the way to March 2024.
The graph might suggest an increase in incidents over the last few years, but it's important to note that it's not entirely accurate or reliable due to missing data from the early years. Once the organization's head of research joined in 2019 and implemented digital reporting, the loss of information significantly decreased, leading to more reported incidences.
Trying to identify any patterns or trends is challenging due to the missing data, making any observations potentially misleading. However, it's clear that injuries and fatalities happen, unfortunately, yearly.
Just a quick note: Although the graph labels the incidents as "wildlife", it primarily refers to elephants. While there may be a few instances involving other animals, these are in the minority.
I also made a map of where the human deaths took place so MEP can also incorporate this information in their current mitigation plan.
On the map, orange spots show places where two people have died, and yellow spots mean one person has died. The orange areas need extra attention and protection for the people living there.
If a place is marked as a hotspot for conflict, the team knows to focus more on that area. Right now, there are only two main "hotspots" identified -minor ones though.
These 2 visualisations are incomplete, like I said MEP records information whenever they get alarmed about an incident, but there are other organisations present in the region. Whenever people decide to call another organisation MEP isn't aware of this incident and cannot record it, leading to a very incomplete dataset about injures and deaths.
The Kenyan government is the only agency having the full dataset.
Price of Ivory
Shifting gears a bit, I previously mentioned how the ranger team takes on the illegal wildlife trade in Kenya. The data I'm going to talk about next, for my second project, involves details on ivory – including its price, weight, and the number of pieces confiscated by the infiltration team during their operations. This gives us a complete picture of the ivory market at the time of these interventions.
In the graph you spot the terms "dealer and seller price". In a transaction, the terms "dealer price" and "seller price" refer to two different perspectives on the cost of an item. The "dealer price" is the amount the dealer is willing to pay to acquire the item, essentially their buying price. On the other hand, the "seller price" is the amount at which the seller aims to sell the item, which is their asking price. Essentially, the dealer is looking to buy low, while the seller wants to sell high.
In the graph below I visualised the dealer and seller price (in Kenyan shillings=KES) of ivory averaged per month starting from 2014 until mid 2022. This provides insights into this illegal market and how the prices fluctuate over time.
The prices really jump around a lot, so it's hard to see any clear trend. The team at MEP wants to track these changes to help predict when poaching might increase. Basically, if ivory prices go up, more people might get into the ivory trade. Knowing this, MEP can plan ahead by sending out more rangers. This way, they're ready to catch those involved in the trade and help slow it down or even stop it!
In each transaction the MEP rangers and local police also confiscate the ivory found -and in Kenya destroy this, in some countries the government might sell this in order to regulate this market more and invest this money into wildlife and conservation, a bit of a controversial topic...- and record the number of pieces found as well as the weight of the pieces. This is visualised in the barplot below.
We can also notice a lot of variation in the amount of ivory collected – sometimes it's a few large, heavy pieces, and other times, many smaller ones. Despite these fluctuations, what remains consistent is the ongoing presence of the ivory trade.
Once again, these numbers are somewhat reliable, but the issue of missing data remains a significant challenge in constructing this dataset. Specifically, data for 2016 and 2017 is largely absent, despite indications that ivory selling continued during those years.
To conclude, it would have been interesting to be able to make a price per kg of ivory to better understand the pricing dynamics. However, due to incomplete data, I was unable to undertake this additional task.
If you've made it till the end, congratulations! You are hopefully a bit wiser on the topic of human-elephant conflict and how complicated this issue truly is.
So far, I've focused more on explaining the depth of the problem rather than delving into solutions. It's also important to recognize that this issue has many layers, and while one organization is doing its best to address it, there's still much to be done.
My internship at this place was truly one of the most remarkable experiences in my life. Being there by myself, immerged in the African savannah, working with and around elephants. What a dream come true!
This journey has been a significant learning curve for me. Even though I've only scratched the surface of understanding this conflict, I've come to realize even more profoundly just how deep and challenging it is. Like many complex issues, it requires considerable time and effort to solve, one were there might not be a "perfect" solution.
🐘🐘🐘
Sharon
PS I plan to do more biology themed blogs since, for me too, this is very fun to write about!
PPS I know there are only limited references below since, for me, all this information is floating in my brain from my master thesis! Still this can be useful to just paint the picture a bit more clearly for those wanting more in-depth information. In case you cannot access the papers, the website of Mara Elephant Project already gives plenty of information to entertain your brain :)!
References:
Blanc, J.J., Thouless, C.R., Hart, J.A., Dublin, H.T., Douglas-Hamilton, I., Craig, C.G. & Barnes, R.F.W. (2003) African Elephant Status Report 2002: An Update from the African Elephant Database. IUCN/SSC African Elephant Specialist Group, IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.
Mackenzie, C. A., & Ahabyona, P. (2012). Elephants in the garden: Financial and social costs of crop raiding. Ecological Economics, 75, 72–82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2011.12.018
De Boer, W.F. and Baquete, D.S. (1998) Natural Resource Use, Crop Damage, and Attitudes of Rural People in the Vicinity of the Maputo Elephant Reserve, Mozambique. Environmental Conservation, 25, 208-218. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0376892998000265
Conflict - Mara Elephant Project. (2021, 10 augustus). Mara Elephant Project. https://maraelephantproject.org/the-crisis/conflict/
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