WildView™

June 21, 2021

Protecting Elephants

- as seen by -

Joshua Mabonga

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At WCS Uganda, we use satellite telemetry (radio collars) to study and map the home ranges of African elephants (Loxodonta africana) in Murchison Falls National Park. This helps us to understand their ecological requirements and conservation threats like poaching, habitat loss, and human wildlife conflict with the aim of mitigating the threats, maintaining stable populations, and creating conservation benefits to Ugandans including employment and tourism revenue for national development.

WCS works with partners to improve law enforcement with tools like SMART (a combination of software, training materials, and patrolling standards) to conduct ranger patrols, counter wildlife trafficking, combat illegal wildlife trade, and de-snare the park.

Elephants are an important species because they help to modify ecosystems and create suitable conditions for the survival of some plants and other animals. Elephants also aid in seed dispersal of tree species such as Borassus aethiopum palms and Balanites aegyptiaca trees, and suppress fires through biomass removal.

To learn more about elephant monitoring by WCS Uganda and partners, watch this video.

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