Archive for January 2017
Guidelines for Safe Elephant Viewing
By Michelle Henley We are proud to announce that a new brochure has been produced to ensure that people know how to behave around elephants. Mac, the iconic bull who represents one of the large tuskers of Kruger and who has been tracked by Elephants Alive since early 2002 until his death in 2013 due…
Read MoreVulture-Tree Links
By Michelle Henley South Africa’s white-backed vultures are now Critically Endangered, and their numbers continue to plummet. The main cause of this rapid decline are indiscriminate poisonings, where the birds are drawn to poisoned baits, use of vulture body parts in traditional medicine, and deliberate targeting by poachers, as the presence of vultures can alert authorities to illegally…
Read MoreSupport from the East
By Michelle Henley It is the complexity of elephant society that has always fascinated me. Even amongst the herds that don’t see each other often, there is a connection along some lineage which will lead to joy upon a reunion. These invisible bonds make for a harmonious society. There are six tiers to elephant society.…
Read MoreWhen the Skies Open!
By Michelle Henley Finally, we have had some much-needed rain after the terrible, prolonged drought over the past two years. How do you tell people from other parts of the world how it feels when the heavens open? How intoxicating it is to watch and breathe in the aroma of millions of falling drops of mercy…
Read MoreSadly Our First Collared Elephant Has Been Poached
By Michelle Henley Since 1998, Elephants Alive has conducted over 100 elephant collaring operations in the Associated Private Nature Reserves and the Kruger National Park. We have seen our study animals move widely with some of the younger risk-taking bulls having home ranges as large as 11 000 km2. We have always counted ourselves fortunate…
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