Collaring elephants to track their movements is a key step towards achieving harmony between people and wildlife.

In this PeaceParks.TV episode we follow the team at Simalaha Community Conservancy as they collar 10 elephants in the region.

This operation plays an important role in protecting communities and their crops, while ensuring the elephants’ safety by using effective communication systems that incorporate data collected from the collars.

Robyn Swart, Peace Parks Foundation’s Combatting Wildlife Crime Project Coordinator, says the team is developing a radio network system for effective communication, and building an operations control room, which will be linked to EarthRanger to monitor scout patrols and animal movement.

“Having collared the elephants, we are hoping that we can also keep them safe from persecution. We will know where they are in the landscape. So, if we know they’re moving to populated areas, we can action our village groups to move them away, protecting the people and elephants, for a peaceful co-existence,” Swart says.

During the elephant collaring operations, DNA samples are taken, and tusk measurements along with ear patterns are recorded to help identify each elephant.

Dr Brian Musala, a veterinarian at the Department of National Parks and Wildlife, Zambia, says the data collected is crucial for effective wildlife management, understanding animal movement and promoting a balanced and peaceful relationship between people and elephants.

Stay tuned to PeaceParks.TV for more on-the-ground action.