Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique, is the location of ElephantVoices' latest elephant monitoring and conservation project. In 2011 ElephantVoices was invited to Gorongosa to assess the elephants and to begin a process of habituation so that encounters between elephants and visitors can be peaceful. Habituating elephants to tourist vehicles is important because without income earned from visitors, this beautiful, biodiverse habitat cannot be protected. With today's pressure on natural resources, and ivory poaching at a new peak, ensuring the survival of Gorongosa is imperative.

Understanding and respecting the signals of elephants

In 1972 Gorongosa was home to over 2000 elephants, but between 1977 and 1992 civil conflict took the lives of most of these individuals. Elephant meat was used to fed soldiers and ivory was sold for the purchase of arms and ammunition. By the time peace was restored less than 200 individuals remained. Today, thanks to intervention by the Mozambican Government and the Gorongosa Restoration Project, there are roughly 300-400 elephants in Gorongosa, and their numbers are gradually increasing. Yet, the survivors haven't forgotten their gruesome experiences and they are still, understandably, wary of people and they continue to avoid large areas of the national park.

We habituate elephants to vehicles by approaching them slowly and turning off the car engine at the first signs of fear or aggression. By doing so we show them that we understand and respect their signals, that we mean them no harm and that we are not afraid of their bravado.

Elephants are the quintessential drama queens; they revel in making a big deal about almost anything. And they display some of the most dramatic and terrifying defensive behavior. This makes for good television and some of our initial encounters with elephants in Gorongosa were filmed for National Geographic's documentary, War Elephants. It is fair to say that the editing of the film overdramatized our interactions for the TV audience. In reality we met very normal elephants behaving much as we expected them to. And the many elephants that we met on more than one occasion quickly learned that we did not represent a threat.

Gorongosa Elephants Who's Who & Whereabouts

We will bring with us customized versions of the same online tools developed by ElephantVoices for our Mara elephant conservation initiative Elephant Partners. With these tools we can register each elephant and collect observations in a systematic and efficient way. In collaboration with the Gorongosa Restoration Project and the National Park management we will, in time, make the Gorongosa Elephants Who's Who & Whereabouts Databases available to the public to explore, learn from and contribute to.

Each elephant in a population is an important individual and we will begin the process of identifying and registering elephants, one by one, and populating the Gorongosa Who's Who Database with photographs, physiognomic characteristics, and life history information. Along the way we must learn who is fearful, who is aggressive and spend extra time with these individuals to build their trust.

As we build up our knowledge of individuals and their families, we will work toward estimating the size and structure of the population. For example, what proportion of the population is male and female, young and old? Since this population has come through a period of extreme ivory poaching, a large portion of the population is tuskless. How many tuskless elephants are there? What are their ages and what does demographic pattern reflect about their past and mean for their future survival?

More knowledge as basis for better protection

Observations of individuals and families will be uploaded to the Gorongosa Whereabouts Database so that we can begin to understand the patterns that define this population, allowing management to better protect them. For example, we need to know who spends time with whom, where they go, when and why.

As we get to know the elephants we will also be training rangers and guides how to collect elephant data and how to approach elephants, with both the interest of people and elephants being a priority. Based on what we learn, we will be engaging with other Gorongosa research scientists and the management team to determine possible future elephant studies and conservation strategies.

Through Junia Machado and other good elephant friends in Brazil, ElephantVoices is working hard for the best interest of elephants in this progressive country. Our main objectives are

To get such a sanctuary in Brazil off the ground is key to discussions about getting elephants suffering in circuses and bad zoos moved to a new home. Without having a good alternative in place for abused elephants, it is difficult to get the political process regarding elephant welfare moving forward. Junia and others are currently learning as much as possible about the captive elephants in Brazil - many kept under terrible conditions. ElephantVoices believe there are 25 elephants in Brazilian zoos, and 6 in circuses or chained on rural properties, but are still working to get these figures and details related to each elephant confirmed.

Consulation with The Elephant Sanctuary (TES), Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) and individuals with sanctuary experience is obviously on the agenda to be able to bring plans for a sanctuary in Brazil forward, and all efforts are based on Sanctuary for Elephants - Overall Principles (148.66 kB), developed by ElephantVoices. During PAWS Summit for Elephants in California in March 2012 ElephantVoices also met with Elephant Haven, an initiative meant to lead to a much needed elephant sanctuary in Europe (France).

Junia Machado's interest in elephants was triggered when she was eight years old, and when she saw Teresita in São Paulo Zoo some years ago, she decided to do her best for elephants and contacted ElephantVoices. Since then she has built up a network of people volunteering time and energy for elephants. Together with co-volunteer Ana Zinger in Rio de Janeiro and Ticiana Carneiro in São Paulo she has started blogging on ElephantVoices Brasil and also launched ElephantVoices Brasil on Facebook. In addition to news related to captive elephants in Brasil, and hand-picked news from around the world, Junia and her Brazilian team post material and news from ElephantVoices.org, all translated into portuguese.

Junia and Ana have met up with Petter and Joyce in Kenya and the Maasai Mara twice, and in March 2012 they joined at PAWS Summit for Elephants hosted by Oakland Zoo. Junia and Ana are also contributing work and data to ElephantVoices' conservation initiative for the Mara elephants, Elephant Partners.

Our main collaborators in Brazil, in addition to Junia Machado and Ana Zinger, are Maria Cristina Mullins, Teca Franco, Martha Toledo, Tiago Esteves Carvalhaes, Andrea Schmidt, Mayara Barbi and Carol Toledo. There are also other volunteers supporting their efforts on specific issues, like Mario Duarte, Luciana Dallari, Ticiana Carneiro, Felicia Mendonça, Sabrina Cury, José Licciardi and Marcos Marcello. Two agronomists, Cesar Frizzo and Vanessa Rizzi, are currently checking land-related issues and possibilities in connection with a future sanctuary.

ElephantVoices Brasil is also networking with a substantial number of people working for elephants in other countries in South-America, and aims to contribute ideas and the sound science-based knowledge of ElephantVoices wherever it can be of help. Get in touch with This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if you want to join ElephantVoices Brasil in their efforts!

On April 22^nd 2012, Gay Bradshaw posted an article in her blog in Psychology Today critiquing War Elephants and Joyce Poole's role in it. Here is Joyce's response to it.

Dear Gay,

I awoke this morning to an email from a colleague who has done more to highlight the plight of elephants than almost anyone I know. It read: "I presume you saw this. I am so sorry. How ignorant of her. If it makes any difference, I saw the NGS film and was proud to know you. Hang in there.” Then I read your critique of War Elephants and my role in it and realized how little you understand of who I am and what I stand for. Gay, you and I hold many of the same perspectives on elephants, we have published together, and I admire and respect you for the work you have accomplished. If you had concerns, why didn't you get in touch so that, as colleagues, we could try to find common ground? Why torpedo an elephant spokesperson if you have the best interests of these incredible animals at heart?

We will not be able to save all of Africa’s elephants from the onslaught of poaching and conflict, but by using our collective intelligence and experience we can work together toward a kinder future for those who live in places where they have a chance to survive. I choose to be part of a solution, to put my long experience in Africa and with elephants to work. While I would be so glad if elephants everywhere could be left in peace, doing what they like, in the real world we need to find ways for elephants to survive despite human intervention and encroachment. To habituate elephants to friendly visitors is one way to do that - and done with knowledge and respect, elephants are intelligent enough to adapt and thrive as we have seen in Amboseli, the Mara, Samburu and elsewhere. Elephants learn quickly and they easily can discriminate between their human friends and foes.

Gorongosa National Park and its elephants had been given up for lost, but thanks to the Mozambican Government and the Gorongosa Restoration Project, these elephants have a chance. Their future, though, depends on tourism revenue and I was invited to Gorongosa to assess the elephants and to begin a process of habituation, so that visitors can have peaceful encounters with them. This work would have happened with or without cameras present, but National Geographic expressed an interest in documenting the habituation process and the Gorongosa Restoration Project felt a film would help to highlight the work they are doing and the particular plight of these (and many other) elephants who have survived war.

I approached the Gorongosa elephants as I would any elephants: slowly, and when I saw signs that they were concerned I turned off the engine and sat quietly. The concept is to gain trust by respecting their boundaries. Sometimes I talk to elephants; I always have done and I make no apologies for it. My conscience is totally clear regarding my strategy and my actions. I would never do anything to harm or harass elephants. There were no guns in the car; the incident you mention occurred on the main road on a game drive, coincidently with a ranger in the car, long after the film crew and I had departed. The incident only serves to highlight the necessity of gaining, in a systematic way, these elephants' trust.

Other than charges by some individuals, my experience was that the Gorongosa elephants were, surprisingly, calm. Editing weeks, indeed months, of footage and compressing it to 50 minutes gives the impression of relentless agonistic interaction. The use of long lenses, the pace, the timing, the selection of scenes, their repetition, the script and the music all interact to exaggerate the drama. But that is TV - film production and editing is not my expertise.

I played calls to the elephants for a reason. I have been asked if there is a way to encourage the elephants to use parts of the park that they abandoned years ago. The elephants are needed to open up habitat and kick-start the grazing succession for other species. Our hope is that if elephants hear others on the distant bank of the river they may feel that it is safe to venture there themselves. The calls I played to them were the sounds of normal elephants doing normal elephant things - in this case adults threatening a lion and calling for recruits. I played those particular calls for a purpose - because I thought they were most likely to attract a family group. The elephants responded with excitement and curiosity, not with fear and agitation. And again: I would have used this technique whether a film crew was there or not.

ElephantVoices will be returning to Gorongosa later this year, and in the years to come, and we will use all of these techniques and others to try to secure a future for these elephants. War Elephants gives a tiny window into who these elephants are and through a monitoring and research program we will learn much more. We will continue to do all we can to make sure that there are other places in the wild for elephants, and to work toward an end to the ongoing poaching-crisis. It can be hard going, and full of heart-break, but I believe if we all work together there will still be free-ranging elephants for my great-great grandchildren to experience. At a time when elephants are under tremendous threat, Gorongosa is a place of hope. It is also a place where a team of dedicated conservationists, scientists and filmmakers are coming together to give this small population of elephants a chance. We are proud to be among them.

Joyce H. Poole, PhD
Co-Director, ElephantVoices

More than 2,000 elephants in Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique, were slaughtered during the civil war between 1977 and 1992. Around 5% of the population made it through - the number has since increased to between 300-400. Even today many elephants are still wary of people. I am spending almost two weeks with these elephants now in August/September 2011 assessing ways to calm down these traumatised survivors of a gruesome war.

By turning off the car engine when the elephants we meet behave fearfully or aggressively, we show them that we respect them, understand their signals, mean no harm and are not afraid of their bravado. After charging us twice this particular family became relaxed in our presence. Today they were calm.

Joyce, 31 August 2011

Learn more about elephants - visit ElephantVoices Gestures Database!

Over many years of studying animals ethologists learn to read the faces and postures of their subjects through a combination of experience and intuition. We unconsciously use this information whenever we're with elephants without really thinking about the process. We know, for example, whether an elephant is frightened, annoyed, excited, or joyful, but attempting to quantify this "sixth sense" into a presentation for others has been an elucidating and sometimes surprising process!

The visual and tactile signals, displays, postures, expressions and gestures described and illustrated in this database have been compiled over a period of many months, even years. We believe you will enjoy visiting it! You can read more about the background of the database here.