African elephant species protection project

Working hard for the African elephant 

The African elephant needs our help!
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Keeping African elephants in zoological gardens is of great importance, as the grey giants are among the most endangered mammals in the world. African elephant populations have fallen by at least 60 per cent in 50 years due to increasing human-animal conflicts over habitat and due to poaching for the illegal ivory trade. Schönbrunn Zoo is working with the organisation “Save the Elephants” to secure the future of the African savanna elephant in its natural habitat.

Measures

“Save the Elephants” is committed to the conservation of elephant habitats. With its headquarters in Nairobi and research stations in the Samburu National Reserve in Kenya, the organisation researches the behaviour and habitat use of elephants in order to develop solutions to the human-animal conflict.
One research focus in Kenya is the elephants' migration routes. By tracking the animals using GPS and GSM collars, their whereabouts can be determined and their preferred routes identified. In northern Kenya, “Save the Elephants” has already identified nine important migration routes used by elephants and other wildlife and is now increasingly protecting them from poachers. In cooperation with the relevant authorities, “Save the Elephants” also ensures that the migration routes are taken into account when developing new building land.
Over the past 30 years, more than 20,000 children in 27 schools in the region have taken part in education programmes. Scholarships also enable children from low-income families to receive a good education. This has a positive impact on the elephant population, as a good education also means that the younger generations are not dependent on poaching as a source of income.
Die Zusammenarbeit ist ein Beispiel dafür, wie der Schutz einer Tierart funktioniert, wenn die Experten innerhalb und außerhalb des Lebensraumes an einem Strang ziehen. Natürlich wird der Tiergarten auch seine Bekanntheit nutzen, um die Öffentlichkeit über die Notwendigkeit des Schutzes des Afrikanischen Elefanten zu informieren.
The collaboration with Schönbrunn Zoo is mainly based on joint basic research into the genetics, nutrition, thermoregulation, communication and reproduction of elephants, with samples being collected and analysed both in the zoo and in the wild. Current research projects are concerned, for example, with the microbiome (i.e. the composition of all microorganisms in faeces) or the protein p53 in elephants, which plays a role in the regulation of the cell cycle. The collaboration is an example of how the protection of an animal species works when the experts inside and outside the habitat pull together. Of course, the zoo will also use its high profile to inform the public about the need to protect the African elephant.

This is how Schönbrunn Zoo is supporting the project:

• Ex-situ breeding
• Collaboration in data collection and research
• Providing expertise and knowledge
• The elephants at Schönbrunn Zoo are ambassadors for their endangered conspecifics in the wild.

Aim

“Save the Elephants” is committed to ensuring a safe future for elephants in their natural habitats in a variety of ways. By combining basic research in zoos and in the wild with applied nature conservation, the aim is to enable humans and elephants to live together peacefully.

This is what our partners have to say:

Prof. Fritz Vollrath, Professor at the University of Oxford and Chairman of Save the Elephants:
“Save the Elephants is working with Schönbrunn Zoo on various research projects on the African elephant. On the one hand, we use satellite transmitters to better understand and protect the animals in their Kenyan habitat. On the other hand, we are jointly studying the elephants' diet in the zoo and in the wild to better understand their needs and health. We are also jointly investigating the links between health, genetics and temperature, where the elephants in the zoo provide unique insights.”