Collaborations

EWB is a strong and capable organization, but we recognize the vital role of forming strategic alliances and partnerships with organizations and individuals who share a common vision and purpose, in order to reach a shared goal together and to achieve conservation at a meaningful scale.

Collaborations allow us to do more than we ever could on our own.
Ecosystems are fragile. Strong partnerships between EWB, non-profit organizations and other conservation groups are restoring and protecting wildlife corridors and the ecosystems elephants need to survive. The following ventures explain EWB’s investments, locally and regionally, in building alliances and supporting partners in an effort to find viable solutions and create a healthier world for elephants.

Stress Response Profiling of Elephants

Population health assessments typically cannot provide early warnings about the impact of disease, pollution, and anthropogenic activities on wildlife. EWB teamed with Dr. Ursula Bechert, from Oregon State University, in an effort to gain an understanding of long-term stress in elephant populations.

The team spent 3 field seasons traveling the elephant range, attaining biopsy skin samples from various elephant sub-populations for analysis of stress-activated proteins. The result will produce a paper which describes the application of a novel approach to monitor long-term stress, which frequently pre-disposes populations to increased morbidity and mortality rates. The correlations between stress levels and population density, movements, and human-elephant conflict reports will be presented for free-ranging African elephants in northern Botswana. The development of novel health-monitoring tools could guide the management of ecosystems and facilitate further conservation efforts.

Okavango Panhandle Survey

The Okavango Panhandle is the worst human-elephant conflict (HEC) area in Botswana. In this troublesome hot spot, elephants are trapped by the Caprivi border fence and northern buffalo fence. The impenetrable floodplains of the Okavango River restrict elephants moving west out of the region. Within this 8500sq km area, the only permanent water is in the Okavango River, where many settlements are located. During the dry season, elephant herds run a daily gauntlet through settlements to reach water at the Okavango River. How many elephant are trapped in this region? What is the population growth rate?... and what management options are there to help relieve this compression?
In August 2008, EWB, together with Anna Songhurst, a PhD student from the University of Botswana and Imperial College, London who is studying HEC, flew an aerial survey to help answer these pertinent questions. Our survey yielded an estimate of 9000 elephants trapped in the Okavango triangle.
EWB suggests that corridors be created to allow elephant to move out of this region. Corridors must be created along wildlife migration paths that meet up with the fence. Creating small gaps or openings in the fence will allow elephants to move into the Caprivi and Angola where elephant densities are low and relieve HEC along the Okavango River.

Release of Damiano

In 2008, EWB was approached by Wild Horizons Wildlife Orphanage and Sanctuary and Roger Parry of Wilderwise Wilderness Awareness, proposing a collaboration in helping to monitor one of their elephants. The belief, which they abide by at the sanctuary, is that if an elephant does not want to stay, they are never forced to. Damiano lived at the sanctuary for 10 years. In that time, he grew from a rambunctious young bull to a dominate leader of one of the herds At this young adult stage in Damiano’s life, he began taking “walks” and journeying at lengths of up to 3 months, with other wild bulls which frequented the area. It was decided between the two organizations that it was important to monitor Damiano’s movements. Upon his last return, he was fitted with a satellite collar and hours later, he wandered off with his new companions. His new collar enables the team to closely monitor and track Damiano in real-time. The new collar on Damiano will provide valuable information on elephant reintroductions to the wild and elephant movements in the four corners region of Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Namibia.

Post Monitoring of Released Elephant, "Mary"
Elephants Without Borders is proud to be part of the post-monitoring team for Mary, the largest female in a herd of 9 elephants, that were once captured and found to be mistreated. The Zimbabwe SPCA (ZNSPCA) approached the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Honourable Minister Nhema, and officials from the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources and National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (NPWMA) to discuss the dilemma of the elephants. It was agreed that the captive elephants would be trans-located and released back into the wild. The elephants were released in Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe on Nov 3 2009. Mary was fitted with a satellite collar to monitor the herd.
To view or download the media release written by Glynis Vaughan of ZNSPCA,
Click Here

.