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The Desert Elephants of Mali

View images of this project (all elephant photos (c) Carlton Ward Jr)  >>>

View Africa Geographic article about this project  >>>

View Mali’s Elephant Highway, Smithsonian, July 2005  >>>

Mali is a beautiful, landlocked desert country in North West Africa. Perhaps best known for its rich cultural diversity, Mali is also home to the northernmost herd of African elephants. One of the very last herd of elephants in the arid Sahel, this herd is also unique because of its annual migration – circumscribing an area of over 24,000 square kilometers, the herd has the longest recorded migration route of any elephants.

The nomadic pastoralists who live in this extended area – primarily the Tuareg and Fulani (Puhl) tribes – have coexisted peacefully and in close proximity with these animals for centuries. They graze and herd their cattle and goats in the same areas, and use the same waterholes. More than just tolerated, the elephants have been integral part of the local culture.

Photo: Carlton Ward Jr.But times are changing. Agricultural development policies and subsidies are encouraging nomads to settle permanently near water points, and are generally encouraging the drilling of new wells for crop production. Intensifying land use in an arid system and increasing concentration of previously nomadic human populations around water points is leading to more human/wildlife conflicts. Without careful planning, these conflicts will likely worsen. Now is the time for a successful intervention.

Photo: Carlton Ward Jr.Fortunately, conditions are very favorable for developing a strategy to protect the elephants. There is still considerable goodwill towards the elephants amongst local populations, there is strong interest in developing a conservation strategy from the highest levels of the Malian government, and development aid agencies have also indicated a willingness to coordinate agricultural development with conservation measures.

Photo: Carlton Ward Jr.Following initial research conducted by Save the Elephants in 1999 (founded and directed by Dr. Iain Douglas-Hamilton, Samburu, Kenya) to radio collar several elephants and map their ranges, The WILD Foundation obtained funding from the U.S. State Department and Agency for International Development for a broader initiative. WILD has now joined forces with Save the Elephants (Kenya), the Environment and Development Group (founded and directed by Dr. Stephen Cobb, Oxford England), the Africa Parks Foundation (Netherlands) and of course Mali’s Direction Nationale de la Conservation de la Nature, to help protect and sustain this amazing herd. Our team of field experts has been hard at work.

Photo: Carlton Ward Jr.Phase I of the project ran from 2004 through 2006, and has been successfully completed. The final report is forthcoming and will be posted on this site after review by the Mali Government. It involved extensive field research to compile more complete information about the elephants, to identify the herd’s composition, and to better map its movements. Field data gathered during this phase will be combined with the development of a GIS database describing the bio-physical and social environment of the migratory route. This data will then be used as a tool to avoid human elephant conflicts, and to help guide a conservation strategy for the elephants.This work will provide a valuable baseline of information and critical guidance for a larger, $6m World Bank/Fonds Français pour l'Environnement Mondial (FFEM) project on elephant conservation due to begin possibly in 2005.  Read the report from Phase I in English, and a summary of the report in French.

Photo: Carlton Ward Jr.Phase II is now being planned, with continued and more dynamic research using live satellite collars (by Save the Elephants) and Social Marketing/Outreach to disseminate information and guidelines to local communities and to government agencies.

View summary of current objectives…

Save the Elephants website >

The Human Footprint

Mike Deutsch and Jake Wall have prepared a map of the Human Footprint around Mar Banzena, Mali. This is (the elephants most important water source in the dry season, click here to view (1.5 MB PDF)

Angola
Chad
India
Mali
Namibia
South Africa
Uganda
West Africa
New Projects
Training

more...

WILD, Save The Elephants, Environment Development Group and the Africa Parks Foundation sincerely appreciate the help of the US Embassy in Bamako – especially Ambassadors Michael Ranneberger, Vicki Huddleston, and Terence McCulley ; and also Political Officer Oumar Konipo -- whose continued and unflagging assistance on this project has been invaluable. Their diplomacy, commitment and enthusiasm for the elephants has been deeply inspirational to all involved in this project.
We also recognize the partnership and excellent collaboration with Directeur Felix Dakaou and his team in the Direction Nationale de la Conservation de la Nature (Mali). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also provides generous sponsorship of this important, ongoing effort.

Our first field team was joined for 6 weeks by professional photographer Carlton Ward, who was invaluable in assisting with the elephant identification aspects of the project. Carlton is also creating a photographic library of the elephants and the local people – a few of his images appear here. They also appear in the July 2007 issue of Africa Geographic.

For these elephants to survive, a growing list of challenges need to be addressed soon. For example, as the nomads are encouraged (by developmental policy and financial subsidy) to settle permanently and grow crops, and new water wells are drilled, human/wildlife conflict begins to mount. In addition, the lack of eco-tourism guidelines and oversight, combined with tourism interest in this amazingly adapted herd of elephants, have lead to additional human/wildlife conflict. Now is the time for a successful intervention, including new education/training, enhanced policy for the Mali government and development agencies, better and more targeted infrastructure for the responsible government agencies.

Thanks to the US Embassy, we’ve met with both former President Konare and current President Touré, plus numerous Ministers, all of whom are strongly supportive. The political will for conservation and these elephants therefore exists, and it is imperative to take advantage of this opportunity with targeted and sustainable solutions.