Amboseli Trust for Elephants

The Amboseli Elephant Research Project is the longest study of wild elephants in the world. We work to understand the lives and ensure the future of 1,500 elephants in the Amboseli ecosystem fed by the waters of Kilimanjaro.

cmoss's picture

Happy Holidays

Tue, 2012-12-25 07:35 by cmoss
PCs_RainySeasonsky_MH

Wishing you joyful holidays and a peaceful New Year. Our New Year's resolution will be to continue fighting for the very survival of elephants here in Africa. Demand for ivory is out of control. Join with us and pledge to fight for elephants.

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Maasai Olympics

Sat, 2012-12-15 18:23 by cmoss
MaasaiOlympics2012 MaasaiOlympics2012

We are very excited to be supporting a wonderful initiative in the Amboseli ecosystem, which will take place on 22 December. The final games resulting from many smaller games at the group ranch level will be held at Kimana. Warriors from four ranches will be participating in running, jumping, rungu throwing, javelin, etc. There will be grand prizes in each category. The guest of honor will be David Rudisha, record-breaking winner of the 800 metres at this year's London Olympics.

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The History of the SA Family

Sun, 2012-12-09 18:16 by cmoss · Forum/category:
The SA Family crossing a wet pan

The SA family was the third group sighted and photographed on the very first day of the Amboseli elephant study on September 1, 1972. The first group was designated the AAs; the second the BAs; and the third should have been the CAs, but it ended up being the SAs. The matriarch of this third group was originally called 'Cynthia' by my co worker Harvey Croze, but for some convoluted reason which I can't remember today the other adult females were given names starting with 'S', Sandy and Shirley, and thus it became the SA family.

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Collared Elephants Underscore Ecosystem Importance

Fri, 2012-11-30 10:31 by hcroze · Forum/category:

Five GSM-collared females -- Ida, Lobelia, Vicky, Willow and Maureen of the IB, LB, VA, WA and MB families, respectively -- have been providing excellent data showing the importance of corridors into the ecosystem. See links to the video here and the article in the ATE Newsletter here.

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The QB Family Pays the Price for Ivory

Wed, 2012-10-31 10:15 by Vicki
Qumquat, born in 1969, loved by Amboseli researchers for four decades, gunned down for her ivory. Her family have lost their leader. Qumquat was the first female to give birth in our baby boom. Her daughter was found next to her mother's carcass; we rescued her with the help of David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, who will care for her. She is traumatised.

Devastating news from Amboseli. One of our best-loved big matriarchs, Qumquat, was slaughtered by poachers, along with her two young daughters, very close to the border of the Park. Qumquat's youngest daughter was found alongside the carcasses, and we rescued her yesterday with the help of David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. She is lucky to be cared for by the expert team at Sheldrick's but she has been through a terrible ordeal. Qumquat's 6-month-old grandson is missing. Apologies for these upsetting images; this is the cruel and bloody reality of the ivory trade.

cmoss's picture

The History of the RA Family

Fri, 2012-10-19 15:16 by cmoss · Forum/category:
Remedios on her first sighting in October 1973

The RA family has always been a fascinating if frustrating group. To this day I am not sure if certain animals I have given "R" names to are really members of the RA or XA families. I'm also not sure which clan area the RAs should be assigned to. The only thing I can say with confidence is that the history of the RAs has not been clear and simple.

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ATE team rescue another baby elephant from a well

Fri, 2012-10-12 21:13 by bntawuasa

We rescued this young eight months old calf early this week. Luckily the report came in early in the morning and we were able to get there quick before the mother was forced to leave by herders arriving to water their cattle. It was a happy ending as we were able to reunite the calf with her mother, Zombe. Here is the video of the rescue.

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Rescue of Lemoyian

Wed, 2012-10-10 11:44 by cmoss
Calf stuck in well Calf extracted

The ATE team got word that there was another calf stuck in the same well where they rescued one the day before. The well is way outside the Park on the border with Tanzania. Luckily we were at Tortilis Lodge when we got the message and that is much closer than our camp.

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214th calf in our baby boom

Sat, 2012-09-29 06:11 by bntawuasa

Few days ago Amboseli welcomed another new baby from the FB family. The young and first time mother Felica is twelve years old and already she looks every bit experienced on how to handle her baby. The calf is tiny, short and quite nimble on his feet like no other we've seen so far. Here is a link to a short video about the calf, Enjoy.