Innovative, simple and cost-effective, Born Free’s practical work to help people and elephants coexist in Meru, Kenya is having a giant impact.
How do you help people understand elephant behaviour and stay safe living alongside these huge herbivores? An elephant-sized puppet really helps! Coupled with a simple toolkit to discourage crop-raiding, Born Free’s mission to help local people and wildlife live together without conflict is making a mammoth difference.
“Elephants go to the community because they plant crops the elephants love,” explains our Education Officer, Nicholas Bii. “Once community members understand these reasons, and learn to better identify elephant behaviour, this can reduce crop destruction so all of them live in peace.”
Born Free has been devoted to wildlife conservation in Meru National Park since 2014 and for nearly three years has been helping communities living around the park to peacefully coexist with wildlife, especially elephants. “Through a conflict mitigation toolkit and puppet-based Elephant Behaviour Workshops we aim to achieve coexistence between humans and wildlife,” said Born Free’s Head of Education Laura Eastwood.
“We minimise conflicts by increasing knowledge on how to identify and respond to elephant behaviour. We also increase empathy and interest towards elephants. Our training and practical tools help farmers implement low cost and simple methods to deter elephants from damaging crops, and thus help prevent economic crises.”
Samim Kaari, who trained as a teacher, is one of our locally-employed Conservation Ambassadors. “Elephants come in the shambas (farms) when the crops are ripe,” she said. “There was a time when a man from my community was killed by an elephant, so they used to hate the elephants. But, since I was recruited with Born Free, I’ve been showing them how beneficial these animals are to us. And nowadays they are ok with the elephants.” (Article continues below)…
The tool kit includes a noisy shaker, fashioned from tin cans. “The Mwakimas, my community, are very happy about that method,” said Samim. “It is not heavy, so you can carry it and produce the sound that disturbs the elephant and deters it from your farm.”
Elephants are highly intelligent and sentient beings. “The way they react to human encounters can be affected by a range of factors – from food and water availability to time of day and light levels,” said Laura Eastwood. “Whatever the circumstances, how humans react in return and protect their crops plays a key role in determining the end result. By focussing on increased understanding of the benefits of particular, and consistent behaviour from local communities, we can reduce the chances of human and elephant injuries, creating a situation in which elephants are less likely to become aggressive.”
“This must be balanced by the need to use multiple deterrents to protect crops,” added Dr Nikki Tagg, Born Free’s Head of Conservation. “Elephants can otherwise become habituated to the methods, which become less effective. This is the beginnings of a pivotal shift in human attitudes towards elephants and the increased safety of neighbouring communities in Meru. Giving hope that, with continued efforts, we may begin to see a more harmonious coexistence, in which crop destruction, elephant and human fatalities are significantly reduced.”
Thanks to our partners at No Strings International for their support in developing the elephant behaviour workshops.
NO STRINGS INTERNATIONAL
