A voice from the wilderness: My life with elephants

I’m not sure how old I was, but I remember the first time I saw an elephant in the wild. I was totally mesmerised.

Now fast forward after three decades of working as a professional safari guide in Africa, my feelings have not changed. And along the way my career and special interests as a guide and naturalist have been intertwined with elephant awareness and conservation. There seems to be an elephant around every corner for me. My life and elephants (and elephant awareness) cannot be separated.

Secrets of elephants

#1 Amazing intelligence

When it comes to explaining this, permit me to first unpack an elephant. Firstly, they are incredibly intelligent. More than you may first realise. Their large lumbering bulk as the biggest land mammal on earth may be misleading and belie an advanced sentience. They show human-like levels of empathy and compassion for one another.

This may be a stretch to believe, but did you know that information about secluded waterholes or primary grazing areas are passed down from generation to generation for many years. They are known to partially chew wads of grass and feed older herd members who can no longer chew as they have lost their teeth.

#2 Various emotions

Secondly, they are emotional. Elephant hold funeral rituals and grieve their dead, often returning to the site for years afterwards. Furthermore, they show the equivalent symptoms of PTSD that humans do, and suffer from nightmares.

#3 Complex communication

Thirdly, they are complex. Elephant communication consists mostly of low frequency subsonic energy waves that can travel for vast distances through the earth. The infrasound is received via an elephant’s feet and tip of the trunk, which contain highly advanced mechanoreceptor tissue. The infrasound is not just noice either as it contains highly sophisticated messages and an obvious vocabulary.

#4 Ecological keystone function

Fourthly, they are ecological keystones. This means that the activities of elephant create habitat and opportunity for countless other life forms. This through thinning out of trees, plant regrowth, opening up of waterholes and copious amount of fertiliser they produce through their dung.

Therefore, they are critical components of a vibrant and healthy system. But they are also keystone to a greater awareness and through their special sentiency they are capable of platforming a greater appreciation of other wild animals and natural processes. It’s easy to fall in love with an elephant, and then it is easy to fall in love with other animals, and a greater concept of environmental conservation.

#5 Elephants and their own personality

Fifthly, they have challenged the boundaries of science. Because of their remarkably high degrees of sentiency, scientists now acknowledge the ‘personality factor’ when analysing elephant behaviour. Their actions are not automated and vary according to their personalities, moods, requirements, herd dynamics, climatic conditions or stress levels. They are perhaps a bridge over which we all could cross toward a greater connection with other life on our planet, as well as its right to survive. Not to mention the critical value of biodiversity.

#6 A flagship species

Sixthly, they are an iconic and dynamic species and one of the lead characters in a multi-million-dollar annual tourism revenue stream into Africa. Who would NOT want to see an elephant on a safari?

In many parts of my continent, this is a keystone source of income for local communities, so my discussion needs to also include social benefit, education, healthcare and franchise.

Endangered giants

And lastly, if not most importantly, they are endangered animals and require a great deal of public awareness. Like their natures, elephant conservation is equally as complex and I have made it my life’s work to showcase this.

This through sharing the wonders of elephants and their remarkable behaviour. Through exposing the calamitous ivory trade that has decimated the African elephant population by 95% in a hundred years. Through unravelling the causes of human/elephant conflict that occur in some regions and trying to find solutions.

Through meaningful encounters with wild elephants my vision is to re-establish an accurate, appreciative and empathetic understanding of why elephants are crucial components of not only the African landscape, but for the well-being of us all.

Let's Safari!
Alan McSmith