What we do - Volunteer work with elephants

Namibia is one of the only countries in the world that has a growing elephant population. While most people agree that this is a good thing, it also causes problems for the people that live in the areas the elephants are returning to.

Windmill broken by elephants

Elephants are moving further and further south every year. Land that used to be privately owned and fenced off has been opened up and turned into conservancies. This allows elephants (as well as other large animals) to roam freely around large parts of the country.

These changes have happened very rapidly and people living in the areas now frequented by elephants are experiencing problems through the destruction of windmills and water dams, invariably in the search for water.

As the elephants are still adapting to their new found freedom and the vast areas of land now open to them, their movements and habits are still transient and largely unknown.

Repaired and protected windmill

EHRA works directly with the local community in protecting vulnerable structures from damage. EHRA believes education is an important tool in safe guarding the future of desert elephants and therefore also helps in supporting local schools with efforts ranging from rebuilding toilets and showers to building a computer network from donated computers, to educating pupils on the environment, local ecosystem and in particular the desert elephants.

Tracking and monitoring the herds is another important function EHRA performs enabling us to compile identikits of local herds and bulls and to map their movement patterns. Through this knowledge we are able to assist the Ministry of Environment
and Tourism with solving problems the elephants create.

Our volunteer project is real spearhead conservation. Consisting of building defensive measures around vulnerable structures as well as joining EHRA members out on patrol, helping monitor the elephants.
For more information see our volunteer information page.