Tarangire Elephant Project
 2012
marked the sixth year that the Zoo has provided substantial support totaling
three million dollars to the
Tarangire Elephant Project and its director, Dr.
Charles Foley (pictured on the right), for his amazing work to fit
together the puzzle of establishing corridors through rapidly expanding
settlement areas in Tarangire (Tanzania) so that elephants and humans can
live side-by-side. The impact of this support has been outstanding. Through the comprehensive strategy that Dr. Foley has implemented, his team
has come to know and be able to identify more than 700 of the 2,500
elephants living in Tarangire National Park.
 Agreements
with villages have resulted in the establishment of corridors through
village lands to allow the elephants to move out of the Park into calving
grounds vital to the long term survival of the population. The Zoo's
support pays for the game scouts that track these elephants, as well as
travel and communication with the local villagers to maintain these
easements.
A unique
fundraiser that involved the 2012 Super Bowl netted
nearly $100,000 in additional funding for the is project from the Zoo. Dr.
Foley plans to begin using these funds in 2013 for a whole new
tracking project that will greatly enhance the researcher's
ability to determine the migratory patterns of the elephants.
For a comprehensive report on the Tarangire Elephant
Project's work in 2012,
read their annual report!
Photo by Mike Crowther
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