I may have watched one too many Disney princess movies, but I’ve always dreamed of being able to connect with animals on a deeper level. For years I stood in the garden, my outstretched arm aching from patiently waiting for a bird or butterfly to rest upon my finger. After watching Born Free, I was convinced that I would one day be a game ranger with a lion as my sidekick (and a cooler name than Elsa). Even though life had other plans for me, I still dream of that special connection with a wild animal.
With the technology available today, it seems you can do almost anything with an app – even track elephants. Take for example, Ellie, one of the gentle giants of the Kruger National Park. With the new app developed by Amarula, you can watch her eat, sleep, roam around, and generally go about her daily life.
Although this may not live up to my fantasies about physically being around wildlife, it’s a great virtual start. And one day when I see Ellie or one of the other magnificent creatures in real life, I know I will be grinning like a 5 year old girl who just had a butterfly land on her finger!
Ellie is one of 6 female elephants who wear special collars that carry GPS devices, as part of a field study conducted by the Amarula Elephant Research Programme (AERP) under the leadership of Prof. Rob Slotow of the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN). The AERP, recognised as a global authority on African elephant behaviour, has been running since 2002 and is funded by the non-profit Amarula Trust. The elephants have been selected from various herds throughout the Kruger Park, allowing researchers to observe several areas. The elephants are briefly sedated by a vet and then collared. Once they have recovered from the short sedation, they return their herds and are tracked by GPS.
By downloading the Amarula Elephant Tracker Facebook app, visitors can track these elephants through images and video footage. Not only will you have some idea of what it would be like to be amongst them in the wild, you will also learn some very interesting facts about elephant behaviour. Users can share information about the elephants on their Facebook Timeline, compare the ones they “adopt”, and create a whole community.
Siobhan Thompson, the brand’s global spokesperson, says, “It’s like entering a game park and making friends with your favourites. You can give them names you think suit their personalities. You can observe their similarities and their differences.”
She went on to say that the online tracking tool was a novel and fun way to highlight the valuable work of the AERP, established to promote conservation of the African elephant in the wild and to facilitate the development of conservation management plans for key elephant populations. “We have made elephants the focus of Amarula’s research programme as they take absolute delight in eating marula fruits.”
The GPS devices record the elephants’ movements at 30-minute intervals, allowing researchers to monitor when they eat, sleep, turn, and move. Thomspon explains, “Knowing these details helps to understand how they are responding to the current climate, their fellow herd members and perhaps even elephants from other herds. They can be observed in their reaction to the competition for food, to fencing and other boundaries, to the impact of tourists and other local conditions. Watching gives many critical insights for developing conservation strategies.”
Visit www.amarula.com or www.facebook.com/amarula for more on Amarula.
Have you ever dreamed of roaming with a wild animal?
Images courtesy of Amarula
