Elsa studied environmental engineering and agronomy in France prior continuing with wildlife research in the field of statistical ecology and wildlife demographics at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. She worked on large herbivores in Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe, on bird atlas data and African Penguins in Cape Town, on brown hyenas in the Namib and the Kalahari Deserts, and on the mammal community of the Klein Karoo in South Africa. She also worked as a freelance nature writer, publishing illustrated articles for various magazines in South Africa and France. After a first Post-Doctorate, Elsa joined AP in December 2018 and is since based in Fada, in North-East Chad.