Collaring of six elephants in Akagera National Park

Akagera began an elephant monitoring project last week with six elephants being collared over a four-day period. The project was guided by Dr. Pete Morkel, an experienced vet from South Africa, with the support of Akagera staff.  Four male and two female elephants from areas across the park were selected for collaring.  The project will enable the park management to monitor the range of their movements over time with the aim of protecting the elephant population from any risk of poaching. The project was funded by private conservation supporters who came to witness the exercise.

The elephants were located by helicopter before the ground team moved in and darted the individual elephants, fitted the GPS collars, recorded the specific measurements of each and took DNA samples for further analysis.

These six individuals are now closely monitored by Akagera staff; the GPS collars will last for 2 years.