Elephants

An elephant at Moremi Game Reserve in Maun, Botswana.

Five Things to Know About Botswana’s Decision to Lift Ban on Hunting Elephants

The move has been criticized by conservationists but lauded by locals who say wild elephants are ruining their livelihoods

When TrailGuard spots unknown persons or vehicles entering a nature reserve, it immediately alerts nearby rangers

New AI Camera Helps Conservationists Spot Elephant Poachers

TrailGuard AI uses machine learning to sort through images in real-time and identify relevant threats

A new exhibition featuring rare books from the Smithsonian Libraries examines the complex history and evolution of big game hunting.

The Complicated History of the Human and Elephant Relationship

With the new exhibition, “Game Change,” Smithsonian Libraries delves into 150 years of hunting and conservation

The intricate network of crevices seen on the African elephant's skin helps it retain moisture and stay cool

How African Elephants Get Their Wrinkles

The animal's crevice-filled skin helps keep it cool and shares a surprising set of similarities with the human skin disease ichthyosis vulgaris

New genetic evidence confirms that ivory poaching in Africa involves only a few powerful players who consolidate the goods for illegal trade abroad.

How DNA Testing Could Bring Down Ivory Trade’s Biggest Criminals

Genetic testing exposes three major cartels illegally trafficking ivory out of several African countries

87 Elephants Found Dead Near Botswana Sanctuary

A report attributed the killings to a “poaching frenzy”

Sniffer Dogs Represent the Latest Weapon in the Fight Against the Illegal Ivory Trade

A new system at Kenya's port of Mombasa allows dogs to detect elephant tusk, rhino horn and other illegal goods with one quick sniff

Elephants, which can weigh up to 100 times as much as humans, should be riddled with cancer—but they aren't.

Cancer Is One Worry Elephants Can Feel Free to Forget

The gentle giants' cells contain a tumor-fighting self-destruct button.

Walrus-tusk wealth

Greenland's Vikings Got Wealthy Off Walrus Tusks

New DNA study reveals how the Norse Greenlanders cornered the market on ivory in Europe

Wild-caught elephants live shorter lives and reproduce poorly in captivity

Captured Elephants Die Up to Seven Years Sooner Than Those Bred in Captivity

Myanmar's wild-captured elephants exhibited median lifespan three to seven years shorter than that of captive-born creatures

Elephants relax at the Jejane watering hole, with no bees in sight.

How the Scent of Angry Bees Could Protect Elephants

A new study shows elephants fear bee pheromones, and this fact could keep the pachyderms out of crops

Why This Elephant in India Is Blowing Smoke

It's likely the puffing pachyderm is eating ash-covered charcoal as a form of self-medication to flush out toxins

Zoo curator Bryan Amaral expects Spike will play nice with the other elephants. "For a bull elephant," he says, "Spike's a pretty amenable guy."

Meet Spike, the Affable Asian Bull Elephant Trucked Up From Florida to Join the National Zoo

With a new male elephant in the mix, zookeepers are hopeful babies will soon be on the way

U.S. Lifts Ban on the Import of African Elephant Trophies

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has said that it will now evaluate big-game permits on a ‘case-by-case basis’

Thousands of years ago, a herd of Columbian mammoths trudged across present-day Oregon to an ancient lake, recording their interactions in the muddy sediments.

Rare Mammoth Tracks Reveal an Intimate Portrait of Herd Life

Researchers piece together a 43,000-years-old tableau of an injured adult and concerned young

Wildlife Trade Researcher Esmond Bradley Martin Found Murdered in Kenya

He helped shine a light on the shadowy trade of ivory and rhino horns

Hong Kong Will Phase Out Ivory Trade by 2021

Conservationists hope the ban will help preserve the dwindling elephant populations

China Brings an End to Its Ivory Trade

The country is believed to have been one of the world’s largest markets for ivory products

Lawsuit Seeks "Personhood" for Three Connecticut Elephants

An animal advocacy group has filed a petition requesting that the elephants be removed from a traveling zoo

This cartoon was published on November 7, 1874, in 'Harper's Weekly.'

The Third-Term Controversy That Gave the Republican Party Its Symbol

The elephant and the donkey as symbols for America's biggest political parties date back to the 1800s and this controversy

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