When Zoo Elephants Are Rewilded in Africa, Here’s How Good Their Coping Skills Are

Rewilded elephants on Khamab Kalahari Reserve – Elephant Reintegration Trust of South Africa / SWNS

New research shows that elephants develop successful coping mechanisms when returning to the wild from human captivity.

In fact, the team found that “rewilded” elephants can fit quite well within wildlife systems and readapt—even after long-term captivity.

For the new study, a team from the Elephant Reintegration Trust of South Africa examined the behavioral and physiological responses of 11 formerly-captive elephants which had been released onto four different reserves.

For five years each elephant was observed for three weeks at a time at least once annually.

The team looked for indicators that the elephants might be uncomfortable in their wild surroundings and for behaviors that might be “hold-overs” from their time in captivity, such as conflict or confrontation.

The findings showed that, overall, rewilded elephants behaved “very similarly” to their wild neighbors.

Fecal samples collected to test for signs of metabolic stress showed levels within the normal range for wild elephants.

“What I found most fascinating was watching elephants that had spent decades in captivity adapt so successfully to life in the wild,” said co-author Tenisha Roos.

“Seeing them respond to their environment and function much like wild elephants was truly awe-inspiring and a powerful reminder of their remarkable resilience, adaptability, and behavioral flexibility.”

Credit – Glen Carrie / Unsplash

The differences may reflect their previous captive experiences, social circumstances, environmental conditions, and tourism or management pressures, according to the research team.

They say their findings, published in the journal PLOS One, show that rewilded elephants behave “very similarly” to their wild counterparts, despite some consistent differences—suggesting that they have adapted well to their return to wild habitats.

The research team also noted a high degree of variability in behavior between individual rewilded elephants, but that might be related to each animal’s personality.

Each elephant likely found their own unique ways to cope with their relocation.

The 11 animals in the study represent more than 50% of the rewilded elephant population across South Africa so far.

“While a few elephants showed slightly elevated stress biomarkers, all values remained within the normal range for wild populations, indicating successful adaptation—with no evidence of chronic stress.”

Andy Rouse captured antics of Kenyan family of elephants – SWNS

Co-author Tammy Eggeling said: “Although previously-captive elephants may carry the memories of confinement, our research has shown that, when given the opportunity, they can leave that past behind.

“They are able to learn new skills, adapt to unfamiliar environments, and ultimately thrive as wild elephants.”

Co-author Brett Mitchell added: “The data from this project show that when captive elephants are rewilded and given the opportunity, they can regain full autonomy and re-establish natural patterns of movement and behavior.“Through this research, we are also seeing that rewilded elephants can make a meaningful contribution to the conservation of their species.” When Zoo Elephants Are Rewilded in Africa, Here’s How Good Their Coping Skills Are

Read More........→August 17, 2026

Mozambique ‘sky island’ expeditions found 4 new species of chameleon – already at risk from forest loss

Male sylvan chameleon (Nadzikambia goodallae) from Mount Ribáuè, Mozambique. Krystal Tolley, CC BY Krystal Tolley, University of Johannesburg

Tropical rainforests are known for their unique biodiversity, with species found nowhere else on Earth. But nearly 30% of tropical rainforest has been destroyed or has become seriously degraded since 1990. Many of these forests have not been fully explored for their biodiversity. This means that the world may be losing species before they are even discovered by modern science.

In Africa, forest loss is rapid; about 25% of the continent’s tropical forest has been lost since 1990, against a backdrop of incomplete knowledge of where the biodiversity is located.

Greatly lagging in this respect are the “sky islands” of northern Mozambique: isolated granite mountains that rise sharply out of the savanna plains. They were left standing when softer rock around them gradually eroded, and can be as high as 3,000 metres elevation. Because they rise so steeply, the sky islands attract clouds and rainfall, feeding moisture to the tropical rainforests on their slopes within an otherwise arid terrain. Isolation has allowed unique species to evolve on each mountain, such as geckos, rodents, fishes, crabs, frogs, butterflies and bats.

Mount Inago. Krystal Tolley, CC BY

Small patch of remaining pristine rainforest at Mount Inago. Krystal Tolley, CC BY

From 2014 to 2018, a research team led by fellow herpetologist Werner Conradie and myself explored these sky island forests to catalogue the species of reptiles found there. We found that each sky island forest is home to a previously unknown species of chameleon within the genus Nadzikambia (forest-dwelling “sylvan chameleons”).

Unfortunately, these chameleons are already at risk of extinction due to the heavy slash-and-burn clearing of the forests, the only place they can call home.

We’ve described these new species, choosing four names to highlight pioneering women scientists whose work inspired us to strive towards new discoveries, but also to call attention to the losses of their forest habitat.

Hunting for chameleons

Over the course of several years, we explored four of Mozambique’s sky islands – Mount Namuli, Mount Inago, Mount Chiperone and Mount Ribáuè – with the aim of cataloguing all reptiles but also in the hopes of finding new species of chameleons. This was because a species of sylvan chameleon had been discovered on one of these mountains during the 1960s, but they were not known from any other mountains.

However, chameleons can be very difficult to find, given their ability to remain camouflaged against the background coupled with their slow movements. They are more easily spotted at night while they are sleeping, as they stand out against the vegetation when illuminated by a strong beam of light. Sylvan chameleons are even more difficult to spot than others, as they usually perch high in the thick forest canopy – tens of metres up.

The search meant dealing with some tough conditions: a long, arduous trek up the hot, arid slopes to reach the forest high up the mountain. Establishing a remote base camp was essential. All food, clothes and gear had to be packed into the camp, and we didn’t know how long it would take to find any animals.

At each of these mountains, we surveyed every night for chameleons – no trails to follow, no GPS signal to guide us, no cellphone signal to call for help.

Sometimes we were lucky and found chameleons on the first or second night. At other mountains we were not so lucky, with fruitless searches making it necessary to return another year.

Eventually these mountains revealed their secrets and we discovered four new species of sylvan chameleon, one on each of the four mountains.

Slash-and-burn clearing of rainforest at Mount Inago. Krystal Tolley, CC BY

We don’t know how big their populations are, but we assume they are in decline. Most of their habitat has been destroyed by forest clearing to make way for agriculture, with increasingly rapid losses in the last decade. We estimate that in some cases, 80%-90% of their habitat has been destroyed.

When parts of an ecosystem are lost, the whole becomes unstable and is eventually lost.

Choosing names for the new species

To highlight their predicament, we have described and named these chameleons and have forecast that three of these species are at high risk of extinction.

In particular, we highlight Nadzikambia goodallae from Mount Ribáuè. This species has been named in honour of the distinguished scientist Jane Goodall, whose own study species, the chimpanzee, is under similar pressures from loss of its rainforest habitat.

Female sylvan chameleon (Nadzikambia goodallae) from Mount Ribáuè. Krystal Tolley, CC BY

We also honour the renowned discoverer of the structure of DNA, Rosalind Franklin, by naming the species from Mount Namuli as Nadzikambia franklinae. The use of DNA data from these chameleons was essential to confirm them as new species.

Nadzikambia franklinae from Mount Namuli. Werner Conradie, CC BY

We have dubbed the species from Mount Inago as Nadzikambia evanescens, meaning “vanishing” in Latin, acknowledging the state of the forest destruction.

Male sylvan chameleon (Nadzikambia evanescens) from Mount Inago. Krystal Tolley, CC BY

The final species, Nadzikambia nubila, is named for the cloudy aspect of Mount Chiperone. This species has a lower risk of extinction given that the local community view the forest as sacred, and say it should be protected.

Female sylvan chameleon (Nadzikambia nubila) from Mount Chiperone. Krystal Tolley, CC BY

This latter case is significant, as it demonstrates that wholesale destruction of these forests is not an essential trade-off for local people to thrive. If encouraged and supported, community support and buy-in can be a solution to protect biodiversity in these sensitive ecosystems.

Krystal Tolley, Principal Scientist, University of Johannesburg

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Read More........→April 27, 2026