Volunteer At An Elephant Sanctuary In Africa


The thought of an African Elephant often conjures up a romantic image of a herd of the gentle giants strolling across a grassy Savannah. Here at the Great Projects, we can offer you the chance to experience this incredible sight up close whilst also aiding in the conservation efforts of the African Elephant.

These elephant volunteer projects are designed to not only assess the numbers of the 'Desert' elephants present in a region, but the end goal is to also contribute to achieving human-elephant co-existence by creating a win-win sustainable future for all. Without elephant conservation volunteers, the issues that these giants are facing will never go away and elephant populations will suffer as a result.

We can offer you the chance to learn more about these incredible animals in their natural environment in large, open reserves, which act as a sanctuary in which these elephants can live safely and happily. The work here differs as rather than working with the elephants directly, you will be working to quash the issues that these animals face every day, namely habitat degradation and conflict with locals, and the work you will be doing will be invaluable to help ensure a future for the elephants in the area.

Projects Do More

Signature Tours See More

Elephants At A Glance

ENDANGERED STATUS
Endangered
NUMBER REMAINING IN THE WILD
Asian -40,000 – 50,000, African – 470,000
ENDEMIC REGION
Africa and Asia

How Endangered are elephants

Throughout the whole of the 1980's, it was thought that there were up to 100,000 African elephants being killed each and every year, and this number is really put into context when you realise that at the turn of the century there were anywhere between 3-5 million African elephants on the planet. Today there are only around 470,000.

This drop in numbers is staggering and completely unsustainable, and if something is not done soon the animals could disappear altogether.

Threats Elephants Are Facing

Elephants are facing threats from a number of different sources. The main threats are:

  • Habitat Loss – more and more of the elephant's homeland is being encroached by humans, leaving them fewer places to gather food and water.
  • Illegal Ivory Trade – The demand for ivory from elephant tusks is showing no signs of slowing up.
  • Human-Elephant Conflict – As humans encroach on the elephants land, the two parties often come into conflict.
Fast Facts
  • Elephants purr like cats do, as a means of communication.

  • Elephants have four molars, one on the top and one on the bottom on both sides of the mouth. One molar can weigh about five pounds and is the size of a brick!

  • Elephants use their feet to listen. They have been known to pick up sub-sonic rumblings made by other elephants, through vibrations in the ground.
Where you can go
Contact Info
UK Office
The Great Traveller Ltd,
3 Dairy Yard
Star Street
Ware, Hertfordshire
SG12 7DX
United Kingdom

Opening hours:
   Mon-Fri 8:30am–5:30pm
   Sat 10am-4pm

T: +44(0) 208 885 4987