NAIROBI, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Wildlife conservationists in Kenya said on Thursday that they collared 20 elephants using satellite technology to help monitor movement, reduce conflict and beef up security operations in Kenya's world famous Tsavo ecosystem.
A team of scientists, researchers and veterinarians from Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) with support from Save the Elephants (STE) and the Tsavo Trust (TT) fitted with 10 bulls and 10 females with advanced Savannah Tracking satellite radio tracking collars.
"Twenty elephants in the Tsavo Conservation Area were fitted with advanced satellite radio tracking collars in the period between Jan. 29-Feb. 4 in a joint operation by the KWS with support from Save the Elephants (STE) and the Tsavo Trust (TT)," KWS said in a statement issued in Nairobi.
The operation covered over 1,290 kilometers and involved technical personnel from KWS, STE and TT on ground and on air.
The Tsavo ecosystem is home to over 12,000 elephants which is the largest elephant population in Kenya
KWS said one of the collared elephants crossed the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) twice two days after he was collared thus confirming the collared elephants will provide valuable data to inform land use planning and infrastructural development.
According to KWS, tracking elephant movements in the Tsavo Conservation Area helps to gather valuable insights on elephant ranging patterns, habitat connectivity and how they adapt to infrastructure development thus enhance their conservation and management of elephants within the landscape.
"In a nod to Hong Kong's historic decision to close down its ivory market, announced during the Tsavo collaring operation, a matriarch elephant was named EQ after Hong Kong MP Elizabeth Quat, popularly known as EQ, who helped lead the people and government of Hong Kong to understand the impacts of ivory trade and to take action against it," KWS said.
The Tsavo collaring operation followed a similar expedition in the Tsavo Ecosystem in 2016 to understand movements of elephants across the SGR railway.
