Elephants: following connections across a landscape

Etosha National Park, Namibia: African savanna elephants drinking.
Etosha National Park, Namibia: African savanna elephants drinking. Giles Laurent · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
South Africa: an elephant herd beside water.
South Africa: an elephant herd beside water. cocoparisienne · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

A photograph of elephants approaching water shows one moment in a longer journey. Seasons, roads, farms and other water sources lie beyond its frame.

Understand the context

African savanna elephants and African forest elephants are separate species. WWF discusses their roles in seed dispersal and shaping their surroundings, alongside habitat loss and fragmentation. Conservation considers movement between areas as well as food and water within an area.

Try a learning activity

  1. Sketch a water point, feeding area, road and farm.
  2. Suggest two possible routes and one uncertainty for each.
  3. Add the perspective of a farmer living beside the route.
  4. Turn a proposed solution into questions that require local knowledge.

Reflect on the evidence

Compare your record with the source. Which details did you observe directly, which did you learn from the reading, and which remain uncertain? Keep those answers separate. Add the place, date and method when they are known; a short observation or a single photograph does not describe an entire landscape.

Reading source: WWF — African elephants.

Learning activity prepared by Living Heritage. Source review date retained from the original editorial record: 29 September 2026. This activity is an educational exercise, not a scientific survey or a field intervention plan.