A herd of African elephants moves through the savannah landscape of Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe. Photo Credit: ZimParks

NNA News - Six African savannah elephants have been fitted with GPS-enabled satellite collars in and around Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park, bringing to 30 the number of elephants monitored under an ongoing conservation programme, according to the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).

The latest collaring operation, which concluded on Tuesday, involved three female and three male elephants and was carried out by the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) in collaboration with IFAW, with funding from the Dutch Postcode Lottery. The collars transmit location data via satellite, allowing conservation teams to monitor elephant movements and gather information on how the animals use areas inside and beyond protected land.

IFAW said the data can help conservation teams identify areas where human-wildlife conflict could occur, while supporting the development of early warning systems, wildlife corridors and longer-term land use planning. “This work demonstrates how science and technology can strengthen conservation efforts,” said Phillip Kuvawoga, IFAW's senior director for the landscape conservation programme. “Every collar helps us better understand elephant movements and develop practical solutions that reduce conflict and protect this iconic species,” he said.

The latest operation builds on a collaring programme that IFAW and ZimParks have been conducting in the wider Hwange landscape. In April 2025, IFAW said eight elephants had been fitted with satellite collars, taking the number collared by the two organisations since early 2024 to 16. The organisation said the technology allowed conservationists to monitor elephant movements in community areas surrounding Hwange and support responses to human-elephant conflict. The programme forms part of IFAW's Room to Roam initiative, which seeks to reconnect fragmented wildlife habitats and support movement across wider landscapes.

Previous IFAW research in the Hwange area has highlighted the importance of monitoring elephants as they move through human-dominated areas around the national park. The organisation has said information from satellite collars can help identify potential conflict hotspots and inform land use and conservation decisions.

Conservation teams work around a sedated elephant during a collaring operation in the Hwange landscape in Zimbabwe. Photo Credit: ZimParks

Hwange National Park is Zimbabwe's largest national park, covering about 14,650 square kilometres. ZimParks describes it as home to the country's largest elephant population. Zimbabwe's Elephant Management Plan for 2026 to 2036 estimates that Hwange had about 42,157 elephants in 2022. The wider north-western Matabeleland region was estimated to have 61,468 elephants, although the plan notes that these figures are based on earlier surveys and are being provisionally retained in the absence of a current countrywide survey.

The tracking programme comes as Zimbabwe continues to address human wildlife conflict in areas where elephants and other wildlife move between protected areas and communities. ZimParks reported that human-wildlife conflict remained a concern in 2025, with Hwange among the districts identified as hotspots. The authority said elephants were among the species most frequently involved in reported incidents and highlighted preventive measures including early warning systems and geofencing.

The new satellite collars are expected to provide additional movement data that can be used alongside other conservation information to understand elephant behaviour and support management decisions across the wider Hwange landscape.