The Colossal Foundation has partnered with Elephant Havens Wildlife Foundation, the only elephant orphanage in Botswana, to establish a new model for reintroducing orphan elephants back into the wild. This initiative aims to leverage artificial intelligence (A.I.) to study and compare the behaviors of orphaned and wild elephants, providing insights into elephant social dynamics and informing more effective reintroduction strategies for the species.
Together, The Colossal Foundation and Elephant Havens will deploy machine learning algorithms to analyze video data, allowing for an in-depth study of elephant herd dynamics. This approach is expected to reveal additional behavioral markers, offering a detailed understanding of the physical and social development of orphan elephants. These insights will help establish a better paradigm for reintroducing orphan elephant herds into their natural habitats.
In addition to behavioral analysis, researchers will perform genomic sequencing on all elephants at Elephant Havens to understand population genomics and measure specific traits of interest at established stages of the elephants’ development. By generating a comprehensive dataset, this project will facilitate cross-population comparisons and assist in identifying gene-trait correlations, providing valuable insights into the biology and behavior of elephants.