Collaring Giants: Elephant Collaring in Tanzania’s Mkomazi Region

This October, Kazi Ya Tembo was thrilled to host the exceptional team from Wild Spirit Vets for a vital elephant collaring project in Tanzania. Working in close partnership with the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (TAWIRI) and the Tanzania National Parks Authority (TANAPA), we set out to collar three adult bull elephants.

Why Collaring Elephants Matters

October in northern Tanzania is a month of heat, dust, and golden light. For the Kazi ya Tembo team, it was also a time of action. Our mission was a conservation first; carefully selecting the elephants we wanted to collar. This was a strategic intervention aimed at reducing human-elephant conflict, safeguarding communities, and protecting the elephants themselves.

However, not all elephants need collars. At Kazi Ya Tembo, we’re guided by a simple principle: collaring should serve a clear purpose. That’s why we focused only on elephants who posed a recurring risk to people—those who raid crops, damage property, or wander into villages. Elephants moving peacefully through wildlife corridors or residing deep within national parks are left undisturbed.

Our goal was straightforward: to carry out an ambitious elephant collaring mission in Tanzania, focusing on three troublesome bull elephants who had been known to venture into farms and villages. Bulls are notoriously independent and stubborn – more likely than family herds to push boundaries, raid crops. Once they have located farms, they live up to their stubborn nature and can be more difficult to move as they can ignore the buzz of our thermal imaging drones. These elephants are simply following instinct, seeking food and water in a landscape increasingly shaped by human activity. However, their frequent forays into human areas put both animals and humans at risk.

These GPS collars will act as an early-warning system for Kaz ya Tembo. GPS collars allow researchers and rangers to monitor elephant movements in real time, providing critical data on migration patterns, habitat use, and – most importantly in this case- proximity to human settlements. By tracking known crop-raiders, we can detect when they begin moving toward human areas and intervene with drones before they reach farms and villages. It’s a proactive, humane way to reduce human-elephant conflict and keep both people and wildlife safe. This kind of elephant collaring in Tanzania plays a vital role in balancing conservation and community safety.

A Partnership in Action

The October 2025 collaring operation was a truly international effort. Alongside our Kazia Tembo team were veterinarians from Wild Spirits Vets, including colleagues from the United States, working hand in hand with TANAPA and TAWIRI.

To accomplish the mission, we deployed two teams working in tandem:

• A helicopter team, carrying the vets, equipped with the collaring and darting equipment, who would locate and safely immobilize the elephants from the air and one of our drone pilots who would help to identify the elephants we wanted to collar.
• A ground team, following below in vehicles, carrying the rest of the vets, trackers, ready to take samples and measurements.

From the moment the helicopter’s blades started turning, the operation became a precise dance of timing, communication, and navigation — a true showcase of coordinated elephant collaring in Tanzania’s rugged terrain.

Into the Sky

Whilst the helicopter scouted from above, the ground crew bumped their way through dusty riverbeds and navigated their way round thick thorn bushes, anxiously holding their breath hopeful for a sighting before the heat of the day sent elephants retreating to the shade of the thick acacia forests. From above, spotting elephants is easier than it is from the ground, where thick bush can hide even a five-ton giant.

Once the right elephant was identified, the vet on board used a dart gun loaded with a carefully measured immobilizing agent. From the air, the darting process is faster and safer for both elephants and people, but it demands precision. Within minutes, the elephant slowed, his massive frame gently sinking beneath the thorn trees.

As soon as the bull was safely down, the helicopter touched down nearby, and the ground team began racing across the uneven terrain to reach them. Sometimes that was easier said than done!

The Challenge of the Ground Team

The Mkomazi bush is thick with acacia forests, and not all areas are vehicle accessible. Our ground team often had to navigate through deep sand, rocky gullies, and patches of bush so dense that even the 4x4s struggled.

On one occasion, the helicopter darted a bull in a particularly difficult spot – too far in for the ground vehicles to reach in time. It’s a disappointing moment for those on the ground when the communication crackles with “we can’t get through.” However, our helicopter team were fully equipped for such situations. They carried field kits with everything needed to take vital samples and measurements: blood, ticks, and body dimensions and most importantly, the essential collar. These samples contribute valuable information to Tanzania’s elephant health and genetics monitoring programs.

While the ground team circled, looking for another access route, the vets worked efficiently, collecting essential data and fitting the collar before administering the reversal drug and watching the bull rise again, and disappear into the bush.

Tomato, the One-Tusked Legend

Fortunately, most of the time the ground team and helicopter were able to meet at the collaring site – and that’s how we met an elephant called Tomato.

He was a 50-year-old bull with a single tusk and an unmistakable presence. The locals knew him well; he was famous (or perhaps infamous) for raiding their tomato farms, hence the nickname. When the helicopter team identified him from above, everyone knew this was one of the elephants we’d come for.

Once darted, our vehicles pushed through the scrub as fast as the terrain allowed, racing to meet the helicopter circling overhead. When we finally reached him, the vets were already checking vital signs and setting up the collar. Coming face to face with one of these majestic giants is awe inspiring!

Fitting a GPS collar on an animal that size is a feat of logistics — it takes several people to manoeuvre the thick, heavy strap into place. As the locking mechanism clicked shut and the GPS unit came online, a cheer rippled through the team and the gathered villagers who had followed the commotion. For them, Tomato wasn’t just an elephant; he was part of their story and collaring him symbolized a step toward peaceful coexistence.

When the reversal drug took effect, he rose slowly, flapped his ears, and rumbled low before fading into the trees – a gentle giant, now connected to a system that would help protect both him and the people whose tomatoes he loved a little too much.

An Unexpected Addition

Our plan was to collar three bulls, but the mission took an unexpected and important turn when we encountered a breeding herd that had been behaving unusually. Normally, family groups are easily moved away by the thermal imaging drones -protective of their calves, they respond quickly to the buzzing presence overhead.

This herd, however, had become a growing challenge for our pilots. They seemed completely unbothered by the drones and had been approaching farms more boldly than usual, led by their dauntless matriarch.

After careful observation and discussion with the vets, we decided to collar a female from this herd too, so that her movements could be monitored and her herd managed more effectively. Once the helicopter located the herd, they observed that the matriarch had a newly born calf and it would be too distressing to her calf if we darted her mother. Fortunately, collaring one female in a breeding herd is the same as collaring all of them as they live in close family groups throughout their lives and the GPS location of one elephant also tells us the location of the rest of her family! The vets selected a candidate to collar.

Once darted and examined, we discovered something remarkable – she was pregnant! Watching the vets work with such care, ensuring both mother and calf were safe, was profoundly moving. When she finally stood again, calm and steady, and began walking back to her herd with her new collar gleaming in the sunlight, we all felt the quiet power of that moment. It wasn’t just a scientific victory – it was a promise for the future of her and her family.

Reflections from the Field

By the end of the operation, we had successfully collared two bulls and one female. Each collar now transmits vital location data back to the Kazia Tembo monitoring team, allowing us to detect when these elephants approach community lands. That early warning means our drone pilots can intervene before conflict begins – saving crops, reducing risk, and protecting lives on both sides.

This mission would not have been possible without the incredible support and funding from Wild Spirits Vets. Their contribution not only made the project possible, but their experienced and deeply knowledgeable veterinary team was invaluable in every step of the process – from aerial darting and on-the-ground care to data collection and sample handling. Working alongside such dedicated professionals was a privilege, and their passion for wildlife conservation shone through every challenge and success of this mission.

Looking back, what stands out most is the sheer collaboration it took to make the mission possible: the Wild Spirits Vets from abroad, the TANAPA and TAWIRI vets representing Tanzania’s wildlife authorities, our skilled pilots, rangers, and the local communities who supported every step.

As we packed up camp at the end of October, dusty, tired but deeply satisfied with what we had accomplished. Conservation in places like Mkomazi is never easy, but it’s always worth it. Each collar, each data point, each successful mission brings us one step closer to a future where people and elephants can truly live side by side – and where elephant collaring in Tanzania continues to make that balance possible.