Drones are revealing the secret lives of elephants

Drones used to be the noisy interlopers that sent elephants hustling away from fields. Conservation teams even leaned on that reaction to steer herds off croplands. 

However, a new study from Save the Elephants (STE) and the University of Oxford flips the script. When flown high and steady to minimize disturbance, elephants rapidly habituate to drones and carry on as normal.

That shift turns unmanned aerial vehicles from scare tools into quiet, high value platforms for wildlife research.

A bird’s-eye view of elephants

Classic elephant behavior studies, dating back to Iain Douglas-Hamilton’s pioneering work in the 1960s, have relied on ground vehicles, blinds, or platforms.

Drones now offer overhead angles that make group dynamics legible in a single frame. 

Stabilized cameras and onboard sensors can track spacing, gait, interactions, and context in a way that complements ground observations. With AI in the loop, those data streams can reveal patterns too subtle or fleeting for human observers to catch.

“Biodiversity is in crisis but we’re not standing still,” said Save the Elephants’ CEO Frank Pope.

“New technologies are expanding our ability to perceive, analyze, and understand the wild world in a way that was previously unthinkable. This study promises to open a new window onto how elephants work.”

What the trials in Kenya showed

Researchers ran 35 quadcopter flights over 14 individually known elephant families in Samburu and Buffalo Springs National Reserves, northern Kenya.

About half of the groups showed mild, short-lived signs of disturbance during their first exposure to drones, such as trunk lifts and brief pauses.

Those reactions faded fast, typically within six minutes, and were 70% less likely to recur on subsequent flights. The take-home message is simple: flight profile matters and elephants learn.

“The way in which the drone is flown is crucial. We found that not all elephants were disturbed, and those that were became less agitated both during a single flight and over repeated exposures,” said study lead author Angus Carey-Douglas.

“Additionally, our results suggest that these habituation effects may last over many months if not years, demonstrating the capacity for learning and adaptability for which elephants are already well known.”

Rapidly evolving technology

Once elephants ignore the overhead buzz, drones can capture undisturbed behavior: who initiates movement, how calves are protected, how herds reorganize in response to threats, and how individuals negotiate space.

At night, thermal cameras lift the curtain on sleep – where, when, and for how long elephants rest – plus stealthy activities that are otherwise hard to document.

“This research demonstrates the power of a new and rapidly evolving technology that allows us to probe ever deeper into the secret lives of elephants,” said Professor Fritz Vollrath. 

“For example, the onboard thermal camera penetrates the darkness, opening up detailed studies of night-time behavior and sleeping patterns.”

The team is already close to releasing a computer-vision tool that can automatically estimate age and sex from aerial footage, accelerating demographic analyses and improving real-time monitoring.

The expanding role of drones

Drones won’t disappear as a deterrent around farms, but their role is clearly expanding.

With careful flight protocols (higher altitude, steady paths, brief passes), drones become a low-cost, non-invasive way to log movements, social exchanges, and responses to environmental change. 

Over time, the resulting datasets can help tailor corridors, set patrol priorities, and fine-tune coexistence strategies.

“We are proud to partner with and support Save the Elephants in deploying cutting-edge technologies to protect elephants in the wild,” said Matt James, executive director of the Colossal Foundation, which supported the study.

“This collaboration is a powerful example of how Colossal’s de-extinction innovations are already safeguarding living species today, demonstrating that the tools we’re developing to bring back the past are equally vital for protecting biodiversity today.”

Drone regulations to protect wildlife

The researchers emphasized that drones are powerful but must be tightly regulated around wildlife.

Kenya prohibits tourist and recreational drone flights in parks and reserves to prevent unnecessary stress. 

In this project, flights took place under special permits from the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority and the Wildlife Research and Training Institute, with protocols tuned to minimize disturbance.

That approach – legal, cautious, and data-driven – is what turns a potential nuisance into a conservation asset.

Drones for elephant conservation

The findings show that elephants are not only unflappable when given a chance to learn. They’re collaborative subjects in the making. 

Habituation turns drones into trustworthy eyes in the sky, delivering richer behavioral insights with less intrusion.

That’s a win for science and a practical boost for protection, as conservationists scale up monitoring in a rapidly changing world.

The study is published in the journal Scientific Reports.

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