Chester Zoo - Ambitious mapping project set to save elephant and human lives
Groundbreaking Mapping Project to Reduce Human-Elephant Conflict in India Takes Major Step Forward
An ambitious conservation project designed to reduce deadly human-elephant conflict has reached a major milestone - with researchers developing a new predictive map to identify where future clashes are most likely to occur.
Each year, more than 500 people and up to 100 elephants die in India as a result of human-wildlife conflict. To help mitigate this, an international team of researchers is using historical data to forecast high-risk areas and guide future conservation efforts.
The first phase of the project is detailed in a newly published paper, “Spatiotemporal distribution of negative human-elephant interactions in Wayanad district, Kerala,” featured in the journal Global Ecology and Conservation.
The study is a collaboration between Chester Zoo, the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit at the University of Oxford, and the Wildlife Trust of India. Co-authors include Alexandra Zimmermann, Jacqui Morrison, Mayukh Chatterjee, Sue Walker, Scott Wilson, K. Ramkumar, and Sandeep Tiwari.
Work on the second phase of the project is already underway, with results expected soon.
Jacqui Morrison, Chester Zoo conservation scientist, said:
“Elephants are intelligent and charismatic animals, but their habitat has shrunk to just seven per cent of its historic range. For elephants, a field of crops is a valuable food source - but for subsistence farmers, it represents a serious threat to livelihoods.
“In Kerala’s Wayanad district, where 70 per cent of land is now used for agriculture, mainly rubber and coffee plantations, conflict is inevitable.
Conservationists already work hard to mitigate these risks, but resources are limited. This research provides a practical tool to help identify and prioritise high-risk areas for intervention.”
The new study draws on 15 different environmental and social variables, including population density, proximity to protected areas, and climate conditions. Unlike most previous human-wildlife conflict models, which rely on 10-year climate averages, this map incorporates environmental data from the actual time of historic crop-raiding events - offering a much finer and more accurate picture of risk.
In phase one, researchers analysed nearly 2,000 recorded human-elephant incidents, applying ten separate algorithms to produce a robust predictive model.
Phase two expands on this work by incorporating human attitudes toward elephants. More than 1,000 people across 2,000 km² of the project area were surveyed by trained social scientists from the Wildlife Trust of India. Their responses - reflecting tolerance levels, perceptions, and experiences - have been integrated into the next version of the map, which will be published soon.
Mayukh Chatterjee, Chester Zoo’s regional field partner and conservation scientist, said:
“Human-wildlife conflict has traditionally been measured in terms of property damage or injuries, but this only tells part of the story.“Our findings suggest that intolerance itself is a key driver of conflict. Some communities may experience frequent elephant encounters without hostility, while others, where interactions are rare, show far greater resentment. This disconnect between damage and retaliation is often overlooked in existing conflict hotspot models.”
By combining environmental risk factors with human social data, the resulting map will provide an unprecedented tool to predict true human-elephant conflict hotspots , where both ecological conditions and community attitudes align to create tension.
Although focused on elephants in Kerala, the project has global potential. The same techniques could be adapted for other species and regions, helping conservationists target limited resources toward areas of highest need.
Human–Wildlife Conflict: Key Facts
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Human-wildlife conflict refers to reduced tolerance or negative attitudes toward coexistence with wildlife.
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It is often driven by competition for land and resources, as people and animals overlap in agricultural or developed areas.
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Asian elephants are listed as Endangered by the IUCN Red List, meaning every loss pushes the species closer to extinction.
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Conflict is intensified by climate change, habitat fragmentation, and land-use change.
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Such interactions negatively affect both conservation outcomes and human wellbeing, eroding support for endangered species and causing psychological, physical, and economic harm.
Chester Zoo already supports several initiatives to promote coexistence in India:
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In Terai, local volunteers are trained as first responders to big cat encounters, safely diffusing tense situations.
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In Assam, community ‘haathi watchers’ help reduce elephant conflict, alongside projects such as community-built fences to protect crops.
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Through its Wild Scouts programme, the zoo works with young people to foster understanding of elephants and tigers, nurturing a new generation of conservation advocates.