Drone in use in Samburu National Reserve. Credit: @ Jane Wynyard/ Save the Elephants.

They say an elephant never forgets; it turns out they can also adapt to drones, which will boost the study of these magnificent beasts.

Once seen as a source of alarm, drones are now proving to be surprisingly elephant-friendly and a valuable research tool.

Previously, the use of drones in elephant conservation has mostly relied on their power to disturb; elephants reliably run from them, making them a useful tool to drive elephants from croplands.

Now, new work by Save the Elephants (STE) and the University of Oxford has shown that elephants can learn to ignore drones, a finding that could transform how scientists and conservationists monitor wildlife.

Drones, or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), have become increasingly important for wildlife research.

With their buzzing propellers, which can sound like a swarm of bees, drones have been used to chase elephants from farms.

But when flown in a way designed to minimise disturbance, elephants soon learn to ignore them.

And that’s good news for science. Ever since Iain Douglas-Hamilton pioneered the scientific study of wild elephant behaviour in the 1960s, observations on their interactions have been observed from alongside them, in vehicles, or in some cases on platforms.

Drones are proving to be surprisingly elephant-friendly and a valuable research tool. Credit: @Jane Wynyard/ Save the Elephants.

Tantalising opportunity

Now drones offer a completely new perspective on what is happening within a herd.

This new perspective offers the tantalising opportunity to precisely quantify for the first time how individuals in a group of elephants inter-relate in different situations.

The on-board cameras and integrated sensors gather large amounts of data – data that AI-enabled software can search for patterns that have eluded human researchers until now.

The new study confirms that flying a drone high and steady changes the behaviour of elephants only temporarily, if the elephants react at all.

Already the team has been given intriguing hints about the sleep habits of elephants under the cover of darkness, and are on the brink of releasing a tool that can automatically derive the age and sex of each individual in the group being observed.

The study combines STE’s more than 30 years of long-term field expertise with cutting-edge technology to help deepen our understanding of complex species like elephants.

Save the Elephants’ CEO, Frank Pope, said: “Biodiversity is in crisis but we’re not standing still. New technologies are expanding our ability to perceive, analyse and understand the wild world in a way that was previously unthinkable.

“This study promises to open a new window onto how elephants work.”

Drone in use in Samburu National Reserve. Credit: @Jane Wynyard/ Save the Elephants.

Diminished reactions

The researchers conducted 35 quadcopter drone trials on 14 individually known elephant families in northern Kenya’s Samburu and Buffalo Springs National Reserves.

About half showed signs of disturbance when first exposed – predominantly mild, such as lifting their trunks or pausing their activities – but these reactions diminished rapidly, within just six minutes, and were 70% less likely to recur in repeated flights. 

Lead author, Angus Carey-Douglas from Save the Elephants said: “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.

“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.”

New behaviours

This habituation means drones have potential as a non-invasive, cost-effective observation platform, helping scientists gather data about elephant movement, social interactions, and responses to environmental changes with minimal interference.

Enhanced monitoring with drones is already revealing new behaviours, giving conservationists deeper insights into elephant lives and helping to shape more effective protection efforts.

Save the Elephants’ chairman and co-author, Professor Fritz Vollrath from Oxford University’s Department of Biology, said: “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.

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

The researchers emphasise that while drones can be powerful tools for conservation (for instance in the study of marine mammals), their use around wildlife should always be strictly controlled.

In Kenya, tourist and recreational drone flights are prohibited in national parks and reserves to protect animals from unnecessary stress.

The drones in this study were operated under special permits issued by the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority and the Wildlife Research and Training Institute.

The study is published in Scientific Reports.