In an ongoing study conducted by Utopia Scientific scientists and contributing volunteers, in partnership with Stanford University and supported by the Oakland Zoo, elephants of the Mushara area of Etosha National Park have been monitored at several different levels to better understand their social structure and communication in order to apply this knowledge to improved care in captivity and ultimately to elephant conservation in the wild.

It is the goal of AFRICA MATTERS to promote wildlife conservation by encouraging the interaction of artists, teachers and scientists. They directly offer financial and logistical assistance to individuals and organizations whose work not only expands scientific knowledge from the field, but also makes that knowledge available to others, particularly young Africans. We believe that art and youth have a key role to play in the world of conservation.

With a human population that has increased seven-fold since 1920 and that continues to grow at 3-4% each year, the future of the Kibale Forest and its surrounding African communities is far from secure. One main issue is energy. Wood and charcoal are the sole sources of energy for more than 98% of the people surrounding Kibale, far exceeding the average reliance on fuel wood in Africa of 40%. From 1990-2000, Uganda lost an average of 91,000 hectares of forest per year, most of it felled for fuel.

Save The Elephants, a project of the Wildlife Conservation Network and founded by renowned elephant expert Iain Douglas-Hamilton, is working to protect elephant populations in Kenya.

Kenya's Amboseli National Park is home to more than 1700 African elephants who have been studiously observed, catalogued, and protected by the Amboseli Elephant Research Project (AERP) since 1972, when internationally-renowned researcher Cynthia Moss founded the project.

In January 2000, the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) in collaboration with the Budongo Forest Project (BFP) initiated a snare removal program in the Budongo Forest Reserve in Uganda. The objective was to reduce the number of snares being set as well as the number of animals being caught in them. The Project also sought to increase public awareness regarding this issue, ensuring that more local people would obey wildlife laws and understand the need for protecting wildlife.