How do you eat an elephant? One mouthful at a time. This oft-quipped metaphor for overcoming a big challenge is ironically very relevant when it comes to moving these enormous animals too. To conquer this rather colossal challenge, one must proceed one (careful) step at a time. But why move them at all?
Elephants are typically translocated to new areas to establish new populations where they might not occur or where they have gone extinct; to alleviate habitat pressure where there are too many elephants; to enhance the genetics of an isolated population; or to possibly reduce human-wildlife conflict where people and elephants live in close proximity to one another. Elephants in smaller, fenced reserves need to be more actively managed than those in open systems.