Elephants migrate despite protected area boundaries and international borders

A new study from the Conservation Ecology Research Unit (CERU) at the University of Pretoria set out to unravel migration in the world’s largest terrestrial mammal – the savanna elephant.

Researchers

Professor Rudi van Aarde

Emeritus Professor Rudi van Aarde obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of Pretoria (UP) and has been doing research at the University for the past 45 years.

He leads the Conservation Ecology Research Unit (CERU), a small group of scientists and technicians within the Department of Zoology and Entomology. The group is studying elephants.

His research matters, he says, because nature is the essence of life. He hopes to achieve a better world for elephants through his research.

Prof Van Aarde’s advice to school learners or undergraduate students who are interested in his field is to have passion for what they want to do. His main hobby, whether he is working or not, is photography.

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