When the elephants are finally released, everyone breathes a sigh of relief. For the duration of the elephants’ journey, from the first moments of capture to the second they step out of the truck, everyone involved is on edge. People working as part of field crews, those at head office, the donors and all the support personnel who are not necessarily on site are going about their business with half their attention on the translocation.
Despite all precautions being taken, this operation still involves the largest land mammal on the planet being moved over rough terrain – something can always go wrong. One can only control so much in wildlife capture operations, especially with elephants. So, it’s a relief when they are offloaded and to see that the ground crew, the trucks, the support vehicles and everyone is all right. In fact, elephants travel very well, partly due to the equipment being the best in the industry and partly thanks to the collaboration of organisations that deeply care.