The Oakland Zoo has been supporting the Amboseli Elephant Research Project yearly for 15 years through its Celebrating Elephants Day at the zoo. They have raised over $200,000 for us over those years and that support has been crucial and very much appreciated.

Hi Everybody,

Greetings from Amboseli. The IFAW blog is now live - click here for the story. Here are some images to accompany the story, which is mainly about how elephants interact with us. I've also included some pictures of them interacting with each other, which is after all what the study is really about!

More than one tonne of ivory has been seized at Nairobi's international airport, Kenyan police have said.

Read the complete article in BBC News

About 115 elephant tusks were found by sniffer dogs inside metal containers bound for an address in Nigeria.

It was the largest seizure in recent months, police said. Last year, two tonnes of ivory and five rhino horns were found at Nairobi's airport.

I am in the US on a book promotion and fund-raising tour. I arrived on April 22 and will leave on June 3. That's a long trip and I'm already missing Amboseli and the elephants.

I wanted you to know that I will be combining the April and May newsletters. I hope to get this issue out around mid-May.

Recently Cynthia posted a story about seeing Paolo after eight years, and how much males can grow in that time. Once males become independent of their families, they often disappear for a while, which causes us problems when they come back all grown up. We know they must belong to Amboseli families because they're so relaxed with our vehicles, but we have to go back to old photographs to work out who they are.

Hi everyone,

Just to let you know my latest blog is live on the IFAW site - click here to read it. And here are some more photos to accompany the story - many are mud-themed!

I have been spending the last month finding my feet and starting the painstaking process of learning to identify the Amboseli elephants, with a lot of help from Norah, Katito and the rest of the ATE team. It's great fun, and I love feeling I'm starting to make progress, especially with the families I'm studying.

By Otto Bakano, Agence France-Presse

Read the complete article in The Gazette (montrealgazette.com)

TSAVO NATIONAL PARK, Kenya, Feb 13, 2011 (AFP) – A slowdown in the increase of Kenya's elephant numbers is raising fears among conservationists that hard-fought gains in saving the animals may be reversed amid growing demand for ivory.

By JASON STRAZlUSO

How did the elephants cross the road? They went underneath it.

Read the complete article in news.scotsman.com

A $250,000 (£158,000) tunnel—built with donor funds—has connected two wilderness areas on Mount Kenya and two distinct elephant populations separated for years by human development. Elephants can now cross a major road without endangering themselves or motorists, and without damaging crops or scaring nearby villagers.

I was out this morning catching up with the elephants when I came upon a gorgeous big bull. At first I didn't know who it was but then I looked through the ID book and found Paolo. He has grown tremendously and he has developed the most spectacular tusks. Born in November 1979, Paolo will turn 32 this year. He will be one of the most magnificent bulls ever if he is allowed to live until he is 50 or more.

The two photos show the difference in eight years. The one was taken in January 2003 when he was 23; the other was taken today while Paolo was having a good mudsplash.