The Amboseli Trust for Elephants has a unique program for people wanting to become more intimately involved in the research project. It is a naming program, in which one of our now 1500 known individual elephants is given a name chosen by a donor. The program has been in existence since 1988 and it works like this:

• There are 57 families in Amboseli. Each family has a letter of the alphabet, and all the individuals in the family have names starting with the family letter. Since there are 57 families we have had to go through the alphabet more than once, so there are two "A" families, the AAs and the ABs, two "B" families, etc. In the AA family we have Annabel, Alyce, Amy, Alison, Agatha, Amelia, etc. etc.

We generally don't name calves until they are four years old. Before that the calf has a code name based on it's mother's name and year of birth, but for the naming program we will name calves as young as 18 months to two years.

There are currently 289 unnamed calves in all the families. Since most of the common Christian names have been used, although not all of them, it is best to provide three possible names. We suggest using a nickname or a family name or an unusual spelling of a name.

• No other calf will have the chosen name; it is a very exclusive program, not like an adoption program in which hundreds of people might adopt the same elephant or whale or whatever; this name will go down in the research project records and be used forever; this is why the name has to be unique.

• The namer will receive a recent photo of the calf, a naming certificate, and a description and history of the calf's family.

• The namer will also get periodic updates over the years.

To name an Amboseli elephant we ask for a donation of $2500. If you are interested please respond to ATE here or write to:

Amboseli Trust for Elephants
10 State Street
Newburyport, MA 01950