Family Histories

Where it all began… The story of Wart Ear and her family, the first elephants identified in 1972 by Cynthia Moss and Harvey Croze.

The BCs are one of our smaller and less regularly seen families in Amboseli.

One of the most tight-knit and affectionate Amboseli families, Celeste would reign as matriarch for many years.

We saw the EA family on the very first day the project began, but at the time we were only familiarizing ourselves with the elephants so they had not been categorized and named until a year later.

The FA family was discovered and photographed on the second day of the
Amboseli Elephant Research Project on September 2, 1972.

The GB family split into two parts, but since the time of writing these two parts have rejoined one another. This rejoin was precipitated by the loss of two big females, Gladys and Gwen in 2009, and is the first time we have ever documented this kind of flexibility.

The HBs are a good example of how important leadership skills and knowledge among females are in contributing to a family's success. Over the years they have had some incredible leadership in Horatia and Hazel, leading to the gradual growth of this family. We predict the HBs will go on to be one of the biggest families in the Amboseli population.

The IB family was first recorded on March 16, 1974. They were found on
the eastern side of the Park with the GB and PA families.

The JB's were first photographed by Dr Ian Douglas-Hamilton who Dr Cynthia Moss worked with in her early career.

The KBs are one of the immigrant groups that moved into the central region of Amboseli in the late '70s.

The LB family is one of the biggest and in some ways the most successful of
any family in Amboseli.

The MAs were a difficult family to work out early in the study, because they were so closely bonded to the WA family. This friendship has now lasted thirty years.

The LD family has had a very interesting history. It started out as part of the LB
family, which was one of the immigrant groups that moved into the central region of Amboseli in the late 1970s.

The PC and PC2 families have had an unusual history. Up until 1982 the
PCs were part of the PAs, which was the largest family in the Amboseli
population.

Qumquat became a tragic Amboseli icon in October 2012, when she and her two daughters were slaughtered by poachers. The QBs have had their fair share of tribulations: here is their story up to August 2012.