A herd of elephants crossing the road in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe. Photo: Tyson Mayr / © IFAW “Human-elephant conflict” describes negative interactions between elephants and humans. The most common forms are crop raiding (when elephants eat or destroy crops), property destruction, or simply people getting too close to elephants and triggering defensive behaviours that may lead to injury or death of people and elephants. Although the term doesn’t usually include wildlife crimes like poaching and trafficking of elephants’ body parts, people who feel threatened by elephants may be more likely to ignore or take part in these crimes. These conflicts endanger not only people’s safety and elephants’ survival but also the health of ecosystems and the traditional lifestyles of rural communities. What are some causes of human-elephant conflict? An Elephant at Amboseli National Park, Kenya. Photo: Reno Omokri People have coexisted w...