African elephants are the largest living land animals. They inhabit the savannah, bush, forest, river valleys and semi-desert regions of Africa south of the Sahara desert.
The African elephant differs from the Asian elephant in having larger ears and tusks and also a sloping forehead. These herbivores consume over 225kg of plant matter a day - sometimes ruining cultivated plantations. This results in human-elephant conflict, often with elephants being harmed out of the farmer's frustration.
Indeed, the elephants are threatened by illegal hunting for meat and ivory (their tusks), habitat loss and human-elephant conflict. In 2000, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) launched a new African Elephant Programme. This programme aims to provide strategic field interventions to help guarantee a future for this threatened species. They help to conserve forest and savannah elephant populations across Africa by supporting projects that improve protection and management, build capacity within range states, mitigate human-elephant conflict and reduce illegal trade.
The best place to sight African Elephants in Botswana is the Chobe National Park, a beautiful grassland reserve that has gained international fame for its abundant elephant population.
Janet Horsley had an incredible time on her tailor-made gap year, blazing a trail through Africa, Asia, Australia and Latin America, read her story here.
Gap Year for Grown Ups have many Career Break Voluntary Projects in Africa for grown up gappers. Because Gap Year for Grown Ups is the leading authority and only specialist source of ideas and options for grown up gap years, it has the widest range of volunteering programmes in Africa. These include animal/wildlife conservation, teaching English in Africa, community volunteering in Africa and Voluntary work with children in Africa.
Visit the 
