African elephants (Loxodonta africana) face intensifying welfare challenges as climate change drives drought events in Kenya and Tanzania. Human-elephant conflict over water and food, combined with ivory poaching, creates a multi-dimensional welfare crisis for the world's largest land animal.
Drought-stressed elephants travel longer distances seeking water and food, increasing encounters with human settlements and agriculture. Conflict between elephants and farmers causes fear, injury, and death on both sides. Orphaned calves at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust require round-the-clock care mimicking elephant social groups, with specific welfare challenges including grief after maternal loss. Human-elephant conflict management through smart fencing, beehive fences, and community ranger programs reduces welfare harm on both sides more effectively than lethal control. Translocation of conflict animals is highly stressful — adult elephants show elevated cortisol for weeks after translocation.