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As we’ve discussed before, elephants graze for 15-20 hours each day and can ingest 150 kg (330 lbs) of natural browse during that time. The sanctuary provides sufficient grass, trees, vines, and bushes to sustain all the girls (though we do supplement their food in order to monitor their eating habits and health issues that may present with how they are eating). In the wild, elephants have to seek out their own food, and their size and numbers mean that they must move around to find it, which causes a great deal of energy consumption. 

A new study shows that African elephants are incredibly efficient when it comes to meeting their massive food needs. Researchers collected data from over 150 elephants and found that elephants can plan their journeys based on the amount of energy they will expend and the resources they have. 

The data reveals that elephants lean toward moving into landscapes that require less strain, avoiding steep or rough terrain. This tells us that they may be doing a cost-benefit analysis and deciding on less strenuous paths. They also tend to stick to areas with higher vegetation availability, as 93% of the elephants studied followed that strategy. This might mean that elephants don’t necessarily stay on paths that lead from one water source to another, as some have thought. Future studies will fill in blanks, but this data gives us more information about the elephant decision making process. What we learn could help communities protect habitats and create strategies for less human/elephant conflict.

To read more: https://phys.org/news/2025-03-elephants-journeys-reveals-energy-strategies.html

Photo of Mara pulling up some grass