Elephant dung may not sound like the most appealing topic but as Maasai Guide and tracker Wilson Ole Kasaine shows us, it can teach us a lot about elephants lives, diet and their role in the great Amboseli ecosystem at Selenkay Conservancy in today’s lesson from the wild.

Tracking is an age-old practice and was used by many tribes to assist hunters to find animals, using spoor and droppings. Today, tracking elephants allows scientists and conservationists to get a clear idea of numbers (i.e. a census), distribution patterns (where the elephants are travelling to at what time of the year), herd sizes (which may differ because of certain social and environmental issues), the predators most dangerous to the elephants in that particular area, the diet and its adaptations to the local vegetation, breeding patterns (according to the availability of strong, healthy males) and so on. This information assists in the protection of these animals and control over their numbers and general well-being.

Video Courtesy of Magical Kenya.