ENDORSEMENTS

Dr Lucy Bates

Visiting Researcher, University of Sussex. Lecturer, University of Portsmouth. Director and Board Member, Elephant Specialist Advisory Group (South Africa). Research into elephant cognition, culture, and social behaviour. 20+ publications.

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Professor Richard W. Byrne FRSE
Emeritus Professor, St Andrew’s University. Research into elephants’ memory and cognition, evolution of intelligence. Editor/author, 5 books. 290+ publications. British Psychology Society Lifetime Achievement Award. Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.  Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

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David Casselman, Esq.

Trial lawyer with long history of successful, high-profile litigation. Adjunct professor, two US Schools of Law. Litigation includes animal protection, including elephants. Founder, one-million-acres Cambodia Wildlife Sanctuary. CEO, Ecoflix films.

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Dr. Ros Clubb

Co-author: A review of the welfare of zoo elephants in Europe. Published on welfare of captive elephants, other species, including in Nature, Science. Former member, Zoos Expert Committee. Member, UK Elephant Welfare Group.

 

Dr. Marion Garaï

Studies on captive and wild elephants for 35+ years. 40+ publications. Chair/Trustee of numerous elephant welfare and conservation organizations including Elephant Specialist Advisory Group (SA), Elephant Reintegration Trust. Co-author: The Asian Elephant in Captivity. AfESG*.

 

David Hancocks

Former director Woodland Park Zoo, Melbourne Zoo. Architect Master Plan PAWS 2000 Sanctuary, California. Author: A Different Nature. Co-editor: An Elephant in the room: the science and well-being of elephants in captivity.

 

Professor Bob Jacobs

Professor of Neuroscience, Colorado College. Research on neuromorphology of different species including elephants. Pioneered work on the possible neural consequences of impoverished, captive environments on large-brained animals, including elephants. 60+ publications.

 

Ron Kagan

EO, Detroit Zoological Society (retired). Eight award-winning zoo exhibits. Ten award-winning conservation documentaries. Numerous museum and zoo scientific and policy papers. Founder: Berman Academy for Humane Education; Center for Zoo and Aquarium Animal Welfare and Ethics.

 

Lisa F. Kane, Esq.

US attorney who successfully lobbied for the transfer of two solitary elephants from zoos to sanctuaries. Co-editor: An Elephant in the room: the science and well-being of elephants in captivity.

 

Dr. Winnie Kiiru

Leading Kenyan conservationist, 20+ years. Research on wild elephant/human interactions. Studies of captive elephants. Board, Amboseli Trust for Elephants. Founder, Conservation Kenya. Chair, Friends of Karura Forest. AfESG*.

 

Dr. M. Ananda Kumar

Scientist, Nature Conservation Foundation. 20+ years research: habitat. human-wild elephant interactions. Initiated Elephant Information Network of stakeholders in human-elephant conflict. 20+ publications. Awards include Whitley; Carl Zeiss Wildlife Conservation. AsESG*.

 

Professor Phyllis Lee

Director of Science, Amboseli Elephant Research Project. Emeritus Professor in Psychology, University of Stirling. 40+ years research on elephants and other species, including captive welfare and human-elephant interactions. 170+ publications. Authored and edited 5 books

 

Dr Khyne U Mar

Former coordinator, Myanmar Timber Elephant Project, at the University of Sheffield. Long-term study of the captive elephants of Myanmar. Thirty scientific publications on Asian elephant welfare. AsESG*.

 

Professor Karen McComb

Professor of Animal Behaviour and Cognition, University of Sussex. 20+ years of studying elephant communication and cognition. Pioneering research on importance of matriarchs as repositories of social information. 80+ publications.

 

Dr. Lori Moreno

Executive Director, Kimmela Center for Scholarship-based Animal Advocacy. President, Whale Sanctuary Project. Neuroscientist and expert in animal behaviour, focussing on effects of captivity on high-cognition wildlife, including the well-being of captive elephants. 100+ publications

 

Dr. Cynthia Moss

Founder/Director, 50-year Amboseli Elephant Research Project. 100+ publications on elephant society/ behaviour. Author: Portraits in the Wild, Elephant Memories, Echo of the Elephants, The Amboseli Elephants. Six well-received, influential documentaries on wild elephants’ lives

 

Dr. Joyce Poole

Co-Founder / Scientific Director, ElephantVoices. 46+ years’ research on wild African elephants. 60+ publications. Co-creator of The Elephant Ethogram. Former Head, Kenya Wildlife Service Elephant Programme. AfESG*.

 

Ian Redmond OBE

Wildlife biologist & conservationist. First to study Mt Elgon underground elephants. Surveyed UK zoo and circus elephants. Co-founder, Elefriends. Director, Save the Asian Elephants. Head of Conservation, Ecoflix. Co-founder, Rebalance Earth.

 

Dr. Paul A Rees.

Senior Lecturer, University of Salford, (retired). Author: Elephants under human care; An introduction to zoo biology and management; Dictionary of zoo biology and animal management. Introduced UK’s first undergraduate zoo biology program.

 

Belinda Stewart-Cox OBE

Senior Conservation Advisor, British Asian Trust with Elephant Family. Founder/Executivedirector, Elephant Conservation Network. Achieved UNESCO Heritage Site status for two wildlife refuges, first in mainland SE Asia. Author: Wild Thailand. AsESG* 

 

Dr Tom Tew

Head of UK CITES Scientific Authority and government advisor on wildlife trade, including in live elephants and ivory. Current: Founder & CEO NatureSpace. Board Trustee National Trust. Former: Chief Scientist Natural England.

 

Professor Ronald B. Tobias

Montana State University. Author: Behemoth: the history of the elephant in America and 6 others. Producer, Discovery Channel, 15 years. Produced, written, and directed 30+ natural history films.

 

Surendra Varma

Senior Scientist, Asian Nature Conservation Foundation. 30 years, habitat and elephant population surveys. Population surveys and welfare assessments of captive Asian elephants. 20+ publications. AsESG*

 

Dr. Amirtharaj Christy Williams

Led WWF work on Asian elephants and rhinos for nearly 20 years. Co-founder, Conservation Initiative for the Asian Elephant. Author: Tipu, Sultan of the Siwaliks. 30+ scientific publications. Currently Director of Land Conservation in NEOM. AsESG*

 

*AfESG – Member of African Elephant Specialist Group of the Species Survival Commission (SSC) of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). AsESG – Member of Asian Elephant Specialist Group of the SSC of IUCN.