Samantha Garvin

While elephants (Loxodonta africana) look like gentle giants, living with elephants is no small task. Elephants are dangerous to people and property, and in Northern Botswana, a low estimate of incidents of elephant damage is 150 cases annually (Demotts and Hoon 2012). These interactions can erode tolerance of elephants and broader conservation goals over time (Lee and Graham 2006). The tourism industry, currently contributing to 10% of Botswana’s GDP (Gupta 2013), is attracting people from other parts of Botswana to Chobe. These migrants who have never lived with elephants before are now interacting with them more frequently, leading to greater incidence of conflict (Mbaiwa 2011). Non-governmental institutions address this problem by educating community members on how to protect themselves and their personal property. The national government has been involved with implementing mitigation strategies (Gupta 2013) and a compensation scheme to repay individuals for property damage and family members’ lives. This study looks across all of these sectors at the various institutions and local perspectives with problem-oriented methodology. How the actors perceive the problems of living with elephants influences what kinds of solutions are proposed and carried out, revealing the social and decision making context of wildlife management in Botswana.