Iain Douglas-Hamilton facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Iain Douglas-Hamilton
Douglas-Hamilton in Samburu National Reserve
Born	Iain Douglas-Hamilton 16 August 1942 Ferne, Shaftesbury, England
Alma mater	Oriel College, Oxford (BSc, DPhil)
Occupation	Zoologist
Known for	Study of elephant behaviour
Spouse(s)	Oria Rocco
Children	Saba Douglas-Hamilton and Dudu Douglas-Hamilton
Awards	Commander of the Order of the British Empire Indianapolis Prize Order of the Golden Ark
Scientific career
Thesis	The Ecology and Behaviour of the African Elephant - The Elephants of Lake Manyara
Doctoral advisor	Nikolaas Tinbergen

Iain Douglas-Hamilton (born 16 August 1942) is a Scottish zoologist. He is known as one of the world's top experts on African elephants. In 1993, he started an organization called Save the Elephants. This group works to protect elephants and their homes for the future.

Douglas-Hamilton was a pioneer in studying elephants. At just 23, he did the first deep scientific study of how elephants behave in groups. This was in Lake Manyara National Park in Tanzania. His work in the 1960s helped us understand elephants much better. It also shaped how we protect them today.

In the 1970s, he looked into the state of elephants across Africa. He was the first to warn the world about the huge problem of poaching for ivory. This led to the first global ban on ivory trade in 1989. For his efforts, he received several top awards. These include the Order of the Golden Ark in 1988 and the Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 2015. In 2010, he won the Indianapolis Prize. This is a major award for animal conservation.

Early Life and Family

Iain Douglas-Hamilton was born in 1942 in England. He was the younger son of Lord David Douglas-Hamilton and Ann Prunella Stack. His father was a pilot in the Royal Air Force. Sadly, his father passed away in the war in 1944. Iain's grandmother, Nina Douglas-Hamilton, was also an animal rights activist.

He went to Gordonstoun School in Scotland from 1955 to 1960. Since he was 10, Iain dreamed of flying around Africa to save animals. He later studied Zoology at Oxford University. He earned his first degree in 1965 and a doctorate in 1972.

Iain is married to Oria Douglas-Hamilton. She started Elephant Watch Camp in Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. They have two daughters, Saba and Dudu. Saba is a TV presenter, and Dudu is a conservationist. The Douglas-Hamiltons live in Kenya. Iain and Oria have written two award-winning books together. They also made several TV films about elephants.

Working with Elephants in Africa

Studying Elephants in Tanzania

When he was 23, Douglas-Hamilton moved to Tanzania. He lived in the wild Lake Manyara National Park. There, he did the first scientific study of how African elephants interact. He believed that understanding elephant movements could help protect them. This is especially true as they face threats like poaching and human-wildlife conflict.

His work in Manyara is described in the book Among the Elephants. He wrote this book with his wife, Oria. Iain once said about his time there: "Nobody had lived with wildlife in Africa and looked at them as individuals yet. I was incredibly lucky to be the first person to do that with elephants."

Protecting Elephants in Uganda

From 1980 to 1982, Douglas-Hamilton lived in Uganda. He was made an Honorary Chief Park Warden. This was during a time of chaos after Idi Amin's rule. He was in charge of stopping poaching in Uganda's three game parks. This project was supported by the United Nations and the European Community.

His plane was shot at several times by troops who were poaching animals. In 2022, Douglas-Hamilton went back to Uganda. He helped collar elephants to study their movements. This work helps understand how elephants live alongside local communities.

Continuing Conservation in Kenya

Douglas-Hamilton moved to Kenya with his family. He continues his conservation work there today. In 1993, he started Save the Elephants. This group focuses only on elephants. He provides important research findings to the world. This includes information about poaching and conflicts between humans and elephants.

He also gives lectures and works with the media. This helps raise awareness about elephants. His main research goal is to understand why elephants make certain choices by studying how they move.

Important Work for Elephants

Counting Elephant Populations

Iain Douglas-Hamilton is a skilled pilot. He developed ways to track elephant movements from the air. In the early 1970s, he created methods for counting large elephant groups from low-flying planes. This allowed for the first-ever large-scale elephant counts.

From 1976 to 1979, he worked on a project to survey African elephant populations. This covered 34 countries. The goal was to gather scientific data to help protect the species. He also researched the global ivory trade. He continued to lead aerial surveys into the 1980s.

The 'Elephant Holocaust' and Ivory Ban

Douglas-Hamilton's surveys showed a huge problem. Poaching was sweeping across Africa in the 1970s and 1980s. This was because of a high demand for ivory, especially from Asia. By 1980, most of Uganda's elephants had been killed. Their numbers dropped from 20,000 to about 1,600.

He worked as an anti-poaching advisor in Uganda. He designed air and ground patrols to stop poachers. Sometimes, he was even shot at during his work. His efforts helped reduce elephant losses in Uganda. He then suggested these methods could work elsewhere in Africa.

His research showed that the African elephant population had dropped by more than half. It went from 1.3 million in 1979 to about 600,000 by 1989. These numbers showed the world the scale of what became known as the "elephant holocaust."

People realized that a global ban was needed to stop the illegal killing of elephants. Douglas-Hamilton was one of the main conservationists who pushed for this ban. The ban worked, and elephant populations began to recover.

Founding Save the Elephants

Douglas-Hamilton's early work showed that studying elephants closely could help protect them. To build on this, he founded Save the Elephants in 1993. This charity works to secure a future for elephants. It aims to protect their homes and help people and elephants live together peacefully.

Save the Elephants has a main research station in Samburu National Reserve in Kenya. In 2010, floods badly damaged the camp. But the work continued. They also have a station in Tsavo, Kenya. Here, they study ways for humans and elephants to coexist.

Since it started, Save the Elephants has researched elephants across Africa. It has also raised public awareness about the dangers elephants face. Douglas-Hamilton pioneered using GPS tracking for elephants in Africa. This has become a common way to track and protect them. In 2007, he even partnered with Google Earth. This allowed people to see elephant movements in real time.

Save the Elephants continues to collect scientific data. They use aerial surveys and modern technology like GPS collars. The elephants in Samburu are now among the most studied in the world. This research helps scientists understand how poaching affects elephant populations.

Douglas-Hamilton has also focused on reducing conflict between people and elephants. Dr. Lucy King, mentored by Douglas-Hamilton, leads a program that uses Beehive Fences. These fences, with beehives, help stop elephants from destroying crops on farms.

In 2013, Save the Elephants launched the Elephant Crisis Fund. This fund supports groups fighting the ivory trade and promoting coexistence. Douglas-Hamilton continues to lead field projects. These include elephant surveys, tracking, and community conservation.

The Poaching Crisis and Its Impact

Douglas-Hamilton and others believe that some past sales of ivory led to a new wave of illegal poaching. This new crisis was even worse than in the 1970s and 1980s. Between 2010 and 2012, over 100,000 African elephants were illegally killed. The price of ivory had doubled, making poaching more appealing.

In 2012, Douglas-Hamilton spoke to the US Senate. He highlighted the links between poaching and insecurity in Africa. The demand for ivory in China and Asia had increased. This was due to growing middle classes wanting to show their wealth. Some people also hoarded ivory, hoping its price would rise.

Douglas-Hamilton stressed that stopping poaching needed more effort. This included better law enforcement and campaigns to reduce the demand for ivory. His high-level meetings helped lead to important actions. In 2013, the Obama administration and the Clinton Global Initiative committed to stopping ivory trafficking.

Douglas-Hamilton has met many important people. These include politicians, film stars, and sports figures. All these meetings were to protect Africa's wild elephants. In 2012, he worked with WildAid and Chinese basketball star Yao Ming. Their campaign helped reduce the demand for ivory in China.

In 2013, the Clinton Global Initiative announced an $80 million program. This aimed to protect elephants and end ivory trafficking. Former President Bill Clinton and his daughter, Chelsea, visited Save the Elephants in 2015. They met Douglas-Hamilton to see the poaching threat firsthand.

In 2015, Save the Elephants published new research. It showed that the price of illegal raw ivory in China had almost halved. This brought hope that elephant killings would decrease. Thanks to the efforts of Douglas-Hamilton and Save the Elephants, China banned its domestic ivory trade in December 2017. The ban took effect in 2018.

Douglas-Hamilton hopes to secure a future for elephants forever. He knows it's a challenge as human populations grow and demand more from the environment. He dreams of humans living in balance with nature.

Awards and Publications

Douglas-Hamilton has received many awards for his research. These include the 2010 Indianapolis Prize. He also received the George B Rabb Conservation Medal in 2014. In 2015, he was appointed a Commander of the British Empire (CBE). He also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.

He is a member of several important groups. These include the Technical Advisory Group to CITES for monitoring illegal elephant killings. He has also published many academic research papers. He co-authored Battle for the Elephants (1992) and Among The Elephants (1975) with his wife Oria.

A documentary called A Life Among Elephants tells Iain's story. It shows his life and fight for elephants. The film includes interviews with Jane Goodall and Iain's daughters. It premiered in 2024 and was supported by Save the Elephants.

Books

• 1992 - Battle for the Elephants
• 1975 - Among the Elephants

Films

• 1973 - The Family that Lives with Elephants
• 1989 - Ivory Wars
• 1998 - Africa’s Elephant Kingdom
• 2009 - The Secret Life of Elephants
• 2015 - This Wild Life
• 2024 - A Life Among Elephants