Elephants are expert navigators—understanding their travel helps us protect them

Most elephants avoided steep, hilly areas or rough terrain. Just like how people tend to avoid a long climb when an easier road exists, elephants favour the path of least resistance. This makes sense-moving a multi-tonne body uphill burns a lot of calories.

Food is always a top priority. Nearly all the elephants showed a strong preference for areas with thick vegetation. In fact, a greener patch of land was far more likely to attract elephants, even if it meant walking further.

Water is also important. However, while some elephants tended to stick close to rivers and waterholes, others seemed comfortable venturing farther away. Surprisingly, about half of the elephants didn't show a strong pattern either way. This shows that elephants, like people, have individual habits and personalities when it comes to risk and comfort.

Speed changes everything. When elephants moved slowly, they were somewhat flexible in terms of terrain. But the faster they moved-perhaps when heading to a key destination-they became much stricter about conserving energy. At top speeds, almost all elephants avoided steep climbs.