Understanding elephant behavior: a novel approach to mitigating human-elephant conflict in kanchanaburi, thailand - 2. Using elephant personality to develop a conflict mitigation toolkit

The Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service Region 9 Headquarters awarded a $316,640 Project Grant to the Research Foundation of the City University of New York under the Asian Elephant Conservation Fund (CFDA 15.621) program. The grant supports research from October 2021 through December 2025 to study elephant behavior in Thailand and develop conflict mitigation tools.

Through two subawards totaling $80,193 to the Golden Triangle Elephant Foundation, the grant funds four full-time Thai research staff positions. These staff will collaborate with the principal investigator to study wild elephant behavior and apply findings to mitigate human-elephant conflict in the region. Intellectual property from the research will remain with the Research Foundation of the City University of New York and principal investigator. The subawards also cover staff salaries, insurance, and partial social security obligations. This grant aims to advance the program's goals of supporting applied research and conservation activities to help protect endangered Asian elephants.