Iain Douglas-Hamilton, Pioneer Of Elephant Conservation And Founder Of Save The Elephants, Dies Aged 83

Iain Douglas-Hamilton, the Scottish zoologist who founded conservation charity Save the Elephants and helped transform our understanding of African elephants, has died in Nairobi at the age of 83, the organisation announced on Tuesday. The charity said he passed away late on Monday.

Save the Elephants described Douglas-Hamilton as a "pioneering force" whose "groundbreaking research" established the foundations of modern elephant behaviour studies and conservation practice. His work combined detailed field observation with innovative survey techniques that are now standard across wildlife conservation.

"Iain changed the future not just for elephants, but for huge numbers of people across the globe. His courage, determination and rigour inspired everyone he met," said Frank Pope, chief executive of Save the Elephants. "He never lost his lifelong curiosity about what was happening inside the minds of one of our planet's most intriguing creatures."

Fieldwork, Innovation and Risk

Douglas-Hamilton began his research in Tanzania and spent much of his life working across Africa, including in Uganda and Kenya, where he settled with his family. In the 1980s, as an international ivory-poaching crisis escalated, he shifted from pure research to active protection.

He was among the first to use aerial surveys to count elephant populations at scale, documenting the extent of poaching and helping galvanise global action that contributed to the 1989 international ban on the ivory trade. He and his wife, Oria, sometimes conducted surveys under dangerous conditions — at times sitting on flak jackets in a small plane to reduce the risk from poachers' bullets.

Legacy And Recognition

In 1993 Douglas-Hamilton founded Save the Elephants, which continues to use and promote techniques he helped pioneer, such as GPS tracking and aerial monitoring. He and his wife co-authored two award-winning books about elephants that combined scientific insight with accessible storytelling.

His contributions were recognised by the British honours system: he received an OBE in 1992 and a CBE in 2015 for services to conservation. Colleagues and conservationists worldwide credit his rigorous fieldwork and public campaigning with changing how people and governments protect elephants.

Douglas-Hamilton's research and activism left a lasting imprint on wildlife conservation, shaping both scientific methods and international policy aimed at safeguarding elephants for future generations.