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The Philadelphia Zoo is the lead partner working with Hutan to support the ECU in the Lower Kinabatangan region. The overall goal of the ECU is to ensure elephant conservation through scientific study and by developing a community-based education program to help villagers live more peacefully with the elephants. An eight-member team, made up entirely of trained local people, work on the following initiatives:

1. Assist villagers to protect their crops and gravesites from elephants, through non-harmful means. The ECU loans money and provides expertise to small-scale farmers to erect fences to protect their property. ECU team members also staff an "Elephant Hotline" and are available around the clock to respond to elephant issues.
2. Study elephant behavior to better understand where, when and why elephants crop raid and provide practical recommendations to the Sabah Wildlife Department to help manage this behavior. Elephant field research includes documentation of herd size, composition and individual elephant identification; movement patterns; diet analysis; and genetics.
3. To increase local appreciation of wildlife and involve the community in the management of their local natural resources in the Kinabatangan area through village workshops, classroom programs and other awareness-raising activities.
4. To assist the Sabah Wildlife Department in its mission to protect and manage the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary through programs such as "Honorary Wildlife Wardens" where local people act on behalf of the Wildlife Department to run patrols, participate in investigations, erect road blocks, etc.

As the primary supporter of the ECU, the Philadelphia Zoo will be assisting Hutan in the development of a broader-based approach to managing human-elephant conflict by brokering relationships with other non-government organizations working with elephants and by assisting in the development of community education programs for families and schools.

At the Zoo, you will be able to see videos and photos of these unique elephants and maps tracking elephant pathways and feeding locations — information which helps researchers learn more about elephant social structure and habitat use. There will also be opportunities for guests to become involved with the ECU, by "adopting" an elephant or helping to support education programs.

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