Elephantvoices
ElephantVoices is a US 501(c)(3) nonprofit that conducts long-term research on African elephant behavior and communication, operating The Elephant Ethogram library, field databases, and citizen science tools to support elephant conservation globally.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2002
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Elephantvoices does
ElephantVoices is a US-registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2002 by Joyce Poole and Petter Granli and formally incorporated in California in 2008. The organization conducts long-term scientific research on African elephant behavior, communication, and cognition, and channels findings into conservation programs and free public educational resources. Its core product is The Elephant Ethogram, a web-based library launched in May 2021 that documents over 400 elephant behaviors across more than 3,000 media files (including 2,400 videos). Supporting assets include the EleApp mobile application for field data collection, multiple Who's Who & Whereabouts databases housing photographic and geospatial records of individually known elephants, and a comprehensive acoustic archive of elephant vocalizations including infrasound.
Elephantvoices firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Elephantvoices
- Legal name
- ElephantVoices
- Website
- https://elephantvoices.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2002
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- ElephantVoices is a US 501(c)(3) nonprofit that conducts long-term research on African elephant behavior and communication, operating The Elephant Ethogram library, field databases, and citizen science tools to support elephant conservation globally.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Elephantvoices industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Wildlife Conservation Research
- NAICS
- Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (5192)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Wildlife Surveys & Movement/Connectivity Studies (e.g., Avian/Bat, Telemetry) (EUAHAHAH)
Keywords
Where Elephantvoices is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Elephantvoices business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Donations and Charitable Contributions: ElephantVoices is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization registered in California, USA. The organization relies on donations from individuals, foundations, and supporters to fund research, conservation, and educational activities.
- Conservation Services: Long-term monitoring and conservation projects funded by grants and partnerships with organizations like the Gorongosa Restoration Project.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Elephantvoices product offering
Product offeringCore offering
ElephantVoices conducts long-term field research on African elephant behavior and communication, and makes the resulting data freely accessible through The Elephant Ethogram (a digital library of 400+ documented behaviors), the EleApp mobile application for citizen science observation recording, and searchable Who's Who & Whereabouts photographic identification databases covering elephant populations in Amboseli, Maasai Mara, and Gorongosa. The organization complements these digital tools with on-the-ground conservation monitoring partnerships in Kenya and Mozambique.
Product overview
ElephantVoices operates primarily as a research and education platform offering The Elephant Ethogram as its core product — a comprehensive digital library documenting African elephant behavior with thousands of video and audio media files. Supporting this main platform are specialized mobile applications (EleApp) for field data collection, multiple research databases (Who's Who & Whereabouts databases) for tracking individual elephants across populations, and an Elephant Calls Database housing decades of vocalization recordings. The product suite enables researchers, conservationists, and the public to explore, identify, and understand elephant behavior, communication, and social structures.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- The Elephant Ethogram The Elephant Ethogram is a comprehensive online digital library documenting African elephant behavior. It catalogues over 400 behaviors with more than 3,000 media files including 2,400 videos, and serves as the world's largest video and audio library of elephant behaviors for researchers, conservationists, educators, and the general public.
- EleApp (Elephant Observation App) EleApp is a smartphone application developed by ElephantVoices for citizen scientists and field researchers to record elephant observations in the field and upload them directly to the Who's Who & Whereabouts databases. It is available in English and Portuguese versions for use in different field sites, including Maasai Mara and Gorongosa.
- Gorongosa Elephant Who's Who & Whereabouts Database An online searchable database housing photographic records, identifying features, life history information, and geospatial data on individually known elephants in Gorongosa National Park. Includes the 'Who's Who' registry and 'Whereabouts' geospatial records covering approximately 800 elephants across 28 documented families in two clans.
- Mara Elephant Who's Who & Whereabouts Database A searchable online elephant identification database for storing information, photographs, and identifying features of individual elephants in the Maasai Mara ecosystem. Used by citizen scientists and partner organizations to monitor elephants and collect data on elephant groups across the conservancy landscape.
- Elephant Calls Database A comprehensive database of elephant vocalization recordings paired with detailed field notes documenting who was calling, in what context, and the associated behavioral observations. Includes rumbles, trumpets, roars, and combination calls, including infrasound below human hearing range, forming the basis for research on elephant vocal communication.
Quantifiable outcome
- Elephant population recovery documented from fewer than 200 to over 800 in Gorongosa
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Elephantvoices
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Elephantvoices technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability7 records
Feature4 records
Elephantvoices partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Santuário de Elefantes BrasilcoreElephantVoices co-founded this 2,800-acre sanctuary in Chapada dos Guimarães, Brazil. Joyce serves on the board. The sanctuary promotes the sanctuary model for captive elephants in South America.
- Global Sanctuary for ElephantscoreElephantVoices is a founding partner of this US non-profit focused on elephant sanctuaries. Joyce serves on the board. Scott and Kat Blais lead this initiative.
- Gorongosa Restoration ProjectcoreNine-year partnership (2011-2019) to monitor and conserve Gorongosa's traumatized but rebounding elephant population. ElephantVoices documented how civil conflict reshaped elephant bodies, behavior, and trust in humans.
- Gorongosa National ParkcoreCollaboration across Conservation, Science, and Human Development departments for elephant monitoring and protection. Intersection between anti-poaching, veterinary work, and human-elephant conflict mitigation was fundamental to conservation efforts.
- Amboseli Trust for Elephants (formerly Amboseli Elephant Research Project)coreLong-standing collaboration with the world's longest-running elephant study since 1972. Together these studies have transformed understanding of elephant society, from musth to infrasound and beyond.
- Conservancies (Mara Triangle, Mara North, Lemek, Ol Chorro Oiroua, Enonkishu, Motorogi, Olare Orok, Mara Naboisho, Ol Kinyei, Olderikesi)corePartnership with 10 conservancies in Maasai Mara ecosystem to implement spatial and conservation recommendations. These partners continue to monitor elephant movements and mitigate conflict.
- Kenya Wildlife ServicecoreGovernment agency partnered on elephant management, conservation planning, and anti-poaching efforts across Kenya's elephant landscapes.
- Mara Elephant ProjectminorPartner in Maasai Mara continuing to monitor elephants, promote coexistence, and conduct anti-poaching patrols using the Who's Who and Whereabouts databases.
- Elephant AwareminorPartner in Maasai Mara continuing to monitor elephants on the eastern side of the ecosystem, making use of ElephantVoices databases.
- Sheldrick Wildlife TrustcoreCollaboration on elephant rescue operations including rescuing Kibo from a well. Sheldrick provides orphaned elephant rehabilitation and reintegration support.
- Maasai Mara National ReservecorePartnership with the National Reserve for spatial planning and conservation recommendations to protect Mara's connectivity and future.
- Big Life FoundationcorePartner in anti-poaching efforts and elephant protection, particularly for cross-border populations. Collaborated to halt trophy hunting killings in Tanzania borderlands.
- Colorado State UniversitycoreAcademic partnership led by Dr. Mickey Pardo for machine learning analysis of elephant calls and discovery of elephant naming behavior.
- Save the ElephantscoreCollaborative research partnership contributing to landmark studies including the 2024 Nature Ecology & Evolution paper on elephant naming.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Elephantvoices competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Mara Elephant Project: Monitors and protects elephants in the Maasai Mara using ID databases and anti-poaching patrols, overlapping directly with ElephantVoices' Maasai Mara work.
- Amboseli Trust for Elephants: Runs the world's longest-running study of individually known elephants in Amboseli, sharing the same research focus and study population as ElephantVoices.
- Big Life Foundation: Community-based conservation NGO protecting elephants and wildlife across the Kenya-Tanzania borderlands, sharing anti-poaching and coexistence goals.
- Save the Elephants: Kenya-based elephant research and conservation organization; a direct collaborator and peer conducting elephant tracking, behavioral research, and anti-poaching work in the same landscapes.
- Sheldrick Wildlife Trust: Kenyan conservation charity focused on elephant rescue, rehabilitation, and protection; a collaborator with a similar elephant-welfare and conservation mission.
- International Elephant Foundation: Funds and supports elephant conservation and research programs worldwide, directly aligned with ElephantVoices' species-focused mission.
Broad incumbents
- African Wildlife Foundation: Large pan-African conservation organization whose programs include elephant protection, overlapping broadly but across a much wider species and landscape portfolio.
- Wildlife Conservation Society: Global conservation NGO running wildlife research and protection programs including elephants, offering overlapping capabilities at far larger scale and scope.
Emerging players
- The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee: Provides captive elephant refuge and public education on elephant welfare, overlapping with ElephantVoices' captivity-awareness and sanctuary advocacy.
- K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics (Cornell): Pioneered elephant infrasound research and maintains bioacoustic archives, mirroring ElephantVoices' acoustic recording and analysis focus.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Elephantvoices social profiles
Digital presenceElephantvoices financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Elephantvoices leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Elephantvoices funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Elephantvoices M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Elephantvoices
What does Elephantvoices do?
ElephantVoices conducts long-term field research on African elephant behavior and communication, and makes the resulting data freely accessible through The Elephant Ethogram (a digital library of 400+ documented behaviors), the EleApp mobile application for citizen science observation recording, and searchable Who's Who & Whereabouts photographic identification databases covering elephant populations in Amboseli, Maasai Mara, and Gorongosa. The organization complements these digital tools with on-the-ground conservation monitoring partnerships in Kenya and Mozambique.
Is Elephantvoices a public or private company?
Elephantvoices is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Elephantvoices founded?
Elephantvoices was founded in 2002. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Elephantvoices based?
Elephantvoices is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Elephantvoices make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Donations and Charitable Contributions are the primary driver. The others are conservation Services.
Who are Elephantvoices's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Mara Elephant Project, Amboseli Trust for Elephants, Big Life Foundation, Save the Elephants, Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and International Elephant Foundation. Broad incumbents are African Wildlife Foundation and Wildlife Conservation Society. Emerging players are The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee and K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics (Cornell).
Does Elephantvoices have an API?
No public API is recorded for Elephantvoices.
What industry is Elephantvoices in?
Elephantvoices's product category is Wildlife Conservation Research. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EUAHAHAH, Wildlife Surveys & Movement/Connectivity Studies (e.g., Avian/Bat, Telemetry). Its NAICS code is 5192.