Elephants are among the most magnificent – but also most problematic –members of South Africa's wildlife population. While they are sought after by South African and foreign tourists alike, they also have a major impact on their environment. As a result, elephant management has become a highly complex and often controversial discipline. The information needed to underpin vital decisions about elephant management has largely been unavailable to decision-makers, contested by experts, or simply unknown. As a result, the South African Minister for Environmental Affairs and Tourism convened a round table to advise him on this issue. The round table recommended that a scientific assessment of elephant management be undertaken to gather, evaluate, and present all the relevant information on this topic. Its main findings and recommendations are contained in this volume. Elephant Management is the first book of its kind, combining the work of more than 60 national and international experts. Extensively reviewed by policy-makers and other stakeholders, it is the most systematic and comprehensive review of savanna elephant populations and factors relevant to managing them to date. As such it is of interest to a broad spectrum of readers in South Africa and elsewhere. Above all, it is aimed at helping conservation policy-makers and practitioners to choose the best possible options for the sustainable preservation of these iconic animals. This illustrated and comprehenseive work explores a range of topics: synthesizing, evaluating and summarizing knowledge on the biology and ecology of elephants; elephant effects on trees, other herbivores, birds and ecosystem function; management techniques; and social, economic and ethical implications of various management options. Robert (Bob) Scholes is a Professor of Systems Ecology at the University of the Witwatersrand. He has worked on the issue of climate change since 1990, and was a Lead Author on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s influential assessments in 2000, 2007 and 2014. His specialty is the interaction between terrestrial ecosystems in Africa and the global climate, and he is widely regarded as a world expert in this field. Kathleen G Mennell obtained her Honours in Ecology and Conservation from the University of the Witwatersrand and is currently a Masters student within the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. dBrandon Anthony is an assistant professor at the Department of Environmental Sciences & Policy, Central European University. Graham Avery is archaeozoologist at Iziko South African Museum, with expertise in the study of ancient and modern bones. He has been Chairman of the Southern African Association of Archaeologists and President of the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa.