The study aimed to determine African elephants' (Loxodonta africana) welfare inside Serengeti National Park and in the partially-protected adjoining areas of Grumeti Game Reserve and Ikoma Open Area, where human disturbance is greater.

By testing elephant dung, the research team found animals outside the national park had significantly higher levels of the stress hormone, gluccorticoid.

Also, more elephants lived inside the park, while no single males were seen outside, suggesting the elephants preferred residing in potentially safer areas.

"The reason is most probably that elephants try to avoid human-elephant interactions," said research team member Dr Eivin Roskaft from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim.

(smart move, Loxodonta africana!)

The study is the latest research to show that animals avoid areas with human disturbances. A previous study, for example, showed African elephants became stressed even before raiding farmers' fields for crops.

Elephants are introverts?

They are survivors ... or not.

According to Dr Roskaft, elephant poaching is once more increasing.

"The elephant population in Africa is presently declining at an alarming rate," he said.

"The world must find interest in it, if not there will be very few or no elephants in Africa in about five to six years."

Just like the world took an interest in pandas.

I was going to reply with "Yeah, but people don't eat panda!"   Then I found this:

Then I read their meat tastes awful.  THANK GOD!