Smithsonian scientists work with Myanmar’s forestry department and mahouts to study wild elephants. Mahouts are elephant keepers, trainers and trackers. They can find elephants through the dense forest and are experts in elephant behavior from caring for their own elephants. The elephants the mahouts care for are mostly former work elephants, used as draft animals for logging. Together, scientists, the forestry department and mahouts, find and fit wild elephants with GPS collars. The data they collect will help protect elephants and their habitat.