Making Sense of Human-Elephant Conflict in Laikipia County, Kenya

This article proposes sensemaking theory to understand human-elephant interactions. The article draws on a case study of human-elephant interaction in Laikipia County, Kenya, to understand how farmers make sense of elephants in their crops. Drawing on eight interviews, the analysis showed that respondents rely on various environmental and social cues to perceive an elephant in their crop and select a plausible course of action. The article illustrates that actors' degree of ecological embeddedness will influence their sensemaking processes and supports the argument for the inclusion of ecological materiality within sensemaking studies. The article also argues for further research into the interactions of humans and elephants, including the gender and institutional dimensions of farmers' sensemaking processes.