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Although African elephants have a global appeal and donors especially in the global North significantly support their protection, rural African's attitudes towards elephant conservation are complex, and discouraging in certain locations. A proper understanding of the attitudes of people living around protected areas towards elephants is important for designing successful elephant conservation programs. Using a political ecology framework, this study assessed attitudes towards elephant among two communities living near protected areas in the Tsavo region of Kenya; the Kamba who live around Chyulu Hills National Park and the Kasigau Taita who live around Mt. Kasigau Forest, Kenya. I conducted in depth interviews with local residents, to examine the link between local attitudes towards elephants with the political-ecological history of extra-local effects especially the establishment and management of protected areas. The results show that residents around Mt. Kasigau had more favorable attitudes towards elephants than those around the Chyulu Hills National Park. This article concludes that local perceptions about elephants in the Tsavo region are political, they are embedded in issues of rights to livelihood, and access to and control over lands and resources. I argue that local meanings and concerns about elephants need to be integrated in the management plans of protected areas. Key Words: elephants, Chyulu Hills, Mount Kasigau, conservation, political ecology, protected areas RésuméMême si les éléphants africains jouissent d'une renommée mondiale et que leur protection est financée par de nombreux donateurs du Nord global, l'attitude des Africains issus de milieux ruraux envers la conversation de cette espèce est complexe. Cette dernière est même découragée dans certaines localités. En empruntant à l'écologie politique, cet article évalue l'attitudes des membres de deux communautés envers les éléphants. Celles-ci sont localisées à proximité d'aires protégées dans la région du Tsavo au Kenya et incluent les Kamba qui vivent près du Parc National des Collines Chyulu et les Kasigau Taita qui habitent la forêt du Mont Kasigau. À travers l'analyse d'entrevues détaillées avec les résidents locaux, l'article a pour but d'examiner le lien entre les attitudes locales envers les éléphants et l'histoire politico-écologique des effets extra-locaux, en particulier l'établissement et l'administration des aires protégées. Les résulats démontrent que les résidents du Mont Kasigau adoptent des attitudes plus favorables envers les éléphants que ceux qui vivent près du Parc National des Collines Chyulu. En conclusion, l'article suggère que les perceptions locales liées aux éléphants dans la région du Tsavo sont politiques, et imbriquées dans des problèmes de droit, de survie, et d'accès et de contrôles du territoire et de ses ressources. J'argue que les significations et préoccupations locales envers les éléphants doivent être intégrées dans des plans plus vastes de gérance des aires protégées. Mots clés : éléphants, Coll...

Understanding the reasons for conflict between elephants and people who live adjacent to conservation areas remains key to recruiting them as allies in preserving elephant populations. The Tsavo region of Kenya has become a notable battleground for elephant conservation in East Africa, characterized by ivory poachers, crop damages by elephants in communities adjacent to parks, and electric fencing to control human and wildlife mobility. Oral histories of six ethnic groups reveal how such human‐elephant conflict emerged during colonial times through a landscape transformation process involving elephants, livestock, people, and vegetation. The general trend over the past two centuries involves a transition from a precolonial modality characterized by human and elephant mobility to their increasing immobility, spatial separation, and conflict. Understanding of the historical emergence of that conflict forces recommendation of a change in policy direction, from further reducing mobility to restoration of mobility and spatial reintegration of people in parks. Keywords: colonialism and landscape, East Africa, elephant conservation, historical political ecology.