Sharon Pincott is an Australian author and specialist in African elephant behaviour. She has studied the social structure and population dynamics of a single clan of wild elephants extensively, and advocates for ending both the ivory trade and the ripping of young elephants from their mothers for sale to zoos, in addition to promoting conservation awareness.
Background Pincott grew up in the small town of Grantham, Queensland in the Lockyer Valley Region in Australia's east. She originally worked in the field of Information technology (IT) and progressed to the position of National Director of IT for Ernst & Young Australia based in Sydney, before becoming an IT Consultant which allowed her the freedom to travel more often to Africa, and to realize her passion and concern for elephants.
Zimbabwe-focused work Pincott worked alone, on a full-time voluntary, primarily self-funded basis, for 13 years (2001–2014) with the clan of wild, free-roaming, elephants known as the Presidential Elephants of Zimbabwe on land bordering the Main Camp entrance to Hwange National Park. She initiated a project named The Presidential Elephant Conservation Project and eventually acquired a reputation for being able to "talk to the elephants". In 2009, eight years after arriving in Zimbabwe, Pincott was appointed South Africa Getaway magazine's 'Elephant Ambassador in Africa' "in recognition of her courageous work with wildlife in Hwange". Pincott subsequently came to the attention of Natural History Unit Africa and became the subject of the documentary titled All the President's Elephants. This All the President's Elephants documentary was filmed with Pincott in Hwange in 2011. It is the story of Pincott's life, work and intimate relationship with the Presidential Elephants of Zimbabwe, showcasing these Hwange elephants and some of the problems they, and conservationists working in the field to help protect wildlife, often face. It includes her wire snare removal work with colleagues called in to dart injured elephants using a tranquillizer gun. It also features Pincott's work successfully recommending and encouraging President Robert Mugabe to reaffirm his commitment to this clan of elephants, in an effort to secure their future.
From December 2017 Pincott was active in voicing widespread opposition to scores of young elephants being captured, forcibly taken from their mothers and families inside Hwange National Park and transported to Chinese zoos, appealing to Zimbabwe's new President Emmerson Mnangagwa for an immediate review of policy and ultimately delivering a petition that attracted 287,509 signatures. Her elephant conservation work has been profiled in National Geographic, BBC Wildlife and Africa Geographic. She has been interviewed by writers for Intrepid Explorer magazine, South Africa The Zimbabwean newspaper, The Sydney Morning Herald, Travel Africa magazine., and the October/November 2016 edition of Forbes Woman Africa magazine, amongst others.
Author She has published three books: The Elephants and I (Jacana Media, South Africa 2009) - now out of print, and available online under the new title The Elephants and Me, Battle for the President's Elephants (Jacana Media, South Africa 2012) and Elephant Dawn (first published by Allen & Unwin, Australia 2016, and then by Jacana Media, South Africa 2016). She is also the author of two earlier elephant works which she released by Self-publishing in Zimbabwe, In An Elephant's Rumble (2004, ISBN 079742864X) and A Year Less Ordinary (2006, ISBN 0797431667).
In 2019, Pincott was one of 42 people, working for the protection of African elephants, selected to contribute a chapter to the landmark coffee table book, The Last Elephants, compiled and edited by South African investigative journalist Don Pinnock, and associate Colin Bell. Pincott’s contribution is titled Learning from Zimbabwe’s Presidential Elephants, which summarizes the highs and lows of her years working with these wild Hwange elephant families. In its Introduction from Kensington Palace, HRH William, Prince of Wales writes in part: “At the current pace of illegal poaching, when [his daughter] Charlotte turns 25 the African elephant could be gone from the wild … we cannot let this happen.” He offers encouragement to those like Pincott working for the welfare of elephants to "move fast and effectively to conserve our natural heritage". In its Preface, Pincott and several of her colleagues are named as “the Jane Goodalls and Dian Fosseys of the elephant world.”
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