The Prince of Wales has paid tribute to pioneering elephant conservationist Iain Douglas-Hamilton, who died aged 83 at his home in Nairobi on Monday.

Douglas-Hamilton spent his life studying and campaigning to protect African elephants, becoming a world-leading expert on their behaviour in the wild.

His groundbreaking research exposed the devastating effects of poaching - often at great risk to his own safety - and was instrumental in the banning of the international ivory trade.

Prince William praised the zoologist as a man who dedicated his life to conservation and whose life's work leaves lasting impact on our appreciation for, and understanding of, elephants.

The memories of spending time in Africa with him will remain with me forever, added Prince William, who is a royal patron for the African wildlife conservation charity, Tusk, of which Douglas-Hamilton was an ambassador.

The world has lost a true conservation legend today, but his extraordinary legacy will continue, the charity's founder Charles Mayhew said in a statement.

Born in 1942 to an aristocratic British family in Dorset, England, Douglas-Hamilton studied biology and zoology in Scotland and Oxford before moving to Tanzania to research elephant social behaviour.

It was there at Lake Manyara National Park that he began documenting every elephant he encountered, eventually becoming so familiar with the herds he could recognise them by the unique shapes of their ears and wrinkles on their skin.

Despite being charged at by elephants, almost killed by a swarm of bees, and shot at by poachers, his dedication never wavered. His work was critical in raising awareness of the elephant poaching crisis, which he described as an elephant holocaust. He later campaigned for an international ban on the commercial trade in ivory, resulting in the signing of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in 1989.

Douglas-Hamilton established Save the Elephants in 1993, a charity dedicated to safeguarding elephants and deepening human understanding of their behaviour. His son-in-law, Frank Pope, now CEO of the organization, noted, Iain changed the future not just for elephants, but for huge numbers of people across the globe. His courage, determination and rigour inspired everyone he met.

Douglas-Hamilton is survived by his wife Oria, children Saba and Dudu, and six grandchildren.