Abstract
A study to estimate population size and distribution of elephants in the Rubondo Island National Park (RINP) was conducted between March and July 2014. It involved elephant dung survey methods. In estimating elephant dung pile density, a total of 217 dung piles were enumerated in 58 transects (each 1 km). The on-site dung decay rate computed from 100 marked fresh dung piles was estimated to be 0.01542 per day. By combining estimated dung pile density, on-site decay rate and defecation rate of 17 dung piles per day, the study found an estimate of about 102 elephants (95% CI, 72-144). Furthermore, results of this study indicate that, elephants were found to be more concentrated on the central and northern zones, which are the areas of the park that have some open glades allowing elephant to access the area easily to lake shores. The information generated from the study can be incorporated into setting up future management strategies for elephant conservation in RINP. Key words: Rubondo Island National Park (RINP), distance sampling, dung pile density, decay rate.
Highlights
The African elephant (Loxodonta africana) is the largest terrestrial mammal and an icon of the African wilderness, the population of which is declining across its range (Blanc, 2008)
Effective strip width (ESW) is the average distance where dung piles were detected during dung count survey
The model which was considered to give the precise estimate has a percentage of coefficient of variation of 17.35 (Table 1)
Summary
The African elephant (Loxodonta africana) is the largest terrestrial mammal and an icon of the African wilderness, the population of which is declining across its range (Blanc, 2008). The species is known to exist in a variety of habitats ranging from tropical forests, savannah to deserts and the species tends to extend habitats in searching for food, water and cover (Blanc, 2008 Stephenson, 2007). Some findings have shown that elephants need large home ranges and require extensive areas to meet their basic metabolic requirements.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: International Journal of Biodiversity and Conservation
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
