Abstract
African elephants are a dominant feature of the African Savannah. Their numbers are however declining, partly due to habitat alteration and loss. Understanding how elephants respond to environmental variables and anthropogenic activities is necessary in conserving elephant habitats. This has become imperative in human dominated rangelands such as the Tarangire Manyara Ecosystem (TME). We present a baseline survey on the effects of formal protection, presence of agriculture, roads, urban areas and specific habitat characteristics (surface water presence, tree density, vegetation cover and habitat type) on elephant distribution (indicated by elephant dung) in Manyara Ranch (MR), Lake Manyara National Park (LMNP) and the adjacent community area (CA). We supplemented the dung survey with opportunistic direct elephant sightings. Twenty six elephant groups were identified within the study area. Elephant dung density was higher within protected areas than in the CA. Elephants largely avoided farmland and urban areas but not main
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