Elephant Movement Research Articles

Effectiveness of Power Fences on Preventing Human Elephant Conflict in Sri Lanka

In view of the availability of land space with the required habitat conditions together with thelegal protection, the country is heir to a considerable population of wild elephants. As a resultof alteration of land use patterns for development activities the land area enjoyed by the wildelephants for long periods has reduced resulting in Human Elephant Conflict. Surveys carriedout by the Department have revealed that there is a loss of about 75 human lives and 170elephants each year as a result of this conflict. The strategies being adopted so far forpreventing the conflict are not totally successful.Semi structured interviews were conducted during January to April 2012 using 240 persons,34 groups and 93 wildlife officers to identify main reasons for human elephant conflict andassess the efficacy of mitigating measures practiced so far island wide. Efficiency of powerfences were assessed using the number of elephant damages before and after the erection offences in Polonnaruwa wildlife region during 2011 and 2012. The findings have beencorrelated with the maintenance of the fence and the location of the fence where it has beenerected.Fragmentation of elephant home range, lack of proper land utilisation plans in the rural areas,poor implementation of “elephant conservation plans” identified in national leveldevelopment projects in EIA process, quantitative and qualitative degradation of elephanthabitats, poor adaptation to new conservation activities, lack of community participation arethe major reasons that aggravate the conflict.Establishing Land use plans for every DS divisions, strengthening legal and administrativecapacities of existing forest lands, habitat enrichment, population management, awareness ofrural community and control of elephant movements are the main effective measures withregard to minimize the conflict.Erection of power fences is a better solution identified so far. The absence of a propermechanism for maintenance and erecting fences at wrong locations has caused a problem infurther aggravating the conflict. The conflict can be significantly reduced by locating thefence at close proximity to the villages with proper maintenance. For the efficacy, the fenceshould be clearly visible by either side of it and a fence monitoring mechanism should beestablished with a daily reporting system.

Elephant movement closely tracks precipitation-driven vegetation dynamics in a Kenyan forest-savanna landscape.

BackgroundThis study investigates the ranging behavior of elephants in relation to precipitation-driven dynamics of vegetation. Movement data were acquired for five bachelors and five female family herds during three years in the Marsabit protected area in Kenya and changes in vegetation were mapped using MODIS normalized difference vegetation index time series (NDVI). In the study area, elevations of 650 to 1100 m.a.s.l experience two growth periods per year, while above 1100 m.a.s.l. growth periods last a year or longer.ResultsWe find that elephants respond quickly to changes in forage and water availability, making migrations in response to both large and small rainfall events. The elevational migration of individual elephants closely matched the patterns of greening and senescing of vegetation in their home range. Elephants occupied lower elevations when vegetation activity was high, whereas they retreated to the evergreen forest at higher elevations while vegetation senesced. Elephant home ranges decreased in size, and overlapped less with increasing elevation.ConclusionsA recent hypothesis that ungulate migrations in savannas result from countervailing seasonally driven rainfall and fertility gradients is demonstrated, and extended to shorter-distance migrations. In other words, the trade-off between the poor forage quality and accessibility in the forest with its year-round water sources on the one hand and the higher quality forage in the low-elevation scrubland with its seasonal availability of water on the other hand, drives the relatively short migrations (the two main corridors are 20 and 90 km) of the elephants. In addition, increased intra-specific competition appears to influence the animals’ habitat use during the dry season indicating that the human encroachment on the forest is affecting the elephant population.

Sustainability of elephant hunting across international borders in southern Africa: A case study of the greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conservation Area

ABSTRACTTrophy hunting of African elephant is often implemented as an income generator for communities surrounding protected areas. However, the sustainability of hunting on elephant populations, especially with regards to international cross‐border populations has not previously been evaluated. We assessed the effects of trophy hunting on the population dynamics and movements of elephant in the Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conservation Area, which is spread across the junction of Botswana, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. Currently, no common policy exits in quota setting for cross‐border species, and each country determines their own quota based on limited data. Using VORTEX, we determined the sustainability of current quotas of elephant off‐take under different ecological and hunting scenarios. We used distribution data from 6 aerial surveys and hunting data per region to determine the disturbance effect of hunting on bulls and breeding herds separately. Hunting of bulls had a direct effect in reducing bull numbers but also an indirect effect due to disturbance that resulted in movement of elephants out of the areas in which hunting occurred. The return interval was short for bulls but longer for females. Only a small number of bulls (<10/year) could be hunted sustainably. At current rates of hunting, under average ecological conditions, trophy bulls will disappear from the population in less than 10 years. We recommend a revision of the current quotas within each country for the Greater Mapungubwe elephant population, and the establishment of a single multi‐jurisdictional (cross‐border) management authority regulating the hunting of elephant and other cross‐border species. © 2013 The Wildlife Society

Unravelling complex associations between physiological state and movement of African elephants

Summary Despite the identification of internal state as a fundamental component of animal movement, the effect of an individual's internal physiological state on movement remains poorly understood. African elephants (Loxodonta africana) alter their behaviour in response to their physiological state, and elevated stress hormone concentrations have been associated with reclusive behaviour and aggression towards humans. Thus, a better understanding of the link between internal physiological state and movement is important in advancing the field of movement ecology, and the ecology and management of elephants. We compared the movement paths of African elephants in two physiological states (basal and elevated stress hormone levels) to understand the variation in the use of space in relation to the proximity of environmental features and refugia. We documented differences in the elephants' use of space along movement paths by physiological state. Elephant family groups in a basal physiological state tended to venture away from refugia and commercial tree plantations, and use areas in closer proximity to fresh water. In contrast, elephant family groups in an elevated physiological state tended to use areas near refugia and commercial tree plantations. The use of commercial tree plantations during elevated states highlights an important concern for human safety in the context of human–elephant conflict. Synthesis and applications. Our findings suggest that fine‐scale movement patterns and the use of specific environmental features by elephants are associated with differences in elephant physiological state. Therefore, future attempts to describe or predict typically complex animal movement could be enhanced by incorporating measures of their physiological state. Given that elephants are more prone to habitat disturbance and aggression when in an elevated physiological state, information about elephant movement behaviour could be used in combination with real‐time tracking data to predict when and where elephants are potentially in elevated physiological states and limit human access to these areas, which might mitigate human–elephant conflict.

On the Possible Detection of Lightning Storms by Elephants.

Simple SummaryWe use data similar to that taken by the International Monitoring System for the detection of nuclear explosions, to determine whether elephants might be capable of detecting and locating the source of sounds generated by thunderstorms. Knowledge that elephants might be capable of responding to such storms, particularly at the end of the dry season when migrations are initiated, is of considerable interest to management and conservation.Theoretical calculations suggest that sounds produced by thunderstorms and detected by a system similar to the International Monitoring System (IMS) for the detection of nuclear explosions at distances ≥100 km, are at sound pressure levels equal to or greater than 6 × 10−3 Pa. Such sound pressure levels are well within the range of elephant hearing. Frequencies carrying these sounds might allow for interaural time delays such that adult elephants could not only hear but could also locate the source of these sounds. Determining whether it is possible for elephants to hear and locate thunderstorms contributes to the question of whether elephant movements are triggered or influenced by these abiotic sounds.

Sumatran elephant ranging behavior in a fragmented rainforest landscape

Increasingly, habitat fragmentation by agricultural and human development has forced Sumatran elephants (Elephas maximus sumatranus) into relatively small areas; yet, there is no information on the movements and home range behaviors of elephants on Sumatra. Using a GPS collar, we estimated the home range sizes of an adult female elephant (one of a herd of 40 to 60) in the Seblat Elephant Conservation Center (SECC), Bengkulu Province of Sumatra in 2007 to 2008. We assessed the level of autocorrelation among elephant locations, and used correlation and logistic regression analyses to examine relationships between elephant movements and monthly rainfall, and elephant locations with the remotely sensed enhanced vegetation index (EVI), and distance to roads and rivers. Overall home range size was 97.4 km2 for the minimum convex polygon (MCP), and 95.0 km2 for the 95% fixed kernel (FK), estimator. There were no relationships between average monthly elephant home range sizes or movement distances with rainfall. Distances to rivers and ex-logging roads had little effect on elephant locations, but EVI, an index of canopy photosynthetic capacity, did correspond with elephant locations, occurring predominately in forests with intermediate canopy cover versus closed canopy forests. Consistent food and water availability in the lowland forests of the SECC in combination with high human development surrounding the center probably affect the small home range size. Key words: Elephas maximus, home range, Indonesia, movement, Sumatran elephant.

Does escalating conflict and conservation challenges allow the Asian elephants to co-exist with humans in north India?

The Shivalik Elephant Reserve (c 5405 Km2) appears to be one of India’s most important biological areas, which holds a healthy population of Asian elephants (±1,346) and sex ratio. But during the recent past, man-elephant conflict has escalated drastically in this region primarily due to the increasing movement of elephants in agricultural fields, and attacks. For the last six years, cultivators were found to be hostile towards elephants, protected areas and managers, thereby having a negative impact on conservation-based community participation. The objective of this study was to evaluate the technical reasons behind this conflict. Field data was collected from June 2008 to May 2010, to assess people’s perceptions and attitudes in connection to elephant conservation. Drastic changes in the pattern of land use, elephant’s attempts to enter their traditional ground, communication gaps, human causalities, an increase in the rate of crop raiding, and anthropogenic activities inside the forest areas were found to be issues behind this conflict.

Animal Perception of Seasonal Thresholds: Changes in Elephant Movement in Relation to Rainfall Patterns

BackgroundThe identification of temporal thresholds or shifts in animal movement informs ecologists of changes in an animal’s behaviour, which contributes to an understanding of species’ responses in different environments. In African savannas, rainfall, temperature and primary productivity influence the movements of large herbivores and drive changes at different scales. Here, we developed a novel approach to define seasonal shifts in movement behaviour by examining the movements of a highly mobile herbivore (elephant; Loxodonta africana), in relation to local and regional rainfall patterns.Methodology/Principal FindingsWe used speed to determine movement changes of between 8 and 14 GPS-collared elephant cows, grouped into five spatial clusters, in Kruger National Park, South Africa. To detect broad-scale patterns of movement, we ran a three-year daily time-series model for each individual (2007–2009). Piecewise regression models provided the best fit for elephant movement, which exhibited a segmented, waveform pattern over time. Major breakpoints in speed occurred at the end of the dry and wet seasons of each year. During the dry season, female elephant are constrained by limited forage and thus the distances they cover are shorter and less variable. Despite the inter-annual variability of rainfall, speed breakpoints were strongly correlated with both local and regional rainfall breakpoints across all three years. Thus, at a multi-year scale, rainfall patterns significantly affect the movements of elephant. The variability of both speed and rainfall breakpoints across different years highlights the need for an objective definition of seasonal boundaries.Conclusions/SignificanceBy using objective criteria to determine behavioural shifts, we identified a biologically meaningful indicator of major changes in animal behaviour in different years. We recommend the use of such criteria, from an animal’s perspective, for delineating seasons or other extrinsic shifts in ecological studies, rather than arbitrarily fixed definitions based on convention or common practice.

Historical range and movements of the Elephants in Babile Elephant Sanctuary, Ethiopia

AbstractA study on historical range and movement patterns of the African savannah elephants (Loxodonta africana africana) in Ethiopia was made from December 2004 to November 2008. Babile Elephant Sanctuary is one of the strongholds of elephants in the country, where it now supports approximately 27% of the elephant population in Ethiopia. Elephant movement routes and ranges were identified based on interviews of local people and by tracking the animals in the field. Elephants of the Sanctuary were categorized into two distinctive groups or clans based on their movement patterns and their associations to each other. Three major valleys, namely Gobele, Erer and Dakata, were crossed by elephants. Elephants in the population had an estimated annual range of 3014 km2. Of this, 85.7% (2583 km2) was inside the Sanctuary and 14.3% (430 km2) outside but adjacent to the Sanctuary. Elephant use outside of the Sanctuary included three different areas: Upper Erer Valley (8 km2), Upper Gobele Valley (48 km2) and west of Gobele Valley (374 km2). The extent of range varied seasonally. During the wet season, elephant range was restricted to Erer Valley and its tributaries (1266 km2 and a density of approximately 0.25 animal km−2), or 42% smaller than the dry season range (1417 km2, 0.23 elephant km−2). Range use was smallest (332 km2) in October to November and from April to May. During the dry season, elephants were found in two distinctive groups, one using Gobele Valley and the other Erer Valley.

RAPID ASSESSMENT OF HUMAN ELEPHANT CONFLICTS AT HANDAPANGALA AREA AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MINIMIZING THEM

At present, during the dry season (July to September), there are about 120-150 elephants all using the water resources and refuge available in the Handapanagala teak forest. Experience during the last few years indicates that these animals comprise several clans and families forming one large herd during the dry season, which breaks up into original clans and families and travel to other areas in search of food during the rainy season. However, a resident herd of about 30-40 animals remain in the near vicinity of the Handapanagala tank. The incidence of crop raiding is highest during the dry season and involves whatever crops are being cultivated by the villages. There have been a number of incidents where calves have died due to falling into pits or unprotected wells. In some incidents the villages have killed the animals by poisoning.Objectives of the study include: to suggest remedial measures to reduce the Human/ Elephant conflict; to suggest short term and long term conservation strategies to reduce the conflicts to a minimum. The methodology includes: data collected on socio-economic and agricultural practices of the farmers; information regarding the elephant movement and conflict; carrying capacity of water holes in Yala blocks III and IV; visual assessment of available foliage in Yala blocks III and IV; examination of migratory paths from Hadapanagala to Yala blocks V and IV. Short term recommendations include: capture and translocate of a few habitual crop raiders; open a corridor linking Handapangala area and Yala National Park; translocate Neluwagala settlers; provide adequate space for animals; repair and reconstruct of water holes in Yala blocks III and IV. Long term recommendations include: a study to determine the carrying capacity of Yala blocks III and IV; enrichment of the habitat in Yala blocks III IV and V; establish a research unit in situ to study the migratory patterns; carry out a study to determine the social, economical and environmental viability of Sugar cane plantations.

Home Range and Ranging Behaviour of Bornean Elephant (Elephas maximus borneensis) Females

BackgroundHome range is defined as the extent and location of the area covered annually by a wild animal in its natural habitat. Studies of African and Indian elephants in landscapes of largely open habitats have indicated that the sizes of the home range are determined not only by the food supplies and seasonal changes, but also by numerous other factors including availability of water sources, habitat loss and the existence of man-made barriers. The home range size for the Bornean elephant had never been investigated before.Methodology/Principal FindingsThe first satellite tracking program to investigate the movement of wild Bornean elephants in Sabah was initiated in 2005. Five adult female elephants were immobilized and neck collars were fitted with tracking devices. The sizes of their home range and movement patterns were determined using location data gathered from a satellite tracking system and analyzed by using the Minimum Convex Polygon and Harmonic Mean methods. Home range size was estimated to be 250 to 400 km2 in a non-fragmented forest and 600 km2 in a fragmented forest. The ranging behavior was influenced by the size of the natural forest habitat and the availability of permanent water sources. The movement pattern was influenced by human disturbance and the need to move from one feeding site to another.Conclusions/SignificanceHome range and movement rate were influenced by the degree of habitat fragmentation. Once habitat was cleared or converted, the availability of food plants and water sources were reduced, forcing the elephants to travel to adjacent forest areas. Therefore movement rate in fragmented forest was higher than in the non-fragmented forest. Finally, in fragmented habitat human and elephant conflict occurrences were likely to be higher, due to increased movement bringing elephants into contact more often with humans.

Indigenous Ecological Knowledge of a Human-Elephant Interaction in Transmara District, Kenya: Implications for Research and Management

Indigenous ecological knowledge (IEK) of the Maasai community in the context of their interaction with elephants around Masai Mara National Reserve (MMNR), Kenya is explored. Although Maasai community land sustains a huge elephant population, it is experiencing increased human-elephant conflict (HEC). Focus group discussions combined with scientifically collected data were used in assessing the relevance of IEK to elephant related ecological research. The Maasai narrated their experiences with elephants which were then formulated into hypotheses and tested scientifically by designing experiments that were monitored to prove the authenticity of IEK. Respondents had in-depth knowledge of some key ecological processes. Drunken people were more likely to be attacked by elephants, and elephant movement into adjacent group ranches increased with increasing wildebeest density. Elephants mainly raided ripe or mature crops while pupils within the elephant range performed poorly in national examinations. Based on this, there is strong evidence that IEK could be used to design sustainable conservation strategies. It is recommended that understanding of IEK in mitigating HEC and its subsequent integration into HEC decision support system is necessary in order to resolve conflicts.

A SUPREME ELEPHANT Movement, Materiality and Mentalities

This paper examines the movements and transformations embodied in an African bull elephant on display in the Gothenburg Museum of Natural History, Sweden. The elephant was collected and mounted by taxidermist, photographer and naturalist David Sjölander (1886–1953). The elephant mount is considered to be one of the best in the world. A plethora of meaning usually disappears when an animal is inserted in a natural history collection. Presenting and ordering of nature sets the embedding of the natural history museum in culture and society away. However, the motives and actions that killed the old bull elephant and moved it from West Africa to Gothenburg were deeply embedded in the collecting tradition of the natural history museum, in the professional<br>climate in the museum and in the spirit of the taxidermist.

Perception and attitudes of local communities towards wild elephant-related problems and conservation in Xishuangbanna, southwestern China

The problem of wild elephants, or human-elephant conflict (HEC), influences the daily life of local communities and hinders the conservation of wild elephants. The perception and attitudes of local communities who inhabited the frontiers between human activities and wild elephant movement are important to the mitigation of the HEC and conservation of wild elephants. To analyze the perception and attitudes of local communities, the Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) was used in the investigation of 423 interviewees from 22 villages in Xishuangbanna from July 2009 to February 2010. The results indicated that local communities had their views on the elephant-related problems. In field survey, we found that 66.5% of interviewees were willing to support, participate in, and assist in the conservation of wild elephants; 33.5% of interviewees were opposed or indifferent to such conservation, because their livelihoods and even their lives were endangered by wild elephants. These views and attitudes were influenced by local communities’ perception of HEC, education level, gender and self-interest. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the diverse views among local communities and balance profits and costs in addressing HEC.

Inferring ecological and behavioral drivers of African elephant movement using a linear filtering approach

Understanding the environmental factors influencing animal movements is fundamental to theoretical and applied research in the field of movement ecology. Studies relating fine-scale movement paths to spatiotemporally structured landscape data, such as vegetation productivity or human activity, are particularly lacking despite the obvious importance of such information to understanding drivers of animal movement. In part, this may be because few approaches provide the sophistication to characterize the complexity of movement behavior and relate it to diverse, varying environmental stimuli. We overcame this hurdle by applying, for the first time to an ecological question, a finite impulse-response signal-filtering approach to identify human and natural environmental drivers of movements of 13 free-ranging African elephants (Loxodonta africana) from distinct social groups collected over seven years. A minimum mean-square error (MMSE) estimation criterion allowed comparison of the predictive power of landscape and ecological model inputs. We showed that a filter combining vegetation dynamics, human and physical landscape features, and previous movement outperformed simpler filter structures, indicating the importance of both dynamic and static landscape features, as well as habit, on movement decisions taken by elephants. Elephant responses to vegetation productivity indices were not uniform in time or space, indicating that elephant foraging strategies are more complex than simply gravitation toward areas of high productivity. Predictions were most frequently inaccurate outside protected area boundaries near human settlements, suggesting that human activity disrupts typical elephant movement behavior. Successful management strategies at the human-elephant interface, therefore, are likely to be context specific and dynamic. Signal processing provides a promising approach for elucidating environmental factors that drive animal movements over large time and spatial scales.

An empirical evaluation of the African elephant as a focal species for connectivity planning in East Africa

AbstractAim Large, charismatic and wide‐ranging animals are often employed as focal species for prioritizing landscape linkages in threatened ecosystems (i.e. ‘connectivity conservation’), but there have been few efforts to assess empirically whether focal species co‐occur with other species of conservation interest within potential linkages. We evaluated whether the African elephant (Loxodonta africana), a world‐recognized flagship species, would serve as an appropriate focal species for other large mammals in a potential linkage between two major protected area complexes.Location A 15,400 km2 area between the Ruaha and Selous ecosystems in central Tanzania, East Africa.Methods We used walking transects to assess habitat, human activity and co‐occurrence of elephants and 48 other large mammal species (&gt; 1 kg) at 63 sites using animal sign and direct sightings. We repeated a subset of transects to estimate species detectability using occupancy modelling. We used logistic regression and AIC model selection to characterize patterns of elephant occurrence and assessed correlation of elephant presence with richness of large mammals and subgroups. We considered other possible focal species, compared habitat‐based linear regression models of large mammal richness and used circuit theory to examine potential connectivity spatially.Results Elephants were detected in many locations across the potential linkage. Elephant presence was highly positively correlated with the richness of large mammals, as well as ungulates, carnivores, large carnivores and species &gt; 45 kg in body mass (‘megafauna’). Outside of protected areas, both mammal richness and elephant presence were negatively correlated with human population density and distance from water. Only one other potential focal species was more strongly correlated with species richness than elephants, but detectability was highest for elephants.Main conclusions Although African elephants have dispersal abilities that exceed most other terrestrial mammals, conserving elephant movement corridors may effectively preserve habitat and potential landscape linkages for other large mammal species among Tanzanian reserves.

Movement Patterns of African Elephants (Loxodonta africana) in Different Habitat Types

In this paper we analyse the daytime movements of African elephants (Loxodonta africana) in different habitats in the Pongola Game Reserve, South Africa. On average adult males moved faster than females in all habitat types except when grouped together (then females moved at the faster male pace). Elephants demonstrated distinct movement patterns in different habitat types. All the movement parameters indicate that the elephants turned less the further they were from a large permanent body of water (Jozini Dam) and for males with increasing distance to the females. Male and female elephants turned more in habitat types that had favourable resources such as forage and shade, than they did in unfavourable habitats. Thus, the elephants used a direct movement strategy — turning less — when needing to get to a destination more quickly (e.g. toward water or mates), rather than significantly increasing their speed. It is hypothesized that these elephants are optimizing energy efficiency while still varying their...

A framework for understanding the architecture of collective movements using pairwise analyses of animal movement data

The study of collective or group-level movement patterns can provide insight regarding the socio-ecological interface, the evolution of self-organization and mechanisms of inter-individual information exchange. The suite of drivers influencing coordinated movement trajectories occur across scales, resulting from regular annual, seasonal and circadian stimuli and irregular intra- or interspecific interactions and environmental encounters acting on individuals. Here, we promote a conceptual framework with an associated statistical machinery to quantify the type and degree of synchrony, spanning absence to complete, in pairwise movements. The application of this framework offers a foundation for detailed understanding of collective movement patterns and causes. We emphasize the use of Fourier and wavelet approaches of measuring pairwise movement properties and illustrate them with simulations that contain different types of complexity in individual movement, correlation in movement stochasticity, and transience in movement relatedness. Application of this framework to movements of free-ranging African elephants (Loxodonta africana) provides unique insight on the separate roles of sociality and ecology in the fission-fusion society of these animals, quantitatively characterizing the types of bonding that occur at different levels of social relatedness in a movement context. We conclude with a discussion about expanding this framework to the context of larger (greater than three) groups towards understanding broader population and interspecific collective movement patterns and their mechanisms.

Do fences create an edge-effect on the movement patterns of a highly mobile mega-herbivore?

Physical barriers, such as rivers and roads, constrain the movement of animals, usually by preventing access to adjacent habitats and impeding dispersal. Fences are artificial barriers that are commonly used as a conservation tool to intentionally restrict movements of animals to within protected reserves. However, the potential edge-effect of fences on the behaviour of animals within reserves is poorly understood. We examined the effect of fences on the movement patterns of African elephant ( Loxodonta africana), an ecosystem modifier, in Pilanesberg National Park, South Africa. We used linear and non-linear models to determine the relationship between minimum distance from fence and seasonal daily net displacement of six GPS-collared female elephant. Elephant movement patterns were best explained by a piecewise regression that showed a strong negative relationship between minimum distance from fence and daily net displacement up to a “breakpoint” distance of 2551 m in the dry season and 3829 m in the wet season. The effect of the fence dissipated beyond this distance in both seasons. The increased tortuosity in movement patterns of elephant in the central area of the reserve suggested that they used this area more intensively for foraging compared to the peripheral area, as confirmed by differences in habitat selection. This occurs despite there being no difference in habitat composition between these areas. The decreased use of areas near the fence and more intensive foraging in the central areas constitute an important edge-effect of fences. Since elephant are ecosystem engineers, such edge-effects could potentially cascade throughout the reserve, adversely altering ecologically processes, particularly in reserves with a high edge-to-area ratio.

Asian Elephant Elephas Maximus Habitat Use and Ranging in Fragmented Rainforest and Plantations in the Anamalai Hills, India

The persistence of wide-ranging mammals such as Asian elephants in fragmented landscapes requires extending conservation efforts into human-dominated landscapes around protected areas. Understanding how elephants use such landscapes may help facilitate their movements and reduce conflict incidence. We studied elephants' use of fragmented habitats and ranging patterns of focal herds in a landscape of rainforest fragments embedded in tea, coffee, and Eucalyptus plantations in the Anamalai Hills. Elephant herds entering this landscape were tracked daily between April 2002 and March 2006, resulting in 985 GPS locations of herds obtained across six major habitats. Natural vegetation in rainforest fragments and riparian habitats, despite low coverage in the landscape, was preferred by elephants during the day. At night, elephants preferred riparian vegetation, avoided other habitats such as swamps and settlements, while the remaining habitats were used proportional to availability. Use of rainforest fragments and riparian vegetation increased over three years of study with a corresponding decline in the use of tea monoculture. Among plantation habitats, coffee, and Eucalyptus were used significantly more during wet and dry seasons, respectively. The concentration of elephants along a major riparian system in the center of the landscape emphasized the role of water and food availability in habitat use during the dry season. Protection of rainforest fragments, secondary vegetation along rivers, and regulated and sequential felling (instead of clear-felling) of Eucalyptus along elephant movement routes will help retain forage, cover, and passage routes of elephant herds and may reduce direct human-elephant encounters in such fragmented landscapes.