Human Elephant Interactions Research Articles

Sharing landscapes with megaherbivores: Human-elephant interactions northeast of Tarangire National Park

The rising elephant population in Tarangire National Park of northern Tanzania has led to increasing human-elephant interactions in dispersal areas to the northeast of the park. While the movement dynamics of elephants across the landscape are well documented, anthropological dimensions of human-elephant coexistence warrant more research. The present study used stratified random sampling to survey 1076 people living across twelve villages surrounding Manyara Ranch and Randilen Wildlife Management Area (WMA) about their lived experiences, perceptions, attitudes, and tolerance towards elephants. Villages between Manyara Ranch and Randilen WMA reported regular conflicts with elephants, while those to the west of the ranch did not consider elephants to be a major concern. Crop raiding was particularly frequent in Makuyuni, Lengoolwa, Mswakini Juu, Mswakini, Lemooti, and Nafco. Economic impacts of elephant crop raiding ranged from as low as $4USD per household per year in Lolkisale to approximately $812 per year in Mswakini, and accounts of property damage were most severe in Makuyuni and Naitolia. The vast majority of respondents (96 %) did not have a household member who had been injured by elephants over the preceding twelve-month period, suggesting that elephant attacks on humans were relatively infrequent on the whole. However, between 10 and 24 % of participants in Lemooti, Nafco, Mswakini, and Mswakini Juu noted injuries incurred in the past year. Different ethnic groups had statistically significant differences in their attitudes towards elephants. People with higher levels of education had more positive attitudes towards elephants, and elders had more negative attitudes than youth. Elephants disturbed the sleep of men more than women highlighting the gendered dimensions of human-wildlife interactions. Despite these visible and hidden costs of elephants, most people (72 %) across the whole study area were somewhat tolerant of elephants, except in Makuyuni, Lengoolwa, and Nafco where seasonal crop raiding was severe and tolerance for elephants was extremely low. People in those villages, as well as Mswakini Juu and Mswakini, were largely in favor of government-sanctioned culling, though 94 % of all respondents viewed elephant poaching as bad. Tolerance towards elephants was negatively correlated with livestock holdings and positively associated with total farm size. Greater attention to community perspectives is necessary for promoting human-elephant coexistence in the Tarangire ecosystem.

Lack of crucial information exacerbates barriers to mitigating human–elephant conflicts in rural Kenya

Abstract Crop foraging by African savannah elephants Loxodonta africana negatively affects farmer livelihoods and support for conservation, yet affordable, sustainable and practical solutions remain elusive. To inform conservation priorities, our goal was to assess the hitherto little explored relationships between farmers’ views on agricultural damage and the socio-economic factors limiting their use of elephant deterrents. We tested our hypotheses associated with the demographic categories of age, education level, years spent farming, gender, exposure to information on deterrent methods, farm size, village and relevant combinations of these factors by surveying 206 respondents across six villages in rural Kenya and analysing the resulting data using an information theoretic approach. Respondents were almost four times more likely to use deterrents if exposed to the relevant information, and almost five times more likely to do so if they had secondary education as opposed to none. Farmers with a higher level of education were five times more likely to have received information on deterrents compared to those with no formal education. Participants who had not received information on deterrents were almost three times more likely to believe that they could implement deterrent methods. Respondents who stated that they could not implement deterrents overwhelmingly cited a lack of financial resources as the reason. Overall, we found that crucial information on reducing elephant crop foraging is not reaching the relevant stakeholders, and socio-economic factors such as education and exposure to information appear to limit uptake of protective measures. These insights are important for developing mitigation strategies and supporting the livelihoods of people affected by negative human–elephant interactions, and thus for effective elephant conservation. Our findings also have broader applications for practitioners seeking to understand barriers stakeholders face in their efforts to mitigate negative interactions with wildlife.

Design and field installation of automated electronic Asian Elephant signage for human safety

Human-elephant interactions results in numerous deaths and injuries, often due to accidental encounters at elephant crossing points at night. Addressing this, the proposed electronic elephant signage (EES), a solar-powered device, marks crossing points with a glowing elephant-shaped light. Successfully tested in the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve, it activates at dusk, blinking throughout the night, effectively reducing surprise encounters and promoting safer coexistence.

Individual variation in habitat selection behavior of Asian elephants in a human-wildland interface

Habitat loss and fragmentation due to accelerated agriculture expansion is a major threat to existing wildlife populations across Asia. The human-wildlife interface mosaic across Asia is varied in terms of juxtaposition and structure, which can strongly influence biodiversity value and impacts on wildlife species. Here we analyzed habitat selection behavior of Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) across three study sites with different agriculture use patterns in Myanmar, a country recognized as a global biodiversity hotspot, including but not limited to, commercial palm oil and sugarcane plantations, and subsistence agriculture. These different agriculture use landscape capture landscape mosaic structure found across Asia. Given elephants exhibit heterogeneous spatial behavior, we fitted individual step selection and resource selection models to gain insight into the diversity of strategies employed at the local (step) and home range (third-order) scale. We used variance partitioning analysis to quantify the explanatory contribution of individual and study sites across both scales. We found that the variation in the resource selection behavior was mainly due to individual differences, and the configuration of agriculture present in an individual’s range was the most influential to its selection behavior. Enhancing understanding of how the level of fragmentation on the landscape relates to agricultural use can serve to help focus conservation efforts. Continued accelerated agriculture expansion is increasing the rate of contact between elephants and humans and, thereby escalating negative human-elephant interactions, often resulting in human and elephant deaths. Gaining a deeper understanding of habitat selection behavior by elephants across the changing landscapes of Asia can help inform management decisions and conservation actions.

Elephant conservation in India: Striking a balance between coexistence and conflicts

AbstractIn the human‐dominated epoch of the Anthropocene, nations worldwide are trying to adopt a variety of strategies for biodiversity conservation, including flagship‐based approaches. The Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) plays a pivotal role as a flagship species in India's biodiversity conservation efforts, particularly within its tropical forest ecosystems. As the country harboring the largest Asian elephant population among the 13 range countries, India's conservation strategies offer valuable insights for other range countries. This study elucidates India's elephant conservation paradigm by outlining a historical account of elephant conservation in the country and examining the current administrative and legal frameworks. These are instrumental in implementing strategies aimed at maintaining sustainable elephant populations. Our study also analyzes trends in elephant populations and negative human–elephant interactions, drawing upon data from a centralized government database. Our findings indicate that the elephant population in India is reasonably stable, estimated at between 25,000 and 30,000 individuals. This figure constitutes nearly two‐thirds of the global Asian elephant population. India's elephant population occupies ~163,000 km2 of diverse habitats, comprising 5% of the country's land area, with their distribution spread across the northern, northeastern, east‐central, and southern regions. This distribution has shown fluxes, particularly in the east‐central region, where large‐scale elephant dispersals have been observed. Between 2009 and 2020, human–elephant conflicts in India have resulted in an average annual loss of 450 (±63.7) human lives. During the same period, the central and state governments paid an average of US$ 4.79 million (±1.97) annually as ex gratia for property losses. Recognizing the critical nature of these conflicts, India has implemented various measures to manage this pressing conservation challenge. Overall, sustaining the world's largest extant population of wild elephants in the midst of India's human‐dominated landscapes is enabled by a robust institutional policy and legal framework dedicated to conservation. This commitment is further reinforced by strong political will and a deep‐rooted cultural affinity towards elephants and nature, which fosters a higher degree of tolerance and support for conservation efforts.

Understanding human-elephant interactions across time is key to illuminate pathways toward coexistence

Understanding human-elephant interactions across time is key to illuminate pathways toward coexistence

Linking crop availability, forest elephant visitation and perceptions of human–elephant interactions in villages bordering Ivindo National Park, Gabon

AbstractFeeding by Critically Endangered forest elephants Loxodonta cyclotis in rural plantations is a conservation issue in Gabon, but studies characterizing drivers of spatiotemporal patterns of human–elephant interactions remain sparse, hindering mitigation. In this study, we use GPS tracking data from two elephants to characterize temporal patterns of village visitation, and surveys of 101 local farmers across seven villages to determine local patterns of crop planting and harvesting and of human–elephant interactions. Local farmers' perceptions of elephant visitations and empirical data on such visits were positively correlated with local crop availability. However, considering the two elephants separately revealed that the correlations were driven by just one individual, with the second elephant showing weak links between crop availability and visitation, highlighting the challenges in reliably predicting human–wildlife interactions. The most popular local perceptions of the drivers of elephant visitation were the presence of crops (53% of responses) and logging (39%). The most popular proposed interventions were letting the government find a solution (32%), killing problem elephants (30%) and providing compensation for lost crops (22%). We discuss the potential feasibility and efficacy of the proposed solutions in the context of human–elephant interactions. Future research efforts should focus on collaring elephants in zones with high potential for negative human–elephant interaction and expanding perception surveys to villages with contrasting ecological contexts (e.g. with and without logging in their surrounding forests), as these could influence local perceptions of conflicts and conservation initiatives.

Polarized media coverage of conflicting, yet emblematic species: The ambivalent portrayal of the Asian elephant

Species involved in human-wildlife conflicts are likely to generate polarized framings in the media. Because media contribute to shaping public opinion, an analysis of wild species in the media helps documenting perceptions and attitudes towards wildlife.The case of the Asian elephant is illustrative because of its ambivalent perception, holding strong cultural and symbolic dimensions, but also feared due to increasing damages and casualties. Through this case, we investigate how media portray an endangered species, both feared and revered. We used text mining, social network and lexical analysis to analyze 11,000 news articles dealing with Asian elephants over 13 years. We found a multifaceted image of the species with various framings. Most prevalent topics were local events recounting damages on crops, villagers' and elephants' deaths. Media also covered various topics from international traffic to conflict mitigation and conservation programs. Thematic articles depicted an institutional representation of human-elephant interactions focusing on global trends and management schemes, using a technical and sanitized lexicon. Conversely, event-driven reports were anchored in spatial and temporal lexicon, recounting elephant encounters and their specific behaviors, while quoting inhabitants with a highly emotional narrative. Our study suggests that event-driven articles highlighted the emotional response to damages caused by individual elephants rather than the demonization of the species. We suggest that, in the context of human-wildlife conflicts, fear and trauma should be better acknowledged to help reducing discrepancies found in media narratives before it fosters other sentiments such as anger and frustration that may impede conservation efforts.

Infrared barriers as a detection tool to reduce human–elephant conflicts

Elephant incursions into farms represent an important challenge for local communities and farmers living around protected areas, but also for the long‐term conservation of elephants. Early detection of elephants is a promising technique to reduce elephant presence in farms and human settlements reducing human–elephant interactions. In this study we investigated the potential of infrared barriers to detect African savannah elephants Loxodonta africana. We designed and tested battery‐operated photoelectric beam sensors in 12 locations of southern Tanzania and assessed the elephant detection accuracy through camera trapping for a total of 246 days. We obtained 1803 recordings of wildlife crossing the barriers range (30 different species of mammals and several bird and bat species). Our results show that infrared barriers, when located at 1.75–2.2 m high, detect 100% of adult elephants and ∼ 29% of subadult elephants. Giraffes were the only other wildlife species detected by the barriers. Interestingly, large vehicles were also detected, which might be helpful to prevent motorized poaching. Given the gregarious behaviour of elephant families, and the limited access for vehicles, infrared barriers may represent an interesting and cost‐effective detection system for early warning strategies in elephant‐dominated areas of Africa and Asia or for other large‐sized visitors.

The effect of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions on self-directed behaviour, activity budgets, movement patterns, and spatial use in semi-captive African elephants (Loxodonta africana)

Captive African elephants are continuously exposed to tourism, which can lead to chronic stress, and subsequently negatively impact an animals’ health, welfare, and fitness. However, the COVID-19 pandemic led to global closures of animal tourism venues, and thus a sudden and prolonged absence of tourists. We examined the impact of this abrupt, unique scenario on 10 semi-captive African elephants (8 F, 2 M; aged 12-30 yrs) maintained at the Knysna Elephant Park, South Africa, which offers close human-elephant interactions. We monitored rates of self-directed behaviours (SDBs), a novel indicator of anxiety in this species, to observe differences before, during, and after lockdown. SDBs were recorded as they occurred, along with the number of tourists present during sampling. Additionally, we recorded general behaviours to calculate activity budgets, and monitored the elephants’ movement patterns and spatial use. The data examined represented 3 × 2-month periods; Pre (February 2020-March 2020), where tourist pressure was normal, During (March 2020-April 2020), where tourism was non-existent, and Post (November 2020-January 2021), where tourism had returned. Pre was set as the reference category to compare against the normative baseline. Results revealed SDB rates were significantly lower During (p < 0.001), and significantly higher Post (p = 0.033), demonstrating a reduction in anxiety-related behaviour due to the absence of tourists, and that the return of tourists perhaps invoked higher levels of anxiousness than before lockdown implementation. Similarly, both Low (p < 0.001) and High (p < 0.001) numbers of tourists significantly correlated with elevated SDBs, providing evidence that elephants perceived tourist presence alone as stressful. Activity budget analyses revealed a decrease in locomotion (p < 0.001), resting (p < 0.001), and comfort (p = 0.005) During, and an increase in feeding and time spent out of sight (both p < 0.001). Post resulted in an increase in locomotion (p = 0.004) and feeding behaviours (p = 0.007), and a decrease in comfort behaviour (p < 0.001) and time spent out of sight (p = 0.040). Lastly, elephants’ movement patterns varied between lockdown phases, with mean distance travelled (meters) significantly less During (p < 0.001) than Pre and Post. A preference for off-exhibit zones was observed During (p < 0.001) as opposed to Pre and Post. Together, these findings provide further evidence of the stressful effect of tourism, and how the presence of unfamiliar humans and human-animal interactions alters both the behaviour and movement of captive animals.

Elephants in the farm – changing temporal and seasonal patterns of human-elephant interactions in a forest-agriculture matrix in the Western Ghats, India

Accelerating levels of human-elephant conflicts (HEC) have become a topic of major concern in conservation efforts of endangered Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) throughout their range. Wayanad plateau (WP) is a key summer habitat of Asian elephants in the Brahmagri-Nilgiri Eastern Ghats elephant landscape (Nilgiris), harbouring the largest breeding population in Asia. With the increase in human population density and consequent forest loss, HEC amplified in frequency and intensity in Wayanad. We assessed the drivers of HEC in a temporal and spatial context by integrating questionnaire surveys, compensation claims for crop loss, and individual identification of crop-raiding elephants. The ordinal regression analysis showed that season and proximity to the forest boundary were the major drivers of conflict. The pattern of conflict is spatially heterogeneous, and there is peak crop depredation during the jackfruit and mango season (MayS-September), followed by paddy season (September-December). The conflict has resulted in the removal of jackfruit and mango trees from farmlands and stopped cultivation of several crops that attract elephants. This has impacted rural food supply, economic well-being, local biodiversity, and human-elephant coexistence. We discuss effective and locally appropriate conflict mitigation and management strategies which can apply in human-dominated landscapes.

Good, quarrelsome, bad: animal agency and human-elephant interactions in the Western Ghats, India

Ecological breakdowns are posing many serious threats to the lives of both humans and wild animals in the spaces where those lives are shared. Today the intensification of conservation-related conflict is one of the main ecological challenges faced in the Western Ghats of India. This article explores some of the complex interactions between different groups of people, such as wealthy farmers, small-scale farmers, and Adivasi (indigenous) people, and Asian elephants and suggests potentially non-conflictual approaches to sharing spaces with these elephants. The study used a multispecies ethnographic approach as a primary research method and focused on detailed stories and anecdotes narrated by the inhabitants of the study area who had long experience of living with these elephants and who frequently encountered them. Based on insights offered by the stories and anecdotes, the article argues that the lives of elephants and those of people are deeply and intimately interconnected and co-constructed in the study area; such ‘naturecultures’ of elephants and humans constitute a complex whole. The stories highlight that most people in the study area know that elephants have agency and are intelligent, emotional beings, and can subvert human attempts to control them. According to local people, each individual elephant possesses a distinct personality: some are good, some are quarrelsome, and some are bad. People believe that, just as human beings do, elephants also perceive and respond to individual humans differently; such beliefs, and the stories created out of them, are non-anthropocentric in nature. Overall, this article explores how understanding, and treating seriously, the concepts, beliefs, and experiences of multidimensional elephant agency can be beneficial for envisioning possible new ways for human-elephant coexistence.

Shifts in the conflict-coexistence continuum: Exploring social-ecological determinants of human-elephant interactions.

In Morogoro Region of south-central Tanzania, loss of crops and safety concerns due to elephants compromises livelihoods in many rural communities relying on subsistence agriculture. Using a social-ecological system framework to examine conflict-coexistence between people and elephants, this paper explores drivers that influence human-elephant interaction and subsistence farmer attitudes towards elephants in 10 villages from three different districts. Surveys and interviews document experiences interacting with elephants along with direct and indirect costs incurred in sharing the landscape, revealing different tolerance levels by residents of subject communities towards elephants that have important implications for elephant conservation. Rather than uniformly negative beliefs about elephants, analyses reveal that over the past decade a shift has occurred from largely favorable to unfavorable. The variables influencing attitudes included amounts of crops lost to elephants, perceived benefits from elephants, amounts of crops lost to other causes, perceived trend of human-elephant conflict (HEC) in the past three decades and level of education. Villager tolerance varied by level of income, perception on how the community coexists with elephants, amounts of crops lost to elephants and compensation. The study contributes to understanding how HEC is affecting the relationship between people and elephants, revealing a shift in the conflict-coexistence continuum from positive to broadly negative and identifying characteristics underlying varying tolerance towards elephants in different communities. Rather than a static condition, HEC emerges under specific conditions at particular times and places through varying, uneven interactions between rural villagers and elephants. In communities vulnerable to food insecurity, such conflict exacerbates existing problems of poverty, social inequality, and feelings of oppression. Addressing the causes of HEC, when possible, will be essential to elephant conservation as well as to improving the wellbeing of rural villagers.

Anthropogenic driven range expansion of Asian elephant Elephas maximus in an agricultural landscape and its consequences in South West Bengal, India

Alterations of the geographical ranges of animals have become a reason for interactions with humans, leading to various consequences. We describe the pattern of range expansion of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) and implications for human-elephant interactions in the agricultural landscape of South West Bengal, India. We enquired about past and current sightings of Asian elephants from local people to gather information on range expansion from the 1950 s to 2018. We also collected the records of human deaths and injuries by elephants from 2010 to 2018 from the records of the Forest Department. We employed an occupancy framework to understand the probability of the occurrence of elephants in the landscape from 2010 to 2018. The range of elephants in the landscape increased from ∼ 1200 km2 in the 1950–60 s to ∼ 13200 km2 by 2010–18. The calculated probability of use of grid cells was 36 % and the forest edge had a high influence on the space usage by the elephants. Elephants occurred in an average of 26 grid cells per month, and the number of grid cells with elephants did not differ between the months. A total of 640 attacks on humans occurred, which significantly varied between the years. The probability of elephant occurrence in a grid cell was the major determinant factor for the elephant attacks on humans. Although people respect elephants, there is a sense of intolerance towards them if they enter the crop fields, owing to the small land holdings and the incapacity to endure the monetary losses of the farmers.

Inferring Human-elephant Coexistence Based on Characteristics of Human-elephant Interactions in Nangunhe of Yunnan, China

Inferring Human-elephant Coexistence Based on Characteristics of Human-elephant Interactions in Nangunhe of Yunnan, China

Life Around the Elephant in Space and Time: an Integrated Approach to Study the Human-Elephant Interactions at the Late Lower Paleolithic Site of La Polledrara di Cecanibbio (Rome, Italy)

During the Lower Paleolithic, the interaction between hominins and elephants through the medium of lithic tools is testified by numerous sites in Africa, Europe, and Asia. This interaction ensured hominins a large source of food and of knappable raw material, bone. The availability of the huge package of resources represented by these animals had a deep impact on hominins behavior and their strategies of exploitation of the landscape. This article, for the first time, documents this behavior with a spatial and chronological viewpoint. At the Late Lower Paleolithic site of La Polledrara di Cecanibbio (Rome), the outstanding in situ find of a quite entire carcass of Palaeoloxodon antiquus surrounded by lithic tools of small dimensions allowed us to explore the relation between the elephant, fatally entrapped in muddy sediments, and the hominins that exploited its carcass with their lithic toolkit. The application of an integrated approach including technology, refitting, use-wear, residues, and spatial analyses to the study of the small tools allowed us to unveil the activities carried out around the elephant in a timeline. As a result, hominins exploited the carcass for meat and fat possibly in more than one time and selected the area of the carcass as an atelier to knap and possibly cache their lithic products for future use. These data introduce the intriguing suggestion that the carcass was, besides a source of food and raw material, also a landmark for humans in the landscape.

Can stress and anxiety be assessed in African elephants (Loxodonta africana) using self-directed behaviour?

Captive African elephants used in the tourism industry face numerous welfare issues which are often stress related and linked to high numbers of tourists or human-elephant interactions. Elephant welfare is commonly assessed by quantifying faecal glucocorticoid metabolite (fGCM) concentrations, and monitoring stereotypic behaviour, which are either costly or problematic in identifying underlying causes. Self-directed behaviours (SDBs), a form of displacement activity, have been substantially linked with stress and anxiety in primates, and could be a potential but not yet utilised behavioural marker in elephants. We thus explored the usage of several trunk, tail, and body related SDBs in a group of 7 semi-captive African elephants maintained at the Knysna Elephant Park, a tourist destination offering a variety of close contact experiences. Using continuous behavioural sampling (focal following), SDBs were recorded as they occurred, along with the numbers of nearby tourists (<5 m to focal; with 3 levels: None, Low 1–5, and High >5), and the nature of the tourist interaction (5 levels: None, Feed, Touch, Walk, and Ride). We then compared SDB rates with fGCM concentrations (n = 115) determined following observations (1 day and 2 days after behavioural sampling). Data were analysed using Generalized Linear Mixed effects Models. SDB rates (p/min) significantly increased during elephant Walks (p < 0.001) and Rides (p < 0.001), indicating a correlation with their usage during potentially stressful scenarios. The Touch interaction significantly decreased SDBs (p < 0.05), whilst the Feed interaction had a non-significant effect (p > 0.05), which could indicate the element of control in terms of perceived stress is an important component in welfare, as elephants were free to move away during these interactions. Interestingly, SDBs significantly decreased when tourist numbers were High (p = < 0.05), potentially due to greater quantities of high value food. Additionally, no correlation was found between SDBs and fGCM concentrations determined on day one (p > 0.05), and day two (p > 0.05). Hence, SDBs may be correlated more with anxiety or lower-level stress, which is not significant enough to activate GC production, and may therefore act as a coping strategy utilised to maintain physiological homeostasis during anxiety-inducing situations. Additional research would benefit from coupling SDB observations with different forms of physiological assessments to better understand the internal motivations, and formally establish SDBs as a reliable, cost-effective, and non-invasive welfare index to identify stressed individuals in real time and ensure optimum husbandry.

Human–elephant interaction: Community perspectives on conflict mitigation and conservation mechanisms

The instances of human–elephant conflict (HEC) are becoming pervasive in elephant range areas across the globe. One of the primary reasons is the exclusion and under‐representation of local communities in the planning and implementation of mitigation strategies. However, engaging with local communities and considering their viewpoints are vital for the success of conflict mitigation and conservation efforts. This qualitative study was undertaken to gain a reasonably comprehensive understanding of the local community's perspectives concerning elephants in the Balasore district of Odisha, a state along the Eastern coast of India. Qualitative data obtained primarily through focus group discussions were analyzed using MAXQDA 2020 to perform thematic analysis of participants' narratives. Six common themes emerged from the study: exposure and experiences with elephants, the efficacy of deterrents, compassionate payment provisions, reasons for tolerance, and expectations. Attempts were made to understand the community viewpoints and offer implementable recommendations to improve human–elephant interactions by adopting more inclusive and participatory conservation practices.

Asian elephant movements between natural and human-dominated landscapes mirror patterns of crop damage in Sri Lanka

AbstractWildlife movements within a landscape are influenced by environmental factors such as food availability and, as human-modified landscapes continue to expand, the risks associated with encountering people. For Asian elephants Elephas maximus, human-dominated landscapes can be a risky but also rewarding habitat. When elephants share space with people, negative human–elephant interactions are common, sometimes resulting in injuries or deaths of both people and elephants. We monitored elephant movements in and out of a forest reserve in central Sri Lanka to test four predictions regarding elephant behaviour: (1) visits to agricultural areas occur at times of the year when crops are plentiful, (2) elephants exploit these areas by night to avoid interactions with people, (3) increased nocturnal illumination reduces use of agricultural areas, and (4) males make greater use of anthropogenic food sources than family groups. Analysis of camera-trap data confirmed that elephants visited human-dominated areas mostly at night. The frequency of such incursions was not influenced by moon phase for males, but there was a weak effect of moon phase for family groups. Males moved more frequently into human-dominated landscapes than family groups, and their movements showed a distinct seasonal pattern, peaking at times of rice and fruit harvest. Our findings suggest that elephants primarily venture into human-dominated areas to consume crops. Encouraging farmers in areas frequented by elephants to adapt land-use practices (e.g. guarding crops, fencing villages, planting orange/citrus fences) and establish early warning systems could help limit the damage caused by elephants.

Human-Elephant interactions and associated damage in the northern transboundary areas of Bangladesh

We have studied human-elephant interactions in the northern transboundary of Bangladesh and estimated the scale of associated damage due to the negative interaction by visiting conflict area, performing focus group discussions key informant interviews and using secondary data sources. Around 70-80 non-resident elephants regularly intruded to the study area through the international border fence using several trespassing points and engaged in conflicts with frontier villagers. We discussed the nature and scale of conflict and the financial losses due to the conflict. Besides severe casualties in both ends, the enumerated economic loss was USD 1,171, 665 in 2013 and 2014 due to the damage to cropland, houses and properties, trees and orchards. We have identified major human-elephant conflict (HEC) zones adjacent to the border fence through spatial analysis with different level of intensity. Appropriate human-elephant conflict mitigation measures such as habitat improvement and management, monitoring of elephant population, alternative income generation, awareness programs for the local people and working together with India regarding this issue is a timely and urgent need for Bangladesh