Tembe Elephant Park Research Articles

Neutralizing antibodies against Rift Valley fever virus in wild antelope in far northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, indicate recent virus circulation.

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a zoonotic viral disease of domestic ruminants in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula caused by a mosquito-borne Phlebovirus. Outbreaks in livestock and humans occur after heavy rains favour breeding of vectors, and the virus is thought to survive dry seasons in the eggs of floodwater-breeding aedine mosquitoes. We recently found high seroconversion rates to RVF virus (RVFV) in cattle and goats, in the absence of outbreaks, in far northern KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa. Here, we report the prevalence of, and factors associated with, neutralizing antibodies to RVFV in 326 sera collected opportunistically from nyala (Tragelaphus angasii) and impala (Aepyceros melampus) culled during 2016-2018 in two nature reserves in the same area. The overall seroprevalence of RVFV, determined using the serum neutralization test, was 35.0% (114/326; 95%CI: 29.8%-40.4%) and tended to be higher in Ndumo Game Reserve (11/20; 55.0%; 95%CI: 31.5%-76.9%) than in Tembe Elephant Park (103/306; 33.6%; 95%CI: 28.4%-39.3%) (p=.087). The presence of antibodies in juveniles (6/21; 28.6%; 95%CI: 11.3%-52.2%) and sub-adults (13/65; 20.0%; 95%CI: 11.1%-37.8%) confirmed that infections had occurred at least until 2016, well after the 2008-2011 RVF outbreaks in South Africa. Odds of seropositivity was higher in adults than in sub-adults (OR=3.98; 95%CI: 1.83-8.67; p=.001), in males than in females (OR=2.66; 95%CI: 1.51-4.68; p=.001) and in animals collected ≤2km from a swamp or floodplain compared with those collected further away (OR=3.30; 95%CI: 1.70-6.38; p<.001). Under similar ecological conditions, domestic and wild ruminants may play a similar role in maintenance of RVFV circulation and either or both may serve as the mammalian host in a vector-host reservoir system. The study confirms the recent circulation of RVFV in the tropical coastal plain of northern KZN, providing the basis for investigation of factors affecting virus circulation and the role of wildlife in RVF epidemiology.

A new galago species for South Africa (Primates: Strepsirhini: Galagidae)

The primate fauna of South Africa has historically been viewed as comprising three diurnal cercopithecoid taxa – chacma baboons (Papio ursinus), vervet (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) and samango monkeys (Cercopithecus albogularis) – and two nocturnal lorisoid species – the thick-tailed greater galago (Otolemur crassicaudatus) and the southern lesser galago (Galago moholi). Here we report the positive identification of a third galago species within South Africa’s borders: the Mozambique dwarf galago or Grant’s galago, Galagoides granti (Thomas and Wroughton, 1907). The taxon was previously held to be restricted to Mozambique, eastern Zimbabwe, Malawi and Tanzania, but we have also observed it in the sand forest of Tembe Elephant Park and the Tshanini Community Reserve, near the Mozambique border. The species was formerly mistaken for Galago moholi, erroneously (we believe) extending the range of the latter species into northern KwaZulu-Natal. In South Africa the two small galagos are unlikely to have overlapping ranges: Galago moholi prefers dry savanna woodlands, whereas Galagoides granti is apparently confined to dry sand forest. However, both species may coexist with the larger and more widespread Otolemur crassicaudatus, an inhabitant of moist savanna, forest edge and thicket. The true South African ranges of both small galago species need to be ascertained.

Resource selection modeling reveals potential conflicts involving reintroduced lions in Tembe Elephant Park, South Africa

AbstractEcotourism has motivated efforts to reintroduce lions (Panthera leo) to landscapes where they were not previously common. In 2002, four lions were reintroduced into the fenced Tembe Elephant Park, South Africa to improve ecotourism opportunities, but lions potentially compete for habitat with humans and endemic herbivores of conservation concern. We developed a population‐level resource selection function to map the relative probability of lion occurrence throughout Tembe Elephant Park to predict the spatial distribution of potential conflicts. In winter, high relative probability of lion occurrence spatially overlapped with Muzi reedbeds/hygrophilous grassland habitat, which is where humans gather natural resources. Comparatively, we found no spatial overlap with sand forest habitat used by endemic herbivores. The results were opposite in summer, with lion occurrence overlapping sand forest habitat and no predicted overlap with Muzi reedbeds/hygrophilous grassland habitat. During spring and autumn, the highest relative probability of lion occurrence spatially overlapped both Muzi reedbeds/hygrophilous grassland and sand forest habitats. These results show that lions might compete with humans in winter, spring and autumn and with endemic herbivores in all seasons but winter. Despite the success of reserve fencing in limiting human–lion conflicts, we show that communities that reintroduce carnivores continue to balance relative reward, associated with ecotourism, and risks to human safety and species of conservation concern. We discuss the importance of dynamic management practices that ensure temporal segregation between humans and lions within specific habitat types.

Woody Vegetation Utilisation in Tembe Elephant Park, Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa

A survey of woody plant species utilisation by large (excluding elephants), medium and small browsers,man and “natural damage”, was conducted in nine vegetation units of Tembe Elephant Park, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Woody species use and canopy removal were evaluated within two age ranges, (a) recent, ? 12 months prior to study and (b) old, > 12 months prior to the study. The results show that recent canopy removal by medium and small browsers was intensive and generally represented one third of height classes available to the agents which were consistently used withinall vegetation types. The overall utilisation pattern indicated that medium and small browsers may be removing the regeneration classof the woody plants layer. Natural damage was found to be considerable and it was hypothesized that it may be linked and possibly amplified by prior elephant utilisation. In conclusion, it is possible to suggest that the regular use of the sapling level by small and medium browsers could promote woodland to grassland retrogression, as was found in east Africa under high densities of animals.

Warneckea parvifolia (Melastomataceae–Olisbeoideae), a new “sand-forest” endemic from northeastern KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) and southernmost Mozambique, and a phylogenetic analysis of eastern and southern African representatives of W. section Warneckea

Warneckea populations from “sand-forest” or “sand-thicket” habitats in Tembe Elephant Park, South Africa, and Licuati Forest Reserve in adjacent southern Mozambique were previously thought to be a small-leaved form of W. sousae, which typically includes larger-leaved plants ranging from central Mozambique northward to Tanzania. We examine this hypothesis using molecular and morphological evidence. Maximum-likelihood phylogenetic analysis of combined nrDNA ETS and ITS sequence data failed to resolve W. sousae and the Maputaland populations as an exclusively monophyletic group. Instead, the Kenyan endemic W. mouririifolia was strongly supported as the sister species of W. sousae, and the Maputaland plants were resolved in a separate, strongly supported clade together with populations of an as-yet undetermined Warneckea species from northern Mozambique. A hypothesis of exclusive monophyly for the plants from Tembe and Licuati had moderate support in separate ETS and ITS1 analyses (bootstrap proportions of 88% and 81%, respectively). Statistically significant differences in leaf dimensions and internode length were found between the Maputaland plants and typical W. sousae. We conclude that the populations from Tembe and Licuati represent a distinct species, which we describe as W. parvifolia. The species differs from W. sousae in having shorter internodes (mostly 5–25mm not 10–60mm long), smaller leaves (mostly 14–32×8–19mm not 40–76×22–52mm), shorter petioles (mostly 1–1.5mm not 1.5–6mm long), smaller flowers (hypanthium 1×1.5–1.75mm not 1.5–2×2mm; calyx lobes 0.5mm not 0.75mm long; staminal filaments 3–4mm not 5mm long; style 4–5mm not 9mm long), and globose fruit (not obovoid). An IUCN conservation status of Endangered (EN) B1a, b(ii, iii) is indicated for W. parvifolia, due to its limited distribution and projected declines in its habitat quality and area of occupancy.

Waterhole use by African Fauna

Water is one of the fundamental requirements of life but there has been little study on the use of water by free-ranging wildlife communities. We investigated the timing of waterhole use by African fauna using webcams to determine whether this mode of data collection was viable, to determine whether animals drank randomly throughout the day, whether there were differences between guilds in waterhole use and finally we created a relative rank of water dependency by comparing waterhole use with the relative abundance of species at Kruger and Pilanesberg National Parks. We used webcams sited at waterholes in South Africa's Kruger and Pilanesberg, Madikwe Game Reserve and Tembe Elephant Park, and Botswana's Mashatu Game Reserve to remotely monitor waterhole use at random times throughout the day. Over the 16-month study period, 1546 observations were made of 30 species at waterholes, with elephants (Loxodonta africana) and impala (Aepyceros melampus) being the most frequently observed species. There was a high degree of diurnal overlap in waterhole use amongst the herbivores, but they partitioned the time of peak waterhole use. Large predators were largely nocturnal while their prey was invariably diurnal. The index of relative water use showed that hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius), warthog (Phacochoerus africanus) and blue wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus) were highly water-dependent, whereas lion (Panthera leo), spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta) and kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) appear relatively water independent. African fauna may partition waterhole use to avoid competition and predation. The use of webcams is a novel technique to allow remote monitoring of aspects of the ecology of African wildlife at minimal cost.

A New Species ofPoachelasfrom Maputaland, South Africa (Araneae: Corinnidae), with Considerable Range Extension forPoachelas striatus

A new species of the tracheline sac spider genus Poachelas Haddad & Lyle, 2008 (Araneae: Corinnidae), presently known only from southern Africa, is described. The genus has been represented by three species, all of which are suspected to be closely associated with grasses. The new species described here, P. refugus sp. n., is known only from females collected at the type locality, Tembe Elephant Park in Maputaland, South Africa. New collecting records of the type species of the genus, P. striatus Haddad & Lyle, 2008, described from three localities in the central Free State Province of South Africa and with a distribution range of about 100 km, are presented. The species is widespread throughout the province, and is also recorded from the Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and Mpumulanga provinces for the first time, expanding its range to approximately 900 km.

Effects of water dependence on the utilization pattern of woody vegetation by elephants in the Tembe Elephant Park, Maputaland, South Africa

AbstractThe utilization of vegetation and particularly trees in enclosed small reserves where elephant populations are confined is a contentious conservation issue. In Tembe Elephant Park in Maputaland, the diverse Sand Forest is considered the most valuable feature to conserve; yet it is considered at risk from increasing elephant utilization of the park’s vegetation in general. The mean canopy removal by elephants across the park was studied over two periods: a recent period including the twelve months before the study and an older period &gt;12 months earlier. Age of utilization was determined from the degree of decay observed on woody fibres. The relationships between intensity of utilization, vegetation unit selection and distance to water were evaluated. Results show that utilization patterns have shifted in the recent drier period, during which elephants used vegetation communities closer to permanent water. Concurringly, a significant decrease in utilization intensity was correlated to an increasing distance from water points in the park during that period, while this effect was not observed during the wetter old period. We debate that active water availability management may be a way to limit elephant utilization in small fenced reserves.

Woody vegetation structure in conserved versus communal land in a biodiversity hotspot: A case study in Maputaland, South Africa

This study evaluated the effects of humans and herbivores on woody vegetation structure in the woodlands and forests of Maputaland. The woody vegetation structure of plant communities at three sites within a similar environment but under different utilisation regimes since the early 1990s was evaluated by means of a stem diameter and tree height class analysis. The effects of human utilisation were evaluated on the land of the rural Manqakulane community; herbivore utilisation was evaluated in the Tembe Elephant Park; and because of the low levels of utilisation since 1992 the vegetation in the Tshanini Community Conservation Area was used as a benchmark for the comparisons. In both woodlands and sand forests, utilisation regime resulted in changes in stem diameter size class distributions, although the height structure remained unchanged. In communal land human-associated disturbance promoted the presence of small woody plants. In general, conserved land under animal utilisation, had the least small diameter woody plants, but most of the large trees, whereas in the absence of utilisation intermediate densities of small diameter woody plants were found but low densities of large trees. This study presents the first quantification of significant changes in the woody vegetation structure in Maputaland due to human utilisation, herbivore utilisation, or lack of utilisation. It also provides a timeframe within which land use can cause significant changes in vegetation structure.

The Spatial Organization of the Four-Toed Elephant-Shrew (Petrodromus tetradactylus) in Tembe Elephant Park, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Radio-tracking was undertaken over two months to investigate the social organization of the four-toed elephant-shrew (Petrodromus tetradactylus) in sand forest at Tembe Elephant Park, South Africa. Petrodromus tetradactylus occurred in monogamous male-female pairs that defended partially overlapping home ranges. There was virtually no overlap between the ranges of adjoining pairs, indicating low population density although not negating mutual avoidance or territorial defence, which could be inferred by incongruent intra-pair ranges. Our findings largely concur with those of a similar study of P. tetradactylus in Kenya and studies of other elephant-shrew species elsewhere. Home ranges estimated from a mean of >34 radio-tracking fixes over a short period suggest that male home range areas were similar to those reported in previous studies, while home range areas of females, although variable, were on average smaller than those previously reported. Most males and some females had two separate centres of activity that confounded the accurate estimation of their home ranges. The reason for this is unclear but may be related to habitat characteristics and quality, as it was not the result of home range shifts.

The affects of artificial water availability on large herbivore ranging patterns in savanna habitats: a new approach based on modelling elephant path distributions

AbstractAim Artificial water points are often used in protected savanna ecosystems to maintain populations of large herbivores. However, these interventions lead to increased ranging and foraging pressure and can negatively impact important habitats and species. This study investigated the influence of artificial water provision on the foraging and movement paths of an African elephant population and modelled the impact of changing water availability on sensitive habitat types.Location Tembe Elephant Park (TEP), KwaZulu‐Natal, South Africa.Methods We mapped and classified 414 km of elephant movement and foraging paths in a 300‐km2 fenced protected area. The data were analysed to determine the relationship between path size, distribution and distance to water. We also used a logistic modelling approach to explore the predicted effects of removing artificial water points on path distribution.Results Elephant paths were unevenly distributed throughout the habitats of TEP and the most established and heavily used paths were found closest to water. We also discovered a number of elephant ‘rest areas’ along the paths, which were distinct clearings that tended to be close to water and in sand forest habitat. Our model predicted that the removal of artificial water points would reduce the area crossed by elephant paths by 79%, leading to an 89% reduction in the presence of elephant paths in sand forest.Main conclusions Our study provides further evidence that manipulating surface water availability can be a useful tool for managing large herbivore impacts on vegetation and acts as the basis for further research on the trade‐offs between conservation objectives.

Factors associated with suni distribution in Tembe Elephant Park, South Africa: implications for management and conservation of a small antelope

AbstractWhile small antelopes are becoming increasingly threatened, knowledge of their biology is often limited. Management recommendations are therefore frequently based on insufficient information. One of the declining small antelopes is the suni in South Africa. A reduction in sand forests as well as habitat destruction by increased nyala populations are the suggested causes of suni declines. However, no recent study has quantified the factors that underlie suni distribution in southern Africa. Here we investigate whether the vegetation types, vegetation structures or occurrences of sympatric browsers affect suni distribution within Tembe Elephant Park, South Africa. We found that vegetation type and vegetation structure interacted in their effects on suni distribution, but there were no effects of sympatric browsers. Suni were found most often in the sand forests, but were also present in closed woodland. Vegetation structure was, however, related to the local distribution of suni only in sand forest. This highlights that suni are not exclusively bound to sand forest, and also that the vegetation structure within the sand forest may be as important as the vegetation type. We suggest that the current conservation assessment of this subspecies is based on insufficient data, and that a more detailed assessment of their distribution and the factors that determine the same is critically needed.

A spatial and temporal analysis of Sand Forest tree assemblages in Maputaland, South Africa

Maputaland is a centre of plant endemism, within the Maputaland–Pondoland–Albany hotspot of biodiversity shared by Mozambique and South Africa. The Sand Forest vegetation is the most valuable vegetation type in this region due to the endemics it harbours, but it is currently under threat from growing animal population densities within conserved areas and from a growing human population outside. To improve our understanding of Sand Forest dynamics the present study investigated the woody plant assemblages in Tembe Elephant Park. A total of 59 plots were sampled and analysed using classification and ordination methods. The results indicate that Sand Forest in Tembe is a complex assemblage of at least three floristically and structurally distinct woody communities. An ordination of the combined results from the present study together with two other studies could link the floristics and structure of the Sand Forest to the level of disturbance by herbivores and humans. Large herbivores induce both structural and floristic changes in the Sand Forest of Tembe Elephant Park and a lack of disturbance in the nearby Tshanini Community Conservation Area leads to a state of equilibrium. The results therefore suggest that Sand Forest dynamics and complexity may be strongly linked to small- to medium-scale animal disturbance.

Rules of habitat use by elephants Loxodonta africana in southern Africa: insights for regional management

Managers in southern Africa are concerned that continually increasing elephant populations will degrade ecosystems. Culling, translocation and birth control are flawed solutions. An alternative is providing elephants more space but this hinges on identifying landscape preferences. We examined two diverse eco- systems and uncovered similarities in elephant habitat use, expressing these as 'rules'. We considered arid Etosha National Park, (Namibia) and the tropical wood- lands of Tembe Elephant Park (South Africa) and Maputo Elephant Reserve (Mozambique). Landscape data con- sisted of vegetation types, distances from water and settlements. To surmount issues of scale and availability we incorporated elephant movements as a function that declined as distance from an elephant's location in- creased. This presumes that elephants optimize trade- offs between benefiting from high-quality resources and costs to find them. Under a likelihood-based approach we determined the important variables and shapes of their relationships to evaluate and compare models separated by gender, season and location. After consid- ering elephants' preferences for areas nearby, habitat use usually increased with proximity to water in all loca- tions. Elephants sought places with high proportions of vegetation, especially when neighbouring areas had low vegetative cover. Lastly, elephants avoided human set- tlements (when present), and cows more so than bulls. In caricature, elephants preferred to move little, drink easily, eat well, and avoid people. If one makes more areas available, elephants will probably favour areas near water with high vegetative cover (of many different types) and away from people. Managers can oblige elephants' preferences by supplying them. If so, they should anticipate higher impacts to neighbouring vegetation.

Seasonal variation in soil seed bank size and species composition of selected habitat types in Maputaland, South Africa

Seasonal variation in seed bank size and species composition of five selected habitat types within the Tembe Elephant Park. South Africa, was investigated. At three-month intervals, soil samples were randomly collected from five different habitat types: a, Licuati forest; b, Licuati thicket; c, a bare or sparsely vegetated zone surrounding the forest edge, referred to as the forest/grassland ecotone; d, grassland; and e, open woodland. Most species in the seed bank flora were either grasses, sedges, or forbs, with hardly any evidence of woody species. The Licuati forest and thicket soils produced the lowest seed densities in all seasons. Licuati forest and grassland seed banks showed a two-fold seasonal variation in size, those of the Licuati thicket and woodland a three-fold variation in size, whereas the forest/grassland ecotone maintained a relatively large seed bank all year round. The woodland seed bank had the highest species richness, whereas the Licuati forest and thicket soils were poor in species. Generally, it was found that the greatest correspondence in species composition was between the Licuati forest and thicket, as well as the forest/grassland ecotone and grassland seed bank floras.

The structure and harvesting potential of the sand forest in Tshanini Game Reserve, South Africa

An analysis of the size class distribution structure of the Tall and Short Sand Forest subcommunities of the Tshanini Game Reserve is presented for the first time. The study area lies south of Tembe Elephant Park within the Maputaland–Pondoland–Albany biodiversity hotspot of South Africa. A preliminary survey for distribution and abundance of hardwood tree species was conducted in both Tall and Short Sand Forest subcommunities. The data on the size class distribution were analysed at both subcommunity and species levels to classify the population structure. The population structure indicated that at the subcommunity level, the Short and Tall Sand Forest have growing populations of species, and are forests of coarse to intermediate grain respectively. At species level, four categories were distinguished, ranging in scale from an ideal to an abnormal size class distribution of the population. Most evaluated forest species indicated a growing or stable population structure. A range of species was evaluated for potential sustainable utilisation.

The impact of elephants on plants and their community variables in South Africa's Maputaland

Elephants confined to protected areas could affect co-occurring species. We expected measurable deviations in the density, species number, turnover and composition, abundance-incidence and rank-abundance patterns of woody plant communities where elephants browse. We examined these variables in the presence (inside South Africa’s Tembe Elephant Park) and absence (uninhabited communal land adjacent to the park) of elephants for sand forests, closed and open woodlands. Woodland type influenced the apparent effect of elephants on tree densities and number of species. In sand forests, the presence of elephants was not associated with lowered tree densities but this did not hold for mixed woodlands. The rates of species turnover in the park were consistently higher than on communal land for all three woodland types. Species composition also differed significantly between these areas, as did the number of favoured food trees of elephants. Elephants had a clear influence on vegetation at the species level. However, at the community level they had no apparent affect on woodlandspecific abundance-incidences and rank-abundance relationships. Elephants were confined to Tembe for only some 20 years before this study and still occur at relatively low densities. This may explain why we could not detect an impact on the bivariate relationships.

The development of secondary industries through the sustainable utilisation of reeds and forest timber in the Tembe Elephant Park, Maputaland, South Africa

The harvesting of Phragmites australis reeds in the Tembe Elephant Park has to be managed pro-actively. Solutions to potential problems should be sought before they arise. This paper offers a potential solution to the problem of instating a winter-only reed harvest in the Muzi Swamp. The potential for manufacturing finished products such as prefabricated huts from sustainably harvested reeds and forest timber is examined and a cost estimate is presented. A prefabricated reed hut is three-times cheaper than a similarly-sized house made of bricks and cement. The manufacturing of finished products from the harvested material will add secondary value to the resource and also offer an alternative employment to harvesting reeds in the summer. The higher prices obtained for a processed article will also, hopefully, reduce the demand for the resource in its raw form, thereby increasing the perceived value of the resource and reducing wastage from raw materials that are not sold.

Estimating abundance for a savanna elephant population using mark–resight methods: a case study for the Tembe Elephant Park, South Africa

AbstractElephants living in dense woodlands are difficult to count. Many elephant populations in Africa occur in such conditions. Estimates of these populations based on total counts, aerial counts and dung counts often lack information on precision and accuracy. We use standard mark–recapture field methods to obtain estimates of population size with associated confidence limits. We apply this approach to a closed elephant population in the Tembe Elephant Park (300 km2), South Africa. A registration count completed in 4 months gives a known population size. We evaluate mark–recapture models against the known population size. Individual identification profiles obtained for elephants during the registration count and mark–recapture events indicate that at least 167 elephants live in the park. We consider this value as an estimate of the minimum number alive. We include 189 sightings of bulls and 37 sightings of breeding herds in the mark–recapture modelling. Of the models we test (Petersen, Schnabel, Schumacher, Jolly–Seber, Bowden's, Poisson and negative binomial), Bowden's gives an estimate closest to the registration count. Assumptions of the model are not violated. For all models except one (negative binomial), our estimates improve with increased sampling intensity. Confidence intervals do not improve with increased effort except for the Schnabel model. Mark–recapture methods should be considered as reliable estimators of population size for elephants occurring in dense woodlands and forests when other methods cannot be relied on.

Elephant- and human-induced changes to dung beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) assemblages in the Maputaland Centre of Endemism

High African elephant stocking rates in nature reserves in southern Africa have been shown to have significant impacts on vegetation structure and diversity. However, the direct and indirect effects of elephants on fauna, particularly invertebrates, remain poorly known. The Maputaland Centre of Endemism, an area of southern Mozambique and northern KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, is undergoing rapid rates of habitat conversion. Sand Forest, the rarest vegetation type in the Centre, is threatened by human disturbance outside of protected areas and by elephant browsing pressure in Tembe Elephant Park, one of the few protected areas for Sand Forest. Here we examine the effects of elephant- and human-induced disturbance to Sand Forest on a functionally important component of invertebrate diversity, i.e. the dung beetle fauna. The dung beetle assemblage associated with elephant-disturbed Sand Forest was transitional between undisturbed Sand Forest and Mixed Woodland, whereas that associated with human disturbance was markedly different to either habitat type. Differences are attributed to a change in habitat structure under both disturbance types, as well as to changes in the quality and distribution of dung under human disturbance. Therefore, grazing impacts by elephant not only affect plant diversity, but also implement changes in invertebrate fauna. The maintenance of the integrity of the Sand Forest–Mixed Woodland matrix is considered critical for biodiversity conservation in the Maputaland Centre of Endemism. Management of elephant populations, as well as the protection of sufficient Sand Forest inside conservation areas must, therefore, necessarily form part of the conservation strategy for the Centre.