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1
Pretorius, Yolanda, Marion E. Garaï, and Lucy A. Bates. "The status of African elephant Loxodonta africana populations in South Africa." Oryx 53, no. 4 (April 15, 2018): 757–63. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0030605317001454.
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AbstractWith an increase in poaching of elephants Loxodonta africana across Africa, it is vital to know exactly how many elephants remain and where they occur, to ensure that protection and management are planned appropriately. From a nationwide survey we provide current population and distribution data for elephants in South Africa. We consider the viability of elephant populations in the country, as well as some of the management techniques implemented and how effective these are in controlling elephant numbers. According to our surveys there were 28,168 elephants in South Africa as of December 2015, with 78% of these occurring in Kruger National Park and reserves bordering and open to the Park. Of the country's 78 discrete reserves that host elephants, 77% have populations of < 100 elephants, which could mean they are not genetically viable. We discuss our findings in terms of the conservation value of South Africa's elephant reserves, and the animal welfare implications. We recommend that the fragmentation of elephant habitat in the country be addressed through a national elephant management strategy that promotes wildlife corridors between existing, neighbouring elephant reserves.
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Chase, Michael J., Scott Schlossberg, Curtice R. Griffin, Philippe J. C. Bouché, Sintayehu W. Djene, Paul W. Elkan, Sam Ferreira, et al. "Continent-wide survey reveals massive decline in African savannah elephants." PeerJ 4 (August 31, 2016): e2354. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.2354.
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African elephants (Loxodonta africana) are imperiled by poaching and habitat loss. Despite global attention to the plight of elephants, their population sizes and trends are uncertain or unknown over much of Africa. To conserve this iconic species, conservationists need timely, accurate data on elephant populations. Here, we report the results of the Great Elephant Census (GEC), the first continent-wide, standardized survey of African savannah elephants. We also provide the first quantitative model of elephant population trends across Africa. We estimated a population of 352,271 savannah elephants on study sites in 18 countries, representing approximately 93% of all savannah elephants in those countries. Elephant populations in survey areas with historical data decreased by an estimated 144,000 from 2007 to 2014, and populations are currently shrinking by 8% per year continent-wide, primarily due to poaching. Though 84% of elephants occurred in protected areas, many protected areas had carcass ratios that indicated high levels of elephant mortality. Results of the GEC show the necessity of action to end the African elephants’ downward trajectory by preventing poaching and protecting habitat.
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Palkopoulou, Eleftheria, Mark Lipson, Swapan Mallick, Svend Nielsen, Nadin Rohland, Sina Baleka, Emil Karpinski, et al. "A comprehensive genomic history of extinct and living elephants." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 115, no. 11 (February 26, 2018): E2566—E2574. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1720554115.
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Elephantids are the world’s most iconic megafaunal family, yet there is no comprehensive genomic assessment of their relationships. We report a total of 14 genomes, including 2 from the American mastodon, which is an extinct elephantid relative, and 12 spanning all three extant and three extinct elephantid species including an ∼120,000-y-old straight-tusked elephant, a Columbian mammoth, and woolly mammoths. Earlier genetic studies modeled elephantid evolution via simple bifurcating trees, but here we show that interspecies hybridization has been a recurrent feature of elephantid evolution. We found that the genetic makeup of the straight-tusked elephant, previously placed as a sister group to African forest elephants based on lower coverage data, in fact comprises three major components. Most of the straight-tusked elephant’s ancestry derives from a lineage related to the ancestor of African elephants while its remaining ancestry consists of a large contribution from a lineage related to forest elephants and another related to mammoths. Columbian and woolly mammoths also showed evidence of interbreeding, likely following a latitudinal cline across North America. While hybridization events have shaped elephantid history in profound ways, isolation also appears to have played an important role. Our data reveal nearly complete isolation between the ancestors of the African forest and savanna elephants for ∼500,000 y, providing compelling justification for the conservation of forest and savanna elephants as separate species.
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Hoare, Richard. "African elephants and humans in conflict: the outlook for co-existence." Oryx 34, no. 1 (January 2000): 34–38. http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-3008.2000.00092.x.
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AbstractThe future persistence of African elephants over the 80 per cent of the species's range that remains outside protected areas is increasingly uncertain in many parts of the continent. Conflict between elephants and agriculturalists is already widespread and can lead to displacement or elimination of elephants, causing a further decline in their range and numbers. ‘Protectionist’ conservation groups have recently attempted to play down the importance of human–elephant conflict, contending that it has been greatly exaggerated by those advocating sustainable use of wildlife. The future of elephants in ecosystems over much of the continent will depend largely upon the attitudes and activities of humans. The realities of survival faced by rural Africans may mean that little attention will be paid to a debate taking place on conservation philosophy in the developed world. Therefore, the IUCN African Elephant Specialist Group (AfESG) is investigating how human land use can be integrated with the needs of elephant populations in Africa's biogeographical regions. Findings from these studies will be used in attempts to benefit elephant conservation and management in the 37 African elephant range states.
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Shoshani, Jeheskel, Jerold M. Lowenstein, Daniel A. Walz, and Morris Goodman. "Proboscidean origins of mastodon and woolly mammoth demonstrated immunologically." Paleobiology 11, no. 4 (1985): 429–37. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0094837300011714.
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Immunologically reactive protein substances were extracted from bone samples of an American mastodon (Mammut americanum), 10,200 yr old by radiocarbon dating, and from muscle samples of three woolly mammoths (Mammuthus primigenius), 10,000, 40,000 and 53,000 yr old, respectively. The mastodon samples contained significant quantities of the amino acids hydroxylysine and hydroxyproline, both of which are usually found in collagens and not in albumins. Using these products and other comparable extracts, as well as sera and purified collagens from modern elephants and other living mammals, as test antigens, immunological comparisons were carried out with the following antisera: rabbit anti-mastodon bone; chicken anti-mammoth muscle; chicken anti-elephant muscle; rabbit anti-elephant albumin and rabbit anti-elephant collagen, as well as with rabbit antisera to purified albumins and collagens of other mammals. For the first time, mastodon bone was found to have elephant-like proteins, which elicited antibodies that reacted strongly with collagen and serum proteins of extant elephants. Mammoth muscle strongly reacted with anti-elephant collagen and anti-elephant albumin, but the concentrations of the recoverable mammoth collagen and albumin decreased with increasing chronological age of the mammoth specimens. Nevertheless, in the immunological comparisons, the mammoth was closer to Asian (Elephas maximus) and African (Loxodonta africana) elephants than to the mastodon; in turn, the mastodon was closer to these elephantid species than to mammals outside the order Proboscidea.
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Kitamura, Shumpei, Takakazu Yumoto, Pilai Poonswad, and Prawat Wohandee. "Frugivory and seed dispersal by Asian elephants, Elephas maximus, in a moist evergreen forest of Thailand." Journal of Tropical Ecology 23, no. 3 (April 24, 2007): 373–76. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0266467407004026.
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The Asian elephant Elephas maximus is the only living species of the genus Elephas (Elephantidae) that evolved in Africa c. 5–6 million y ago and migrated into Eurasia (Sukumar 2003). The Asian elephant is one of the few remaining extant megafauna (Owen-Smith 1988) and has disappeared from c. 95% of its historical range (Sukumar 2006). Asian elephants eat fruit when it is available, defecating intact seeds, of which some later germinate in the dung (Lekagul & McNeely 1977, Ridley 1930). However, to date there has been no detailed study of frugivory and seed dispersal by Asian elephants (Corlett 1998). The only common feature of the fruit reported to be eaten by Asian elephants is their relatively large size, but there is no evidence that they are exclusive dispersers of any plant species (Corlett 1998), in contrast to the more frugivorous African forest elephants, Loxodonta africana cyclotis (Babweteera et al. 2007, Chapman et al. 1992, Cochrane 2003, Feer 1995).
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Ehlers, Bernhard, Güzin Dural, Manfred Marschall, Vera Schregel, Michael Goltz, and Jochen Hentschke. "Endotheliotropic elephant herpesvirus, the first betaherpesvirus with a thymidine kinase gene." Journal of General Virology 87, no. 10 (October 1, 2006): 2781–89. http://dx.doi.org/10.1099/vir.0.81977-0.
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Endotheliotropic elephant herpesvirus (elephantid herpesvirus 1; ElHV-1) is apathogenic for African elephants (Loxodonta africana), but causes fatal haemorrhagic disease in Asian elephants (Elephas maximus). This is thought to occur through transmission from African elephants in places where both species are housed, such as zoological gardens. The virus has caused considerable losses in North American and European zoological gardens and thus severely impedes breeding of the endangered Asian elephant. Previously, the ultrastructural and genetic characterization of ElHV-1 from a male Asian elephant that died from the disease at the Berlin zoological gardens in 1998 have been reported. Here, a partial characterization of the ElHV-1 genome is presented. A 60 kbp locus, spanning 34 open reading frames, was analysed. Most of the detected genes were found to be conserved among the herpesviruses and showed an overall arrangement most similar to that of betaherpesviruses, in particular Human herpesvirus 6 and Human herpesvirus 7. Most importantly, in addition to a protein kinase gene that is homologous to the human cytomegalovirus UL97 gene, a thymidine kinase (TK) gene was found, which is generally missing in betaherpesvirus genomes. Thus, ElHV-1 is the only known betaherpesvirus to encode a TK gene. This peculiarity might contribute to the fulminant pathogenicity of ElHV-1, but also provide a crucial enzymic activity for developing an efficient antiviral therapy with currently available nucleoside analogues.
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Robertson, Marion R., Lisa J. Olivier, John Roberts, Laddawan Yonthantham, Constance Banda, Innocent B. N’gombwa, Rachel Dale, and Lydia N. Tiller. "Testing the Effectiveness of the “Smelly” Elephant Repellent in Controlled Experiments in Semi-Captive Asian and African Savanna Elephants." Animals 13, no. 21 (October 26, 2023): 3334. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani13213334.
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Crop-raiding by elephants is one of the most prevalent forms of human–elephant conflict and is increasing with the spread of agriculture into wildlife range areas. As the magnitude of conflicts between people and elephants increases across Africa and Asia, mitigating and reducing the impacts of elephant crop-raiding has become a major focus of conservation intervention. In this study, we tested the responses of semi-captive elephants to the “smelly” elephant repellent, a novel olfactory crop-raiding mitigation method. At two trial sites, in Zambia and Thailand, African elephants (Loxodonta africana) and Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) were exposed to the repellent, in order to test whether or not they entered an area protected by the repellent and whether they ate the food provided. The repellent elicited clear reactions from both study groups of elephants compared to control conditions. Generalised linear models revealed that the elephants were more alert, sniffed more, and vocalised more when they encountered the repellent. Although the repellent triggered a response, it did not prevent elephants from entering plots protected by the repellent or from eating crops, unlike in trials conducted with wild elephants. Personality played a role in responses towards the repellent, as the elephants that entered the experimental plots were bolder and more curious individuals. We conclude that, although captive environments provide controlled settings for experimental testing, the ecological validity of testing human–elephant conflict mitigation methods with captive wildlife should be strongly considered. This study also shows that understanding animal behaviour is essential for improving human–elephant coexistence and for designing deterrence mechanisms. Appreciating personality traits in elephants, especially amongst “problem” elephants who have a greater propensity to crop raid, could lead to the design of new mitigation methods designed to target these individuals.
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Gross, Rachael B., and Robert Heinsohn. "Elephants Not in the Room: Systematic Review Shows Major Geographic Publication Bias in African Elephant Ecological Research." Diversity 15, no. 3 (March 17, 2023): 451. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/d15030451.
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African savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana) are a keystone species in African ecosystems. As a result of increasing anthropogenic pressure, elephant populations have declined significantly in the last two centuries. Research on a broad sample of these populations is necessary to inform management strategies over a range of environmental and socio-political conditions. In order to evaluate the current state of literature that is informing evidence-based management and conservation of elephants, we systematically reviewed all research published on the ecology of African elephants from the last 20 years (492 publications). We contrasted the geographic distribution of published research against the 2016 IUCN elephant census. We found several statistically significant biases in the geographic distribution of elephant research. South Africa has 4.54% of the total elephant population and accounted for 28.28% of all research publications. Kenya has 5.49% the total elephant population but accounts for 20.6% of the research. Conversely, Botswana has 31.68% of the total elephant population but accounts for only 9.29% of the research and Zimbabwe has 19.89% of the total elephant population with only 10.50% of research. We also found that 41.85% of areas with ~60,100 elephants have not had any research published on their populations in the last 20 years. This publication imbalance may encourage management strategies that are overly dependent on misrepresentative information from a small subset of the elephant population. We recommend that (1) marginalised areas with large elephant populations (e.g., Botswana and Zimbabwe) should receive higher priority for future research, (2) new research and proposals should design theoretical frameworks to account for and overcome the present biases, and (3) local community-based management approaches should be prioritised and amplified in order to overcome the barriers to conducting research in priority areas.
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Santiapillai, Charles, and Bruce Read. "Would masking the smell of ripening paddy-fields help mitigate human–elephant conflict in Sri Lanka?" Oryx 44, no. 4 (October 2010): 509–11. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0030605310000906.
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AbstractDespite its small size and high human population Sri Lanka is home to c. 4,400 wild Asian elephants Elephas maximus. Human–elephant conflict around agriculture is severe, with > 100 elephants and c. 50 people killed annually. Elephants appear to be able to time their raiding of paddy-fields in Sri Lanka with the harvesting of the rice, as if they are responding to an olfactory trigger. It is the elephant’s sophisticated chemosensory system that may hold the key to resolving human–elephant conflict. Research is required to determine the odours associated with the various development stages of rice, using gas chromatography, and to find a suitable substance that could be used to mask the specific odour of ripening rice. The use of chemosensory-based methods, if feasible, will not be a universal panacea for the mitigation of human–elephant conflict but, in combination with other methods, could reduce conflict and make it easier for farmers to harvest their crops in safety. Such a combination of methods could be useful across the range of both Asian and African elephants.
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Thompson, Katie E., and Genoveva F. Esteban. "A Study on the Perception of African Elephant (Loxodonta africana) Conservation by School Children in Africa and England (UK)." Diversity 15, no. 6 (June 16, 2023): 781. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/d15060781.
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Environmental education (EE) applications can support wildlife conservation practices by improving school children’s understanding of environmental issues, including endangered species conservation, such as the African savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana). This study aimed to identify and assess school children’s perceptions of elephant conservation in three schools: South Africa, Kenya, and England. Questionnaires were completed by students at one school per location, with the age range of 10–16 (n = 364). The responses were then analysed independently and collectively using descriptive statistics (n = 364). School children feared elephants where elephants were native. The importance of elephants was not acknowledged by students in South Africa and England and included a lack of awareness of how elephants benefit other species. There was an unclear understanding of the threats to elephants. Collectively, a wildlife guide as a career choice was not highly valued. The results of this study have reflected key narratives of elephant conservation from selected countries; Kenya leading in anti-poaching and anti-trade campaigns, anti-poaching campaigns by various NGOs in the U.K., and elephant management around expanding populations in South Africa, which have given significant insights into areas of improvement for environmental education practices to support wildlife conservation globally. Furthermore, this new research has identified and compared school children’s awareness of elephant conservation on a greater spatial scale than what is currently understood, compounding the importance of understanding effective wildlife conservation in education.
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Ndlovu, Mduduzi, Antón Pérez-Rodríguez, Emma Devereux, Miranda Thomas, Alfredo Colina, and Linford Molaba. "Water for African elephants ( Loxodonta africana ): faecal microbial loads affect use of artificial waterholes." Biology Letters 14, no. 8 (August 2018): 20180360. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2018.0360.
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In semi-arid protected areas, artificial waterholes ensure that water is locally available to animals for extended periods. However, artificial waterholes may limit animal movement, which contributes towards habitat deterioration. Challenges of artificial water provisioning worsen in the presence of ecosystem engineers like African elephants Loxodonta africana , capable of transforming environments. Camera traps were used to monitor elephant visitation at 21 artificial waterholes in the Kruger National Park, South Africa. We also assessed if water quality parameters influenced elephant preference for certain waterholes. There were no significant correlations between elephant abundance and water physicochemical properties. However, there was a strong negative correlation between elephant abundance and levels of Escherichia coli in water. Our findings suggest that elephants avoid drinking water with high levels of faecal microbial loads. Whereas most studies addressing animal management in protected areas consider waterholes as homogeneous units, we posit that water quality could also determine local landscape use and movement patterns of key species like elephants, a finding with relevant implications in reserve management practices.
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Geleta, Taye Lemma, Girma Mengesha, and Sintayehu Workeneh. "Ecological studies andThreats on African elephant (Loxodonta africana) in Babile Elephant Sanctuary, Eastern Ethiopia." International Journal of Agriculture, Biology & Environment 04, no. 04 (2023): 01–20. http://dx.doi.org/10.47504/ijagri.2023.4.4.1.
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A study was conducted on the ecological, and threats to African elephants in the Babile Elephant Sanctuary in eastern Ethiopia from March 2019 to December 2021. The research aimed to understand population size, age structure, movement, feeding preference, impact on woody plant species, and threats to elephants. For the study, before carrying out data collection, the habitat of the sanctuary was first divided into riverine, woodland, and bushlands. A total area of 48 km2divided into 16 km2each, was sampled to compare and collect the dung of an elephant. The study used dung counting techniques and woody species assessment to estimate elephant population size, feeding preferences, and the impact of elephants on woody species. The sanctuary had 210 to 250 elephantsor (i.e., 230±20)at a Mean of (χ) =230 and SD=20, with 47% being younger and 2.6% sub-adult. Others were adult (19%), calves (17.2%), and Juveniles (13.4%). According to all (100%) key informants and observations revealed, the elephants’ movement followed the Erer and Gobele valleys. The result also showed that 24(63.15%) of the 38 woody species were selected by elephants as a diet. The Acacia seyel (PI= 3.3033)and Opuntia ficus-indica (PI= 2.0328)were the most frequently browsed tree and shrub species, respectively. Observations revealed elephants uprooted debarked trees and destroyed parts, particularly a small size class.The study found that the high human population and settlers' need for land for cultivation increased conflicts between people and elephants. Despite a remnant elephant population in the sanctuary, the species could be negatively affected by human activities. Therefore, rehabilitating woody plants consumed by elephants,reducing threats and conservingthe remaining elephant populationis crucial.
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Huang, Ryan M., Rudi J. van Aarde, Stuart L. Pimm, Michael J. Chase, and Keith Leggett. "Mapping potential connections between Southern Africa’s elephant populations." PLOS ONE 17, no. 10 (October 11, 2022): e0275791. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0275791.
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Southern Africa spans nearly 7 million km2 and contains approximately 80% of the world’s savannah elephants (Loxodonta africana) mostly living in isolated protected areas. Here we ask what are the prospects for improving the connections between these populations? We combine 1.2 million telemetry observations from 254 elephants with spatial data on environmental factors and human land use across eight southern African countries. Telemetry data show what natural features limit elephant movement and what human factors, including fencing, further prevent or restrict dispersal. The resulting intersection of geospatial data and elephant presences provides a map of suitable landscapes that are environmentally appropriate for elephants and where humans allow elephants to occupy. We explore the environmental and anthropogenic constraints in detail using five case studies. Lastly, we review all the major potential connections that may remain to connect a fragmented elephant metapopulation and document connections that are no longer feasible.
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Tollis, Marc, Elliott Ferris, Michael S. Campbell, Valerie K. Harris, Shawn M. Rupp, Tara M. Harrison, Wendy K. Kiso, et al. "Elephant Genomes Reveal Accelerated Evolution in Mechanisms Underlying Disease Defenses." Molecular Biology and Evolution 38, no. 9 (May 3, 2021): 3606–20. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msab127.
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Abstract Disease susceptibility and resistance are important factors for the conservation of endangered species, including elephants. We analyzed pathology data from 26 zoos and report that Asian elephants have increased neoplasia and malignancy prevalence compared with African bush elephants. This is consistent with observed higher susceptibility to tuberculosis and elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV) in Asian elephants. To investigate genetic mechanisms underlying disease resistance, including differential responses between species, among other elephant traits, we sequenced multiple elephant genomes. We report a draft assembly for an Asian elephant, and defined 862 and 1,017 conserved potential regulatory elements in Asian and African bush elephants, respectively. In the genomes of both elephant species, conserved elements were significantly enriched with genes differentially expressed between the species. In Asian elephants, these putative regulatory regions were involved in immunity pathways including tumor-necrosis factor, which plays an important role in EEHV response. Genomic sequences of African bush, forest, and Asian elephant genomes revealed extensive sequence conservation at TP53 retrogene loci across three species, which may be related to TP53 functionality in elephant cancer resistance. Positive selection scans revealed outlier genes related to additional elephant traits. Our study suggests that gene regulation plays an important role in the differential inflammatory response of Asian and African elephants, leading to increased infectious disease and cancer susceptibility in Asian elephants. These genomic discoveries can inform future functional and translational studies aimed at identifying effective treatment approaches for ill elephants, which may improve conservation.
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Garai, Marion E., Tenisha Roos, Tamara Eggeling, André Ganswindt, Yolanda Pretorius, and Michelle Henley. "Developing welfare parameters for African elephants (Loxodonta africana) in fenced reserves in South Africa." PLOS ONE 17, no. 3 (March 24, 2022): e0264931. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0264931.
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South Africa has many fenced reserves harbouring small to medium sized populations of African elephant (Loxodonta africana), most of which have been translocated. Elephants on fenced reserves may be exposed to various management interventions and practices (translocation, hunting, darting, high tourism impact, contraception programs, disruption due to infrastructure maintenance, etc.). These factors may impact the welfare of elephants. Poor elephant welfare may have serious consequences such as increased inter- and intra-species aggression that could result in fatalities. This is the first study to attempt to define behavioural and physiological welfare parameters for free-ranging elephants on small to medium sized reserves. The eight study sites incorporated reserves with different social structure combinations, elephant life-histories, reserve sizes, habitat, management, and tourism intensity. Data collection consisted of behavioural observations (10-minute videos) as well as faecal samples. By incorporating both behavioural and physiological (faecal glucocorticoid metabolite (fGCM) concentration) parameters, we aimed to investigate whether the two parameters showed similar trends. Five behavioural categories were identified (Arousal, Assessing, Ambivalent, Ambivalent/ Body care, and Frustrated behaviour), with various detailed behaviours demonstrated by the elephants that may indicate the influence of anthropogenic disturbance and possibly impact on animal welfare. The study showed significant differences between the selected detailed behaviours, behavioural categories and fGCM concentrations of elephants across the eight reserves. History seemed to be a decisive factor, as reserves with predominantly ex-captive elephants showed higher frequencies of certain behaviours as well as higher fGCM concentrations. Age, sex, reserve size and season were also found to contribute to our defined welfare indices and fGCM concentrations. This indicates that behavioural parameters, indicative of certain behavioural states, are valuable indicators of welfare, as supported by the physiological response of the elephants. The results also highlight the importance of taking multiple specified behaviours from a category into consideration when evaluating the welfare of elephants, to account for individual variation.
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Hautier, Lionel, Fiona J. Stansfield, W. R. Twink Allen, and Robert J. Asher. "Skeletal development in the African elephant and ossification timing in placental mammals." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 279, no. 1736 (February 2012): 2188–95. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2011.2481.
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We provide here unique data on elephant skeletal ontogeny. We focus on the sequence of cranial and post-cranial ossification events during growth in the African elephant ( Loxodonta africana ). Previous analyses on ossification sequences in mammals have focused on monotremes, marsupials, boreoeutherian and xenarthran placentals. Here, we add data on ossification sequences in an afrotherian. We use two different methods to quantify sequence heterochrony: the sequence method and event-paring/Parsimov. Compared with other placentals, elephants show late ossifications of the basicranium, manual and pedal phalanges, and early ossifications of the ischium and metacarpals. Moreover, ossification in elephants starts very early and progresses rapidly. Specifically, the elephant exhibits the same percentage of bones showing an ossification centre at the end of the first third of its gestation period as the mouse and hamster have close to birth. Elephants show a number of features of their ossification patterns that differ from those of other placental mammals. The pattern of the initiation of the ossification evident in the African elephant underscores a possible correlation between the timing of ossification onset and gestation time throughout mammals.
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Wright, Mark G., Irene Gatti, Michelle G. Au, Juliana Salehi, Craig R. Spencer, Paul Allin, and Agenor Mafra-Neto. "Evaluating Formic Acid as a Behavioral Modifier in African Savanna Elephants." Diversity 15, no. 10 (October 12, 2023): 1079. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/d15101079.
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Formic acid was investigated as a potential repellant for African savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana) as a semiochemical option for managing elephant movements and interactions with human infrastructure. Formic acid is a naturally occurring compound, used as an alarm pheromone and as a defensive chemical in Formicine ants, and thus a potentially desirable option compared to introducing exogenous deterrents that are foreign to the elephants’ natural habitats. Although most elephants observed (85%) did not interact with treatments containing formic acid, of the cohort of individuals (n = 38) that did respond, the majority showed a mild to moderate avoidance response, while a small proportion of elephants were distinctly repelled when experiencing formic acid cues, in some cases causing whole herds to evacuate an area. The potential for using formic acid as an elephant repellant to modulate elephant behavior in field situations is discussed.
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Della Rocca, F. "How tall is an elephant? Two methods for estimating elephant height." Web Ecology 7, no. 1 (February 14, 2007): 1–10. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/we-7-1-2007.
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Abstract. Shoulder height is a reliable indicator of age for African elephants (Loxodonta africana), and is therefore an important parameter to be recorded in field studies of population ecology of these pachyderms. However, it can be somewhat difficult to estimate with precision the shoulder height of free-ranging elephants because of several reasons, including the presence of drops and vegetation cover and the potential dangerousness of approaching them in the wild. Here I test two alternative models for estimating shoulder height of elephants. In both models, the equipment needed to generate the height estimates is minimal, and include a telemeter and a digital photo-camera furnished with an ×16 zoom. The models are based respectively on a linear regression approach and on a geometric formula approach, and put into a relationship the linear distance between the observer and the animal, the number of pixels of an elephant silhouette as taken from digital photos, and the absolute height of the animal. Both methods proved to have a very small measurement error, and were thus reliable for field estimates of elephant shoulder heights. The model based on a geometric formula was used to estimate the shoulder height distribution of an elephant population in a savannah region of West Africa (Zakouma National Park, Chad). I demonstrated that Zakouma elephants were among the tallest populations in Africa, with growth rates being highest throughout the first five years of life.
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O'Connell-Rodwell, Caitlin, Jodie Berezin, Mike Ravicz, and Sunil Puria. "A first look at sound transmission through the elephant middle ear—Not what we expected." Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 154, no. 4_supplement (October 1, 2023): A20. http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/10.0022652.
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Elephants, the largest terrestrial mammals, have the lowest frequency auditory system, even lower than previously thought, which likely facilitates their long-distance communication. We used a 3D laser Doppler vibrometer to quantify ossicular motions of cadaveric middle ears of both African (Loxodonta africana) and Asian (Elephas maximus) elephants as well as humans to understand the mechanics of sound transmission in animals with larger ears than humans. Velocity in the x, y, and z directions from the umbo and stapes over the 7–13,000 Hz range were converted to their anatomical piston directions. The magnitude of umbo velocity was an order of magnitude greater in elephants than humans below the elephant middle ear resonance of about 300 Hz, whereas the stapes velocity was 5 times greater. These higher magnitude velocities are most likely due to an eardrum that is 7 times larger. Despite elephant ossicles being 10 times heavier, the magnitude of stapes velocity above 1 kHz in elephants and humans was similar, but even more surprising, elephants showed much more group delay than anticipated. We present our results in the context of eardrum size, ossicle mass, the malleus-incus lever ratio that characterize elephant and human middle ear sound transmission. [Work supported by the Amelia Peabody Fund and K01 DC017812.]
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Pearson, Virginia R., Jens B. Bosse, Orkide O. Koyuncu, Julian Scherer, Cristhian Toruno, Rosann Robinson, Lisa M. Abegglen, Joshua D. Schiffman, Lynn W. Enquist, and Glenn F. Rall. "Identification of African Elephant Polyomavirus in wild elephants and the creation of a vector expressing its viral tumor antigens to transform elephant primary cells." PLOS ONE 16, no. 2 (February 5, 2021): e0244334. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0244334.
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Wild elephant populations are declining rapidly due to rampant killing for ivory and body parts, range fragmentation, and human-elephant conflict. Wild and captive elephants are further impacted by viruses, including highly pathogenic elephant endotheliotropic herpesviruses. Moreover, while the rich genetic diversity of the ancient elephant lineage is disappearing, elephants, with their low incidence of cancer, have emerged as a surprising resource in human cancer research for understanding the intrinsic cellular response to DNA damage. However, studies on cellular resistance to transformation and herpesvirus reproduction have been severely limited, in part due to the lack of established elephant cell lines to enable in vitro experiments. This report describes creation of a recombinant plasmid, pAelPyV-1-Tag, derived from a wild isolate of African Elephant Polyomavirus (AelPyV-1), that can be used to create immortalized lines of elephant cells. This isolate was extracted from a trunk nodule biopsy isolated from a wild African elephant, Loxodonta africana, in Botswana. The AelPyV-1 genome contains open-reading frames encoding the canonical large (LTag) and small (STag) tumor antigens. We cloned the entire early region spanning the LTag and overlapping STag genes from this isolate into a high-copy vector to construct a recombinant plasmid, pAelPyV-1-Tag, which effectively transformed primary elephant endothelial cells. We expect that the potential of this reagent to transform elephant primary cells will, at a minimum, facilitate study of elephant-specific herpesviruses.
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Barnes, R. F. W., M. Agnagna, M. P. T. Alers, A. Blom, G. Doungoube, M. Fay, T. Masunda, J. C. Ndo Nkoumou, C. Sikubwabo Kiyengo, and M. Tchamba. "Elephants and ivory poaching in the forests of equatorial Africa." Oryx 27, no. 1 (January 1993): 27–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0030605300023929.
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Reconnaissance surveys were made of the forests of four central African countries to establish, for the first time, the status of forest-dwelling elephants. The results, when combined with information from previous surveys in other countries, provide a picture of the elephant situation in the forest zone, and especially the impact of poaching. About one-third of the forest elephant population of central Africa is to be found in Zaire, and about one-third in Gabon. The rest are in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, and Congo. It is poaching for ivory, rather than the growth of human populations, which threatens the elephants of the equatorial forests.
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Neupane, Sandesh, Man Kumar Dhamala, and Prakash Chandra Aryal. "Human elephant conflict management and issues in Nepalese context: A Review." Nepal Journal of Environmental Science 6 (December 31, 2018): 69–74. http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/njes.v6i0.30128.
Full textAbstract:
Human Elephant Conflict has been an important conservation issue since decades in Africa and Asia. A comparative analysis was performed to identify the methods of the Human Wildlife Conflict management in African and Asian countries. Different studies from 1999 to 2018 in African and Asian Nations related to Human Elephant Conflict were obtained from reliable online sources such as published articles, policies and reports relevant to Nepalese context were synthesized. The different methods used in Human Elephant Conflict management in both continents were broadly classified into fifteen different categories and their effectiveness was compared based on economic viability, safety for elephants and humans while adopting the mitigation measures and the control of the Human Elephant Conflict after adoption of the measure. Land-use management is proposed in Nepalese context to reduce the Human Elephant Conflict centered on different social, financial and environmental conditions.
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Mortimer, Beth, James A. Walker, David S. Lolchuragi, Michael Reinwald, and David Daballen. "Noise matters: elephants show risk-avoidance behaviour in response to human-generated seismic cues." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 288, no. 1953 (June 30, 2021): 20210774. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2021.0774.
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African elephants ( Loxodonta africana ) use many sensory modes to gather information about their environment, including the detection of seismic, or ground-based, vibrations. Seismic information is known to include elephant-generated signals, but also potentially encompasses biotic cues that are commonly referred to as ‘noise’. To investigate seismic information transfer in elephants beyond communication, here we tested the hypothesis that wild elephants detect and discriminate between seismic vibrations that differ in their noise types, whether elephant- or human-generated. We played three types of seismic vibrations to elephants: seismic recordings of elephants (elephant-generated), white noise (human-generated) and a combined track (elephant- and human-generated). We found evidence of both detection of seismic noise and discrimination between the two treatments containing human-generated noise. In particular, we found evidence of retreat behaviour, where seismic tracks with human-generated noise caused elephants to move further away from the trial location. We conclude that seismic noise are cues that contain biologically relevant information for elephants that they can associate with risk. This expands our understanding of how elephants use seismic information, with implications for elephant sensory ecology and conservation management.
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Parker, D. M., R. T. F. Bernard, and J. Adendorff. "Do elephants influence the organisation and function of a South African grassland?" Rangeland Journal 31, no. 4 (2009): 395. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/rj08039.
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The impact of elephants (Loxodonta africana) on woody plants is well known. Elephants can be regarded as drivers of ecosystem functioning by, for example, decreasing woody plant litter accumulation through defoliation. However, their influence within grassland landscapes is, by comparison, very poorly understood. We assessed the influence of elephants on grassland functionality at three separate sites (1, high elephant density, long occupation time; 2, low elephant density, short occupation time; 3, no elephants) in the Addo Elephant National Park, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Using landscape function analysis (LFA) we described the landscape organisation of each site, and, using visual surrogates, calculated indices of landscape stability, infiltration and nutrient cycling. The number of vegetation patches/10 m of transects surveyed was higher at sites where elephant density was high (3 elephants/km2) and where elephants had been present for a long time (>70 years). However, patch size was significantly smaller when elephant density/time of occupation increased, and the proportion of bare soil was higher where elephant density and occupation time were highest. In addition, stability, infiltration and nutrient cycling indices at a site scale were significantly lower where elephants were present at high densities and after a long occupation time. However, bare soil stability was not greatly affected by elephant grazing pressure, implying that a ‘threshold of potential concern’ has not yet arisen. We conclude that the functioning of this grassland landscape is significantly altered when elephants are present. These conclusions highlight the importance of management factors such as containment and the provision of artificial water points which may be compromising the functionality of these landscapes. We recommend ongoing assessments to inform future management decisions.
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du Plessis, Kara, Stefanie Birgit Ganswindt, Henk Bertschinger, Bruce Crossey, Michelle Deborah Henley, Mmatsawela Ramahlo, and André Ganswindt. "Social and Seasonal Factors Contribute to Shifts in Male African Elephant (Loxodonta africana) Foraging and Activity Patterns in Kruger National Park, South Africa." Animals 11, no. 11 (October 27, 2021): 3070. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani11113070.
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African savannah elephants (Loxodonta africana) are well-known as ecosystem engineers with the ability to modify vegetation structure. The present study aimed to examine how male elephant foraging behaviour is affected across (a) season (wet versus dry); (b) time of day (before or after noon); (c) presence or absence of other elephants; and (d) reproductive state (musth versus no musth). Six radio-collared adult elephant bulls were observed twice per week from June 2007–June 2008 in Kruger National Park (KNP), South Africa. Using generalized linear mixed effect modeling, results indicate that elephant bulls graze more during the wet season and browse more during the dry season. To potentially offset the costs associated with thermoregulation during the heat of the day, KNP elephants spent more time foraging during the morning, and more time resting during the afternoon. Male elephants also foraged significantly less when they were associated with females compared to when they were alone or with other males. This is likely due to male–female associations formed mainly for reproductive purposes, thus impeding on male foraging behaviours. In contrast, the condition of musth, defined by the presence of related physical signs, had no significant effect on foraging behaviour.
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Jansen van Vuuren, Amèlia, Julie Bolcaen, Monique Engelbrecht, Willem Burger, Maryna De Kock, Marco Durante, Randall Fisher, et al. "Establishment of Primary Adult Skin Fibroblast Cell Lines from African Savanna Elephants (Loxodonta africana)." Animals 13, no. 14 (July 19, 2023): 2353. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani13142353.
Full textAbstract:
Following population declines of the African savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana) across the African continent, the establishment of primary cell lines of endangered wildlife species is paramount for the preservation of their genetic resources. In addition, it allows molecular and functional studies on the cancer suppression mechanisms of elephants, which have previously been linked to a redundancy of tumor suppressor gene TP53. This methodology describes the establishment of primary elephant dermal fibroblast (EDF) cell lines from skin punch biopsy samples (diameter: ±4 mm) of African savanna elephants (n = 4, 14–35 years). The applied tissue collection technique is minimally invasive and paves the way for future remote biopsy darting. On average, the first explant outgrowth was observed after 15.75 ± 6.30 days. The average doubling time (Td) was 93.02 ± 16.94 h and 52.39 ± 0.46 h at passage 1 and 4, respectively. Metaphase spreads confirmed the diploid number of 56 chromosomes. The successful establishment of EDF cell lines allows for future elephant cell characterization studies and for research on the cancer resistance mechanisms of elephants, which can be harnessed for human cancer prevention and treatment and contributes to the conservation of their genetic material.
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Viljoen, J. J., H. C. Reynecke, M. D. Panagos, W. R. Langbauer, and A. Ganswindt. "Seasonal Selection Preferences for Woody Plants by Breeding Herds of African Elephants (Loxodonta africana) in a Woodland Savanna." International Journal of Ecology 2013 (2013): 1–10. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/769587.
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To evaluate dynamics of elephant herbivory, we assessed seasonal preferences for woody plants by African elephant breeding herds in the southeastern part of Kruger National Park (KNP) between 2002 and 2005. Breeding herds had access to a variety of woody plants, and, of the 98 woody plant species that were recorded in the elephant's feeding areas, 63 species were utilized by observed animals. Data were recorded at 948 circular feeding sites (radius 5 m) during wet and dry seasons. Seasonal preference was measured by comparing selection of woody species in proportion to their estimated availability and then ranked according to the Manly alpha (α) index of preference. Animals demonstrated a selection preference in feeding on woody vegetation, andGrewia hexamita, Grewia bicolor, Grewia flavescens, andGrewia monticolawere selected consistently more over all seasons. In addition, our results indicate that elephant herds have a low preference for at least some of the woody species prone to extirpation and that feeding preferences for woody plants do not account for the association of elephants and riparian fringe habitat.
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Boehlke, Carolin, Sabrina Schuster, Lucas Kauthe, Oliver Zierau, and Christian Hannig. "Nutritional influences on enzyme activities in saliva of Asian and African elephants." Journal of Comparative Physiology B 191, no. 5 (July 7, 2021): 955–70. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00360-021-01378-6.
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AbstractAsian and African elephants show morphological adaptations to their ecological niche including the oral cavity. Variety and preferences of forage plants differ between both herbivorous elephant species. Diet can affect salivary enzymes. Asian elephants were shown to have a higher salivary amylase activity than African elephants. Species-specific differences were presumed to be influenced by feeding during collection procedure. This study aimed to determine the influence of feeding on enzyme activities in saliva of both elephant species to differentiate from species-specific effects. Additionally, season and housing conditions on salivary enzyme activities in non-fed elephants of both species were investigated. Salivary amylase (sAA), lysozyme (sLYS) and peroxidase (sPOD) activity were measured photometrically or fluorometrically. Results of this study reinforce previous observations of higher basic sAA activity in Asian elephants compared to African elephants. Salivary LYS and sPOD activity showed neither species-specific nor housing-specific differences. Independent from season, most elephants of both species revealed a lack of or low sPOD activity. Feeding caused a temporary decrease of sAA, sLYS and sPOD activity in both elephant species kept in four of eight tested zoos. Furthermore, sAA activity in Asian elephants was higher and sLYS activity lower in Spring than in Autumn. This study summarizes that sAA and sLYS are components of Asian and African elephant saliva in an active conformation in contrast to sPOD. Diet varying between season and zoos might influence sAA and sLYS activities primarily in Asian elephants but temporary low effects suggest sufficient buffer capacity of elephant saliva of both species.
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Tsegaye, Adane, Afework Bekele, and Anagaw Atikem. "Local’s attitude towards African elephant conservation in and around Chebra Churchura National Park, Ethiopia." PLOS ONE 18, no. 10 (October 26, 2023): e0292641. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0292641.
Full textAbstract:
Economic growth and development in developing countries often involves land-use changes which fragment natural areas, bring humans and wildlife into closer proximity and escalating human- wildlife conflicts. Human-wildlife conflicts impose huge costs on local people and their livelihoods. Balancing developmental activities with the conservation of mega fauna such as the African and Asian elephants (Loxodonta Africana, Elephas maximus; respectively) remains problematic. Understanding the reasoning upon which perceived risks and level of human- elephant conflict laid is critical to address societal or cultural beliefs in order to develop effective mitigation strategies. The perceived risks and level of conflict have to be properly addressed for effective planning and implementation of appropriate mitigation strategies. We studied human- elephant interactions in Chebra Churchura National Park Ethiopia (CCNP) from September 8 to October 28, 2022 and collected baseline data on human perceptions of conflicts in an area where elephant populations are increasing. To complete our study, we surveyed 800 household from 20 villages adjacent to the CCNP. The purpose of this investigation was to identify the relevance of the existing human-elephant conflict (HEC) with the attitude of local communities towards elephant conservation, the park management and perceived effective mitigation techniques. The local communities trust in the implementation of different traditional mitigation techniques is generally weak. The households interviewed were less positive towards the effectiveness of most of the traditional techniques in chasing elephants away from their farm lands. They believed that elephants had already adapted and do not respond to most of these techniques. Against the above perception in exception of their usual absence and late arrival, perception of local communities about shooting warning gun by park scouts is among the most accepted effective methods in chasing elephants from their farm lands. The majority of respondents believe that separation of elephants and humans by constricting barriers is the best solution to the problem. The idea of constructing barriers such as electric fence; ditch or concrete wall and blocking corridors between the Park boundary and the villages have become the most popular idea of local communities followed by relocating people to other safer places, as the best protection method against the elephant attack irrespective of the associated initial and maintenance costs.
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OBANDA, V., J. POGHON, M. YONGO, I. MULEI, M. NGOTHO, K. WAITITU, J. MAKUMI, et al. "First reported case of fatal tuberculosis in a wild African elephant with past human–wildlife contact." Epidemiology and Infection 141, no. 7 (January 23, 2013): 1476–80. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0950268813000022.
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SUMMARYTuberculosis is emerging/re-emerging in captive elephant populations, where it causes morbidity and deaths, although no case of TB in wild African elephants has been reported. In this paper we report the first case of fatal TB in an African elephant in the wild. The infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis was confirmed by post-mortem and histological examinations of a female sub-adult elephant aged >12 years that died in Tsavo East National Park, Kenya, while under treatment. This case is unique in that during its lifetime the elephant had contact with both humans and wild elephants. The source of the infection was unclear because the elephant could have acquired the infection in the orphanage or in the wild. However, our results show that wild elephants can maintain human TB in the wild and that the infection can be fatal.
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Brugière, David, Iacouba Badjinca, Cristina Silva, Abubacar Serra, and Mamadou Barry. "On the road to extinction? The status of elephant Loxodonta africana in Guinea Bissau and western Guinea, West Africa." Oryx 40, no. 4 (October 2006): 442–46. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0030605306001177.
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We carried out a nationwide survey of elephant Loxodonta africana in Guinea Bissau, a small West African country for which records of elephant are limited. We also investigated parts of western Guinea along the border with Guinea Bissau likely to harbour a transboundary elephant population. Standardized interviews with hunters were held in 110 villages in Guinea Bissau and 60 villages in Guinea, and field surveys were carried out to validate interviewee responses. Results suggest that elephants are mainly restricted to an area between the Corubal River (Guinea Bissau) and the Kogon River (Guinea) and that elephants occur only seasonally in Guinea. Based on the number, geographical localization and interpretation of observed tracks, our estimate of the minimum number of elephants in Guinea Bissau is 4–10 animals. We did not observe any signs of young elephants. The most immediate threat to elephants is a road scheme between Guinea Bissau and Guinea that cuts through elephant range. The future of elephants in this region depends on the capacity of the two countries to manage their common elephant population jointly. In particular, the creation of a transboundary park is urgently needed.
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Wang, Shuokai, Zhen Cai, Yuxuan Hu, Giuseppe T. Cirella, and Yi Xie. "Chinese Resident Preferences for African Elephant Conservation: Choice Experiment." Diversity 12, no. 12 (November 28, 2020): 453. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/d12120453.
Full textAbstract:
Despite passionate efforts to preserve African elephants worldwide, their numbers continue to decline. Some conservation programs have suspended operations because the funds provided by various governmental and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) cannot cover the enormous expenses of countering poaching, habitat destruction, and illegal ivory trading. This study investigates Chinese resident preferences for African elephant conservation using a choice experiment model. Results indicated that two-thirds of our 442 respondents with relatively higher education and income levels were willing to donate to conserve African elephants. Respondents were willing to donate RMB 1593.80 (USD 231.65) annually to African elephant conservation. Chinese residents were willing to donate the most to anti-poaching RMB 641.25 (USD 93.20), followed by enhancing habitat quality RMB 359.07 (USD 52.22), combating the illegal trade in ivory RMB 355.63 (USD 51.69), and alleviating human–elephant conflicts RMB 237.85 (USD 34.57). Our results suggest that accepting public donations could be an efficient way for NGOs to better preserve African elephants.
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Geleta, Taye Lemma, Girma Mengesha, and Sintayehu Workeneh. "Population Size vs. Age structure and Seasonalmovement pattern of African Elephants (Loxodontaafricana, Blumenbach, 1797:Elephantidae) in Babile Elephant Sanctuary, Eastern Ethiopia." International Journal of Scientific and Academic Research 02, no. 05 (2022): 01–22. http://dx.doi.org/10.54756/ijsar.2022.v2.i5.1.
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The focus of this paper is to study the population size and age structure of elephants, and their seasonal movement patterns in Babile Elephant Sanctuary (BES), Eastern Ethiopia. The study was carried out between May 2019 and April 2020. The population size of the elephant was estimated indirectly from the dung droppings using line-transect methods within a 42 km2 area; of which, each 12 km2 area in riverine and woodland, and 18 km2 in bushland habitats. The total estimate of the elephant population for the sanctuary was (230+20) or between (210 and 250). Besides, Elephant numbers were also estimated directly from sightings. The maximum number observed in a herd was 75. There was a declining trend for the past 49 years in the elephant population. The observed density for the whole sanctuary was 0.033 elephants per km2. In the elephant age structure, there were more intermediate (47%) and very few sub-adults (2.6%) size classes identified. The movement pattern of elephants was studied based on footprints, dung piles, and feeding signs The GPS recorded routes were marked on a geo-referenced map of the area using a GIS program (Arc map10.8). The result revealed that the present wet and dry seasonal movement patterns of elephants were noted following almost the Erer and Gobele valley routes in the oromia region of the sanctuary. Based on the study results, the following inference is drawn: identifying and documenting up-to-date information on population size and age structure, and seasonal movement of African elephants (i.e., the migratory routes and foraging areas for complete protection to maintain the animal's natural migratory patterns without disturbance) in BES is important to build gaps in knowledge for conservationists to design plans for restoring the species and sustaining the elephant’s existence. Therefore, strengthening the capacity of management and enforcing laws can minimize intimidation and enhance opportunities.
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Nyirenda, Vincent, Bimo Nkhata, Oscar Tembo, and Susan Siamundele. "Elephant Crop Damage: Subsistence Farmers’ Social Vulnerability, Livelihood Sustainability and Elephant Conservation." Sustainability 10, no. 10 (October 7, 2018): 3572. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su10103572.
Full textAbstract:
African elephants (Loxodonta africana) induce considerable crop damage risks, shocks and stresses on subsistence farmers at the wildlife-agriculture interface. In this study, we explored the social dimensions of human-elephant interactions in the wildlife-agrarian landscape. The study aimed at unraveling the associated hazardous conditions and nature of the subsistence farmers’ social vulnerability and practices with respect to elephant crop damage, subsistence farmers’ livelihoods, and elephant conservation. Applying qualitative thematic content analysis, the sustainable livelihood framework (SLF) and additive generalized linear models (GLMs), this study revealed that the status of relational social capital influences human-elephant conflict (HEC) management and subsistence farmers’ responses, regardless of the farmers’ social learning and environmental values about the social-ecological system. The strengthening of multiple local stakeholder participation, institutional governance and access to livelihoods assets are needed for human food security and elephant conservation. Adoption of more effective nuanced crop protection counter-measures against elephants at farm level is urgently needed.
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Cerreta, Anthony J., Richard J. McMullen Jr, Heather E. Scott, Jennifer D. Ringenberg, Julie E. Hempstead, Ryan S. DeVoe, Michael R. Loomis, and Larry J. Minter. "Bilateral Phacoemulsification in an African Elephant (Loxodonta africana)." Case Reports in Veterinary Medicine 2019 (July 10, 2019): 1–9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/2506263.
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A 37-year-old bull African elephant (Loxodonta africana) at the North Carolina Zoo (NCZ) was diagnosed with bilateral cataracts leading to behavioral changes and significant weight loss secondary to functional blindness. On initial examination, a weight loss of 234 kg, a mature cataract in the right eye, and a focal cataract in the left eye were diagnosed. Ultrasound and electroretinography (ERG) indicated normal retinal attachment and both eyes were viable candidates for surgery. After careful planning and behavioral training, the left cataract was surgically removed via phacoemulsification and irrigation/aspiration. The right eye subsequently developed a ventral lens subluxation, and phacoemulsification and irrigation/aspiration were performed six months after the first procedure. Four years after surgery, menace response, palpebral reflex, dazzle reflex, and pupillary light reflexes were present in both eyes. Body weight was 5,515 kg, 88kg more than at the time of the second surgery. This is the first published report of an African bull elephant undergoing bilateral cataract removal using phacoemulsification and irrigation/aspiration. The lack of significant postoperative inflammation and uneventful recovery of the elephant suggests that this surgical procedure along with proper preoperative planning and postoperative medical management can be a safe and effective treatment option for elephants with cataracts.
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FUGL, Annika, Josefine Fly LARSEN, Sissel LINDBERG, Sidse RAUHE, Anne Cathrine LINDER, Trine Hammer JENSEN, Aage Kristian Olsen ALSTRUP, Cino PERTOLDI, and S. PAGH. "Personality and behaviour of three captive African savannah elephants (Loxodonta africana)." Genetics & Biodiversity Journal 6, no. 2 (July 1, 2022): 161–80. http://dx.doi.org/10.46325/gabj.v6i2.263.
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This study explores the diversity in individual response for three captive African Savannah Ele-phants (Loxodonta africana) to variations in the daily number of zoo visitors. The nocturnal behav-iour of the elephants was observed in two periods with a factor 5.1 difference in numbers of zoo visitors. Ten behavioural expressions for each elephant were compared for the two periods. Data was collected with surveillance cameras for ten hours (20:00 to 06:00) throughout six nights. Fur-thermore, the data was compared to a similar study on the same elephants performed two years earlier. Both studies revealed a significant difference in behaviour between low activity and high visitor activity periods for all three elephants in the behaviour ’Walk’. No overall significant differ-ence was found in the other behavioural expressions. Clear difference in reaction norms was found between the matriarch and the two subordinates for the behaviours: ’Feed from ground’, ’Inactive’, ’Walk’ and ’Other’. This study shows that elephants in captivity are influenced by an increase in the number of zoo visitors, and that the personality or social status of the elephant may provide them with different resilience to disturbance.
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Farah, Naima, and John R. Boyce. "Elephants and mammoths: the effect of an imperfect legal substitute on illegal activity." Environment and Development Economics 24, no. 3 (February 27, 2019): 225–51. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1355770x18000554.
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AbstractIn response to the CITES ban on trade in elephant ivory, mammoth ivory began to be produced in post-Soviet Russia. We investigate how this substitute to elephant ivory has affected the poaching of elephants. We argue that the early success of the 1989 ivory ban at increasing the African elephant population was driven in part by increasing supply of mammoth ivory. The more recent increases in poaching appear to be driven by increasing demand and falling African institutional quality. We find that absent the 80 tonnes of Russian mammoth ivory exports per annum 2010–2012, elephant ivory prices would have doubled from their $ 100 per kilogram level and that the current poaching level of 34,000 elephants per year may have increased by as many as 55,000 elephants per year on a population of roughly half a million animals.
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Madden, M., M. Karidozo, W. Langbauer, F. Osborn, A. Presotto, and R. Parry. "GEOSPATIAL ASSESSMENT OF HUMAN-WILDLIFE-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONS FOR SPATIAL DECISION SUPPORT." International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences XLIII-B4-2021 (June 30, 2021): 281–85. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-xliii-b4-2021-281-2021.
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Abstract. Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC) is a global concern that requires geospatial data collection, analysis and geovisualization for decision support and mitigation. Bull African elephants, (Loxodonata africana), are often responsible for breaking fences, raiding crops and causing economic hardship in local communities in Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia. Methods for monitoring and understanding elephant movements are needed to mitigate conflict, find ways for coexistence and secure the future of Africa’s elephant populations. Researchers from academia and conservation organizations are partnering with decision makers and scientists of the Zimbabwe Department of National Park and Wild Life Management (PWMA) to track the movement of 15 bull elephants in the general area of Victoria Falls to analyse spatio-temporal patterns of elephant behaviour related to climatic factors, habitat conditions and changing land uses. Spatial decision support for local famers, resource managers and planners will assist in avoiding agricultural expansion and urban development that coincides with elephant corridors and access to water resources.
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McComb, Karen, Lucy Baker, and Cynthia Moss. "African elephants show high levels of interest in the skulls and ivory of their own species." Biology Letters 2, no. 1 (October 25, 2005): 26–28. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2005.0400.
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An important area of biology involves investigating the origins in animals of traits that are thought of as uniquely human. One way that humans appear unique is in the importance they attach to the dead bodies of other humans, particularly those of their close kin, and the rituals that they have developed for burying them. In contrast, most animals appear to show only limited interest in the carcasses or associated remains of dead individuals of their own species. African elephants ( Loxodonta africana ) are unusual in that they not only give dramatic reactions to the dead bodies of other elephants, but are also reported to systematically investigate elephant bones and tusks that they encounter, and it has sometimes been suggested that they visit the bones of relatives. Here, we use systematic presentations of object arrays to demonstrate that African elephants show higher levels of interest in elephant skulls and ivory than in natural objects or the skulls of other large terrestrial mammals. However, they do not appear to specifically select the skulls of their own relatives for investigation so that visits to dead relatives probably result from a more general attraction to elephant remains.
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Hedwig, Daniela, Joyce Poole, and Petter Granli. "Does Social Complexity Drive Vocal Complexity? Insights from the Two African Elephant Species." Animals 11, no. 11 (October 27, 2021): 3071. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani11113071.
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The social complexity hypothesis (SCH) for communication states that the range and frequency of social interactions drive the evolution of complex communication systems. Surprisingly, few studies have empirically tested the SHC for vocal communication systems. Filling this gap is important because a co-evolutionary runaway process between social and vocal complexity may have shaped the most intricate communication system, human language. We here propose the African elephant Loxodonta spec. as an excellent study system to investigate the relationships between social and vocal complexity. We review how the distinct differences in social complexity between the two species of African elephants, the forest elephant L. cyclotis and the savanna elephant L. africana, relate to repertoire size and structure, as well as complex communication skills in the two species, such as call combination or intentional formant modulation including the trunk. Our findings suggest that Loxodonta may contradict the SCH, as well as other factors put forth to explain patterns of vocal complexity across species. We propose that life history traits, a factor that has gained little attention as a driver of vocal complexity, and the extensive parental care associated with a uniquely low and slow reproductive rate, may have led to the emergence of pronounced vocal complexity in the forest elephant despite their less complex social system compared to the savanna elephant. Conclusions must be drawn cautiously, however. A better understanding of vocal complexity in the genus Loxodonta will depend on continuing advancements in remote data collection technologies to overcome the challenges of observing forest elephants in their dense rainforest habitat, as well as the availability of directly comparable data and methods, quantifying both structural and contextual variability in the production of rumbles and other vocalizations in both species of African elephants.
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Szott, Isabelle D., Yolanda Pretorius, Andre Ganswindt, and Nicola F. Koyama. "Physiological stress response of African elephants to wildlife tourism in Madikwe Game Reserve, South Africa." Wildlife Research 47, no. 1 (2020): 34. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr19045.
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Abstract ContextWildlife tourism has been shown to increase stress in a variety of species and can negatively affect survival, reproduction, welfare, and behaviour of individuals. In African elephants, Loxodonta africana, increased physiological stress has been linked to use of refugia, rapid movement through corridors, and heightened aggression towards humans. However, we are unaware of any studies assessing the impact of tourism pressure (tourist numbers) on physiological stress in elephants. AimsWe used faecal glucocorticoid metabolite (fGCM) concentrations to investigate whether tourist numbers in Madikwe Game Reserve, South Africa, were related to changes in physiological stress in elephants. MethodsWe repeatedly collected dung samples (n=43) from 13 individually identified elephants over 15 months. Using a generalised linear mixed model and a Kenward–Roger approximation, we assessed the impact of monthly tourist numbers, season, age, and sex on elephant fGCM concentrations. Key resultsHigh tourist numbers were significantly related to elevated fGCM concentrations. Overall, fGCM concentrations increased by 112% (from 0.26 to 0.55µgg−1 dry weight) in the months with the highest tourist pressure, compared to months with the lowest tourist pressure. ConclusionsManagers of fenced reserves should consider providing potential alleviation measures for elephants during high tourist pressure, for example, by ensuring that refuge areas are available. This may be of even higher importance if elephant populations have had traumatic experiences with humans in the past, such as poaching or translocation. Such management action will improve elephant welfare and increase tourist safety. ImplicationsAlthough tourism can generate substantial revenue to support conservation action, careful monitoring of its impact on wildlife is required to manage potential negative effects.
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O’Connell-Rodwell, Caitlin E., Monica N. Sandri, Jodie L. Berezin, Jaquelyn M. Munevar, Colleen Kinzley, Jason D. Wood, Maggie Wiśniewska, and J. Werner Kilian. "Male African Elephant (Loxodonta africana) Behavioral Responses to Estrous Call Playbacks May Inform Conservation Management Tools." Animals 12, no. 9 (May 1, 2022): 1162. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani12091162.
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Driven by reproductive motives, male African elephants (Loxodonta africana) in musth often expand their home ranges to locate estrous females. This extended range, coupled with heightened aggression often observed in musth males, can be particularly problematic in regions where human-modified landscapes and elephant territories increasingly overlap. Several mitigation tools have been tested to resolve a wide range of human–elephant conflicts with varying degrees of success due to geographical disparities and habituation. We present findings on the potential application of estrous call playbacks in manipulating the behavior and movement of male elephants non-invasively, particularly mature musth adults and younger post-dispersal males, in Etosha National Park. Estrous vocalizations were presented across 26 experimental trials to mature musth adults (n = 5), mature non-musth adults (n = 6), and non-musth males belonging to younger, post-dispersal age classes (n = 8), with behavioral responses scored on a gradient scale from 0–1. Both mature musth adults and younger non-musth elephants were significantly more likely to respond with the highest intensity by approaching the acoustic source compared to mature non-musth adults that avoided the call. However, younger males tested in the presence of an older, higher-ranking male tended to react with a lower intensity than those tested alone. This result likely demonstrates the influence of social hierarchy and associations on male elephant behavior. We also observed a significant increase in physiological response, measured by defecation rate, across all male groups in response to the estrous call playbacks. Our findings suggest that using estrous calls as acoustic deterrents may effectively and non-invasively aid in reducing tension at the human–elephant interface, depending on the age, social context, and reproductive status of the male elephant.
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Von Hagen, Lynn, Chase A. LaDue, and Bruce A. Schulte. "Elephant Scar Prevalence in the Kasigau Wildlife Corridor, Kenya: Echoes of Human-Elephant Conflict." Animals 13, no. 4 (February 9, 2023): 605. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani13040605.
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Human–elephant conflict (HEC) compromises crop security and threatens elephant conservation. Most commonly, HEC manifests as crop-foraging as elephants modify natural foraging strategies to incorporate crops. Farmers may retaliate by frightening or harming elephants, leaving scars from inflicted wounds. We assessed the prevalence and distribution of scars on the bodies of African savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana) observed in the Kasigau Wildlife Corridor (KWC), part of the Greater Tsavo Ecosystem of Kenya, where conflict is prevalent. We surmised that scars on the body are largely a result of HEC as opposed to scars on the rump or head, which we attributed primarily to elephant–elephant conflict. We hypothesized that: (1) male elephants would have more scars than females; (2) older males would be more likely to have scars than younger males; and (3) most scars would be located on the bodies of elephants. We assessed scars from a photographic catalogue of elephants from the KWC. In line with our hypotheses, male elephants were more likely to have scars than females (32% of males compared to 6% of females); older males had significantly more scars than younger males (61% compared to 24%); and the majority of scars (89%) were located on the body. Scar presence may be useful as an animal-centered indicator to estimate the prevalence and demographic patterns of HEC.
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Foley, Charles A. H., and Lisa J. Faust. "Rapid population growth in an elephant Loxodonta africana population recovering from poaching in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania." Oryx 44, no. 2 (January 12, 2010): 205–12. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0030605309990706.
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AbstractWe studied the demography of a subpopulation of African elephants Loxodonta africana in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania, from 1993 to 2005. The Tarangire elephants had been affected by heavy poaching prior to 1993. We monitored 668 individually known elephants in 27 family groups. The population increased from 226 to 498 individuals, with mean group size increasing from 8.4 to 18.3. The average annual growth rate was 7.1% (range 2.0–16.9%). This approaches the maximal growth rate for African elephants, with corresponding minimal values for demographic parameters. The mean interbirth interval was 3.3 years, mean age of first reproduction 11.1 years, average annual mortality of elephants younger than 8 years 3%, and average annual mortality of adult females 1%. Probability of conceiving was positively correlated with annual rainfall. No significant density-dependent effects were recorded. Rapid growth was aided by high rainfall, low population density and release from the stresses of poaching. These results demonstrate that elephant populations are capable of rapid population increases for extended periods of time given the right ecological and social conditions. This has consequences for elephant conservation and management.
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Stoeger, Angela S., and Anton Baotic. "Operant control and call usage learning in African elephants." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 376, no. 1836 (September 6, 2021): 20200254. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2020.0254.
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Elephants exhibit remarkable vocal plasticity, and case studies reveal that individuals of African savannah ( Loxodonta africana ) and Asian ( Elephas maximus ) elephants are capable of vocal production learning. Surprisingly, however, little is known about contextual learning (usage and comprehension learning) in elephant communication. Usage learning can be demonstrated by training animals to vocalize in an arbitrary (cue-triggered) context. Here we show that adult African savannah elephants ( n = 13) can vocalize in response to verbal cues, reliably producing social call types such as the low-frequency rumble, trumpets and snorts as well as atypical sounds using various mechanisms, thus displaying compound vocal control. We further show that rumbles emitted upon trainer cues differ significantly in structure from rumbles triggered by social contexts of the same individuals ( n = 6). Every form of social learning increases the complexity of a communication system. In elephants, we only poorly understand their vocal learning abilities and the underlying cognitive mechanisms. Among other research, this calls for controlled learning experiments in which the prerequisite is operant/volitional control of vocalizations. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Vocal learning in animals and humans’.
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Stansfield, F. J., J. O. Nöthling, J. T. Soley, and W. R. Allen. "Development of the germinal ridge and ovary in the African elephant (Loxodonta africana)." REPRODUCTION 144, no. 5 (November 2012): 583–93. http://dx.doi.org/10.1530/rep-12-0303.
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The follicular reserve and its ontogeny in the elephant are of interest because elephants have the longest reproductive life of all land-based mammals. They also have the longest recorded pregnancy, which allows a protracted view of the series of significant events involved in the development of the embryonic and fetal gonads. The large elephant population of Zimbabwe provided the opportunity to collect conceptuses from elephants culled for management reasons and hunted professionally. Five embryos aged 76–96 days and the ovaries of four fetuses aged 4.8–11.2 months were fixed in 4% buffered formalin and studied by conventional histological sectioning and a stereological protocol to calculate the follicle reserve of each fetus. These observations enabled the conclusion that the migration of primordial germ cells into the indifferent gonad terminates at around 76 days of gestation while entry of oogonia into meiosis along with first follicle formation starts at around 5 months. Peak numbers of follicles are present by mid-gestation towards the end of the 6-month mitotic–meiotic transition period. It appears that the cortex of the elephant fetal ovary at mid-gestation (11 months) has already reached a developmental stage exhibited by the ovaries of many other mammals at full term.
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Wierucka, Kaja, Michelle D. Henley, and Hannah S. Mumby. "Acoustic cues to individuality in wild male adult African savannah elephants (Loxodonta africana)." PeerJ 9 (January 22, 2021): e10736. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.10736.
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The ability to recognize conspecifics plays a pivotal role in animal communication systems. It is especially important for establishing and maintaining associations among individuals of social, long-lived species, such as elephants. While research on female elephant sociality and communication is prevalent, until recently male elephants have been considered far less social than females. This resulted in a dearth of information about their communication and recognition abilities. With new knowledge about the intricacies of the male elephant social structure come questions regarding the communication basis that allows for social bonds to be established and maintained. By analyzing the acoustic parameters of social rumbles recorded over 1.5 years from wild, mature, male African savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana) we expand current knowledge about the information encoded within these vocalizations and their potential to facilitate individual recognition. We showed that social rumbles are individually distinct and stable over time and therefore provide an acoustic basis for individual recognition. Furthermore, our results revealed that different frequency parameters contribute to individual differences of these vocalizations.
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Schulte, Bruce, Thomas Goodwin, Anna Whitehouse, and Helen Loizi. "Sexual dimorphism in the performance of chemosensory investigatory behaviours by African elephants (Loxodonta africana)." Behaviour 146, no. 3 (2009): 373–92. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156853909x410964.
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AbstractSexual dimorphism in morphology can be accompanied by behavioural differences between the sexes. We examined if investigatory behaviour involving the trunk of African elephants showed sexual dimorphism. Males compete and search for females, but they have a lengthy period of development before they are socially viable mates. Receptive females are relatively rare. We hypothesized that males would display higher rates of chemosensory behaviour following puberty than females. Because males disperse, they were hypothesized to be more likely to contact elephants outside their kinship group. We observed the trunk tip, chemosensory behaviours of African elephants at Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa. For 208 elephants, we found no significant differences in state behaviours around waterholes by age or sex. Yet, older elephants were more likely to investigate the environment and elephant excrement than younger animals. Males were more likely to investigate urine and faeces than females. Only post-puberty animals contacted non-family with males investigating both sexes, while investigations by and to females only involved post-puberty males. Overall, the probability of performing chemosensory behaviours depended on age and sex. Male elephants appear more reliant than females on signals in urine and faeces with ensuing inspections of individuals through trunk tip contacts.
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Fonkwo, Sylvie Nguedem, Ndi Collins Fai, and Tonjock Rosemary Kinge. "Population status and anthropogenic disturbances of forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis Matschie, 1900) in Nki National park and its environs, east region, Cameroon." International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences 17, no. 2 (May 31, 2023): 646–55. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ijbcs.v17i2.28.
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African elephants play important roles in both the natural and human worlds: ecologically as a keystone species, economically as drivers of tourism and culturally as icons of the African continent. Increasingly, elephant populations are threatened by poaching for ivory, human-elephant conflict, habitat loss and fragmentation, and isolation of populations. This study was carried out to estimate the population of forest elephants and determine the human threats to their population. Data was collected along eleven 2 Km line transects and reconnaissance walk as well as administration of semi-structured questionnaires. Results obtained indicated a mean dung pile of 6.0 boli/Km2. Elephant density, thus, was 0.14 elephant/km2, translated to 428 (217-897) individual elephants. The main threats on elephant population with their percentage acceptance were identified to be non-respect of law enforcement (94.4%), hunting for bushmeat (92.5%), hunting for ivory (91.6%), lack of a management plan (73.8%), logging (68.2%) and road construction (43.0%). It was therefore concluded that there is a reduction in elephant population in the park from 565 in 2015 to 428 in 2021. Thus, it is recommended that increased law enforcement, surveillance and the setting up of constant and long-term monitoring programs be carried out in the park.