Ranging behaviour of the desert elephants in Timbuktu, Mali
The astonishing distances travelled by desert elephants are revealed for the first time. In January 2000, Save the Elephants provided GPS collars to American PhD student Anne Orlando, from the University of California, Davis, to begin a research project on the remaining elephant population in the Gourma region of Mali. The aim of the study was to examine elephant ranging patterns and survival strategies in the semi-desert. Understanding the movements and ecology of these elephants is critical for land-use planning of the Gourma, if the elephants are to be conserved. The Gourma elephants share the near-desert habitat with nomadic and pastoralists and their cattle, goats, sheep, donkeys and camels.
It was intended to integrate data on resource availability from satellite imagery with elephant movements determined by global positioning system (GPS) collars. This information would assist the Malian government in establishing a plan for the long-term conservation of elephants in harmony with developing human societies. Between January and March 2000, nine elephants were fitted with GPS collars. These collars (made by Televilt) were designed to log positions every 2 hours and store the information on a memory chip, to be downloaded at a later date (up to 2 years post-deployment). The collars also had radio-transmitter beacons with an expected life of 3-4 years, which made it possible to locate the elephants using conventional radio-tracking. Following collar deployment, the project experienced several difficulties and fieldwork came to an end in September 2000.
However the collars continued to accumulate GPS data. The STE team returned to the Gourma in April 2002 to recover the collars and retrieve the data. At the same time STE carried out an aerial census of the elephants as part of the continental MIKE programme. Only three elephant collars were recovered, due to technical problems the other collars were no longer transmitting. However, the GPS telemetry data of the collared elephants showed that seasonal and permanent waterholes were the backbone of a migration circuit of almost 30,000km2, which took a year to complete. The data also showed that there was a considerable divergence between the movements of the one bull and two cows whose collars were recovered.
Both females completed a circular migration with a circumference of approximately 450km, while the bull completed half of the circle until he reached the most southerly part of his range and then returned north-west on a route that closely followed his earlier route south. The difference between the home range size of female Gourma elephants compared with female elephants studied elsewhere in Africa is startling. The GPS data confirms the counter clockwise circular migration route referred to by previous researchers for the last 30 years. The Gourma elephants do not use the central part of their range where there is permanent human settlement (Hombori urban area) and are limited from ranging further north by the arid desert that provides an ecological barrier.
Aerial Survey in Mali The aerial count conducted by STE in 2002, was the first ever made in the Gourma and not even ground surveys had been undertaken in the Gourma for 11 years. A minimum estimate of 322 elephants was made from the 2002 aerial counts. Two large herds of 134 and 125 individuals seen near the Banzena waterhole on 16 April 2002, made up 92% of the estimate, with only 4 more small herds seen at Gossi and Inadyatafan. It is possible that a small number of elephants was not detected during the aerial surveys, however it is unlikely that a significant number were missed. The elephants of Mali have been reduced from at least four populations found in all administrative regions in 1970 to about 350 individuals in 2002, found in a single population.
Since the relationship between elephant ranging patterns, vegetation, livestock, agriculture, rainfall and habitat is very delicate, further analysis needs to be done. A study is needed to help predict future conflicts and plan to mitigate the conflict and lead to resolution, as part of a long-term National elephant strategic plan. Following the results of the GPS tracking study, considerable support and interest was received to develop such a project. Vance Martin and Cyril Kormos of The WILD Foundation and Steve Cobb of The Environment and Development Group (EDG), with support from the US Ambassador to Mali and in-country support from Direction Nationale de la Conservation de la Nature (DNCN) have coordinated the next phase of the Mali Elephant Project with STE's collaboration. From April 2004 field research and monitoring is being conducted by STE researchers, Dr. Richard Barnes, and Emmanuel Hema in cooperation with local Touareg staff.
The aim is to establish an individual ID file, to monitor births and deaths, and gather data for MIKE, as well as gathering information on the extent of the elephant's range from local knowledge and ground surveys. Awareness of the plight of the Gourma elephants within Mali is poor, therefore, as part of the initial phase of the project the WILD Foundation will produce an easily understood presentation that shows the status of the elephants, their migration route, negative impacts and how to avoid them. It will also alert people as to further objectives of the project and activities. With help from the US Ambassador to Mali, initial funding for the project has been secured.
The 2002 Mali GPS collar recovery and reconnaissance survey was supported by generous donations. Prince Bernhard, STE's patron, was the principal donor and during the collar recovery operation all car and aeroplane fuel costs were met by Shell International, who also gave a generous cash donation. Funding for other aspects for the entire project have been secured from various sources including the US Fish and Wildlife Service African Elephant Conservation Program, the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), the Born Free Foundation, the University of California, Davis, Dept. of Agronomy and Range Science and others.
It was intended to integrate data on resource availability from satellite imagery with elephant movements determined by global positioning system (GPS) collars. This information would assist the Malian government in establishing a plan for the long-term conservation of elephants in harmony with developing human societies. Between January and March 2000, nine elephants were fitted with GPS collars. These collars (made by Televilt) were designed to log positions every 2 hours and store the information on a memory chip, to be downloaded at a later date (up to 2 years post-deployment). The collars also had radio-transmitter beacons with an expected life of 3-4 years, which made it possible to locate the elephants using conventional radio-tracking. Following collar deployment, the project experienced several difficulties and fieldwork came to an end in September 2000.
However the collars continued to accumulate GPS data. The STE team returned to the Gourma in April 2002 to recover the collars and retrieve the data. At the same time STE carried out an aerial census of the elephants as part of the continental MIKE programme. Only three elephant collars were recovered, due to technical problems the other collars were no longer transmitting. However, the GPS telemetry data of the collared elephants showed that seasonal and permanent waterholes were the backbone of a migration circuit of almost 30,000km2, which took a year to complete. The data also showed that there was a considerable divergence between the movements of the one bull and two cows whose collars were recovered.
Both females completed a circular migration with a circumference of approximately 450km, while the bull completed half of the circle until he reached the most southerly part of his range and then returned north-west on a route that closely followed his earlier route south. The difference between the home range size of female Gourma elephants compared with female elephants studied elsewhere in Africa is startling. The GPS data confirms the counter clockwise circular migration route referred to by previous researchers for the last 30 years. The Gourma elephants do not use the central part of their range where there is permanent human settlement (Hombori urban area) and are limited from ranging further north by the arid desert that provides an ecological barrier.
Aerial Survey in Mali The aerial count conducted by STE in 2002, was the first ever made in the Gourma and not even ground surveys had been undertaken in the Gourma for 11 years. A minimum estimate of 322 elephants was made from the 2002 aerial counts. Two large herds of 134 and 125 individuals seen near the Banzena waterhole on 16 April 2002, made up 92% of the estimate, with only 4 more small herds seen at Gossi and Inadyatafan. It is possible that a small number of elephants was not detected during the aerial surveys, however it is unlikely that a significant number were missed. The elephants of Mali have been reduced from at least four populations found in all administrative regions in 1970 to about 350 individuals in 2002, found in a single population.
Since the relationship between elephant ranging patterns, vegetation, livestock, agriculture, rainfall and habitat is very delicate, further analysis needs to be done. A study is needed to help predict future conflicts and plan to mitigate the conflict and lead to resolution, as part of a long-term National elephant strategic plan. Following the results of the GPS tracking study, considerable support and interest was received to develop such a project. Vance Martin and Cyril Kormos of The WILD Foundation and Steve Cobb of The Environment and Development Group (EDG), with support from the US Ambassador to Mali and in-country support from Direction Nationale de la Conservation de la Nature (DNCN) have coordinated the next phase of the Mali Elephant Project with STE's collaboration. From April 2004 field research and monitoring is being conducted by STE researchers, Dr. Richard Barnes, and Emmanuel Hema in cooperation with local Touareg staff.
The aim is to establish an individual ID file, to monitor births and deaths, and gather data for MIKE, as well as gathering information on the extent of the elephant's range from local knowledge and ground surveys. Awareness of the plight of the Gourma elephants within Mali is poor, therefore, as part of the initial phase of the project the WILD Foundation will produce an easily understood presentation that shows the status of the elephants, their migration route, negative impacts and how to avoid them. It will also alert people as to further objectives of the project and activities. With help from the US Ambassador to Mali, initial funding for the project has been secured.
The 2002 Mali GPS collar recovery and reconnaissance survey was supported by generous donations. Prince Bernhard, STE's patron, was the principal donor and during the collar recovery operation all car and aeroplane fuel costs were met by Shell International, who also gave a generous cash donation. Funding for other aspects for the entire project have been secured from various sources including the US Fish and Wildlife Service African Elephant Conservation Program, the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), the Born Free Foundation, the University of California, Davis, Dept. of Agronomy and Range Science and others.