Tiller, L.N., Williams, H.F.The elephant in the farm: long-term solutions are the key to coexistence (2021) 
Anim. Conserv., 24: 733-734. https://doi.org/10.1111/acv.12741In this current state of exponential human population growth, natural spaces are being eroded more than ever before. Human activities have modified and transformed over half of the global land surface (Chapin et al., 2000), causing extensive habitat loss and fragmentation, and leading to a global decline in species. The rapid conversion of forest to agriculture puts farmers on the frontline of conflict with wildlife, and nowhere is this more pronounced than in the tropics, where development is rapidly catching up with the West. In the tropics communities are forced to survive alongside the megaherbivores that are predominantly under control or extinguished from much of the developed world.
The most problematic animals for humans to live alongside are, arguably, elephants. Throughout much of elephant range in Asia and Africa, remaining elephant habitat is in the process of significant encroachment by humans, often with a front of edible crops that are highly preferred by such herbivores. These agricultural lands, on the edge of primary elephant habitat, can make for easily accessible resources for wildlife, and little is put in place to dissuade resident elephant herds from utilizing this resource. As a result, human-wildlife conflict is becoming a serious issue, and threatens the livelihoods of many of those living alongside megafauna, not to mention the threats to local elephant populations from retaliatory killings. Mitigating such situations often relies on translocating `problem animals’. In their paper, de la Torre et al. (2021) clearly show that such techniques are flawed. The overlap with elephants, in the peripheral agricultural landscapes, makes highly nutritious and abundant crops a readily available resource for elephants. Therefore, unless a constant stream of elephant translocations is a financially viable and sustainable solution, smarter methodologies need to be employed to create a model of coexistence where humans and elephants can live harmoniously together over the long term.
Sampson, C., McEvoy, J., Oo, Z. M., Chit, A. M., Chan, A.N., Tonkyn, D., et al.New elephant crisis in Asia—Early warning signs from Myanmar (2018) PLoS ONE 13(3): e0194113. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0194113In the southern Bago Yoma mountain range in Myanmar, Asian elephants are being killed at a disturbing rate. This emerging crisis was identified initially through a telemetry study when 7 of 19 of collared elephants were poached within a year of being fitted with a satellite-GPS collar. Subsequent follow up of ground teams confirmed the human caused death or disappearance of at least 19 elephants, including the seven collared individuals, within a 35 km2 area in less than two years. The carcasses of 40 additional elephants were found in areas located across south-central Myanmar once systematic surveys began by our team and collaborators. In addition to the extreme rate of loss, this study documents the targeting of elephants for their skin instead of the more common ivory, an increasing trend in Myanmar. Intensive research programs focused on other conservation problems identified this issue and are now encouraging local authorities to prioritize anti-poaching efforts and improve conservation policies within the country. Myanmar represents one of the last remaining countries in Asia with substantial wildlands suitable for elephants. Increasing rates of human-elephant conflict and poaching events in this country pose a dire threat to the global population.
Cook, R.M., Parrini, F., King, L.E., Witkowski, E.T.F., Henley, M.DAfrican honeybees as a mitigation method for elephant impact on trees (2017) Elsevier. Biological Conservation
Volume 217, January 2018, Pages 329-336
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2017.11.024Conservation managers are concerned about the impact that African elephants (Loxodonta africana) have on large tree species, necessitating the need for mitigation methods. Elephants actively avoid contact with African honeybees (Apis mellifera subsp. scutellata), staying clear of crop fields surrounded by beehive fence-lines and moving away from the sounds of swarming honeybees. Therefore, our objectives were to test whether the presence of beehives in trees influenced the likelihood of the tree receiving elephant impact, and compare these results to wire-netted (method used to prevent bark-stripping) and control (no treatment) trees. We selected a tree highly sought after by elephant, the marula tree (Sclerocarya birrea subsp. caffra), as our study species. We also assessed whether elephants avoided areas with marula trees containing beehives. Finally we provide a comparison of the financial costs of the beehive and wire-netting mitigation methods. We hung 50 active beehives in 50 trees, with 50 dummy beehives hung from branches on the opposite ends of each tree's main stem. We wire-netted another 50 trees and then assigned 50 trees as a control. Elephant impact on all 150 trees was measured prior to the addition of treatments and then post-treatment addition for 9 months. 54% of the control trees received some form of elephant impact, in comparison to 28% of the wire-netted trees and only 2% of the beehive trees. Wire-netting protected trees against bark-stripping but did not prevent elephants from breaking branches. Beehives proved to be the more effective mitigation method for elephant impact on large trees, although the presence of beehives did not prevent elephants from moving through the study site. The financial cost and maintenance required for the beehive mitigation method are greater than that of wire-netting, but the beehives can provide honey as an additive benefit on a small-scale usage level.
show/hide summaryUnderstanding the spatial structuring of animal behaviors and how they link landscapes can be critical for conservation management. This emerging field has been greatly facilitated by technologically advanced acquisition and analysis of data on animal movements. The framework of graph theory, which directly quantifies network connectivity properties, provides a useful addition to this tool set. Using a novel application of graph theory, we investigate the structure and patterning of African elephant Loxodonta africana rest sites, a potentially critical feature structuring spatial properties of animal populations. Elephants in the study rested intermittently and for short durations (1–3 rests d–1, lasting 3–5 h total). They switched circadian rest patterns according to landscape attributes, resting more during the day and further from permanent water in areas with high human density outside protected areas. Within protected areas and during the dry season, elephants showed clustering and sequential use of rest nodes (repeated motifs). Repeated use of specific rest nodes (self-looping) was more frequent than expected if rest nodes were chosen at random, particularly when outside protected areas further from water, indicating the importance of preferred rest sites. Our results suggest that elephants adjust resting behavior when in human-dominated areas, using preferred resting sites presumably in locations that reduce the risk of interactions. This study demonstrates how graph theory may be used practically to gain novel insight into behaviours, such as resting, that are discrete in time and space. Furthermore, analysis of the spatial and network properties of rest sites, given an individual's susceptibility when engaged in rest behavior, allowed characterization of spatio-temporal risk perception, providing a powerful behavioral based means to quantify the landscape of fear.
show/hide summaryDescribes aerial census of Ruaha National Park and adjacent areas including Rungwa and Kisigo Game Reserves. The 31,500 sq km census zone carries one of the largest elephant populations in Africa with an estimated 43,865 elephants with 24,625 estimated to occur within the 10, 200 sq km Park itself. Within the park, comparisons with earlier counts showed an apparent increase in elephant density of 8-10% per annum since 1965. The increase in elephant within the park itself probably results from the change in human distribution in the region and a period of higher rainfall.
Blake, S., Bouché, P., Rasmussen, H., Orlando, A., Douglas-Hamilton, I.The Last Sahelian Elephants. Ranging Behavior, Population Status and Recent History of the Desert Elephants of Mali. (2003) Save The ElephantsElephants once occupied a largely continuous range across West Africa, from the coastal forests to the Sahara. The collapse of these once extensive populations, caused by poaching for the ivory trade, human encroachment and the concurrent lack of conservation and scientific attention, has been alarming. Remaining populations are small, highly fragmented and geographically isolated, with over half now containing fewer than 100 individuals (Roth and Douglas-Hamilton 1991; Said et al. 1995; Barnes et al. 1998; Barnes 1999). The population living in the Gourma, which before this survey was estimated to be between 300 and 800, is one of the most important in the West African region and is accorded a high priority in the regional elephant strategy of the IUCN (Worldwide Conservation Union).
