Analysis of Landscape Connectivity among the Habitats of Asian Elephants in Keonjhar Forest Division, India

Abstract

Land development has impacted natural landforms extensively, causing a decline in resources and negative consequences to elephant populations, habitats, and gene flow. Often, elephants seek to fulfill basic needs by wandering into nearby human communities, which leads to human–elephant conflict (HEC), a serious threat to conserving this endangered species. Understanding elephant space use and connectivity among their habitats can offset barriers to ecological flow among fragmented populations. We focused on the Keonjhar Forest Division in Eastern India, where HEC has resulted in the deaths of ~300 people and several hundred elephants, and damaged ~4100 houses and ~12,700 acres of cropland between 2001 and 2018. Our objectives were to (1) analyze elephant space use based on their occupancy; (2) map connectivity by considering the land structure and HEC occurrences; (3) assess the quality of mapped connectivity and identify potential bottlenecks. We found that (1) the study area has the potential to sustain a significant elephant population by providing safe connectivity; (2) variables like forests, precipitation, rural built-up areas, cropland, and transportation networks were responsible for predicting elephant presence (0.407, SE = 0.098); (3) five habitat cores, interconnected by seven corridors were identified, of which three habitat cores were vital for maintaining connectivity; (4) landscape features, such as cropland, rural built-up, mining, and transportation networks created bottlenecks that could funnel elephant movement. Our findings also indicate that overlooking HEC in connectivity assessments could lead to overestimation of functionality. The study outcomes can be utilized as a preliminary tool for decision making and early planning during development projects.

Use of Human Dominated Landscape as Connectivity Corridors among Fragmented Habitats for Wild Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus) in the Eastern Part of Thailand

“…Roads had an influence on wild elephants being attracted to come outside the forest area, especially during the dry season. In contrast, in the past five years, the roads had less influence in the wet season, as found in Nepal, where roads were the main environmental parameter affecting the distribution of wild elephants [66]. However, elephants in large numbers were attracted to the roads in more abundant secondary forests and open habitats that contained more food sources [67].…”

On the elephant trails: habitat suitability and connectivity for Asian elephants in eastern Indian landscape

“…, in Keonjhar forest division, Angul forest division and Balasore wildlife division). These low-quality habitats provide refuge for Asian elephants to raid crops and human settlements in the proximity ( Calabrese et al, 2017 ; Tripathy et al, 2021 ; de la Torre et al, 2021 ). In Peninsular Malaysia, disturbed human-dominated agricultural landscapes are prime elephant habitats and have become human-elephant conflict hotspots ( de la Torre et al, 2021 ).…”

Gaps in mammal conservation in China: An analysis with a framework based on minimum area requirements

“…Even the National Giant Panda Park, an inter‐provincial PA system for one of China's most notable flagship species, faces the challenge of ineffective operation mechanisms and multi‐management. Meanwhile, species such as Asian Elephant, Capped Langur, and Gaur are transboundary species distributed across several countries, and the connectivity among their habitat patches has deteriorated (Ding et al, 2018; Estrada et al, 2017; Tripathy et al, 2021) due to land use transformation from a natural landscape to various human‐dominated land use patterns. The intervention of using land for strict conservation, such as freeing up land for natural use, has been supported through growing policy momentum (Meyfroidt et al, 2022).…”

“…When taking measures to establish transboundary PAs, prov- Estrada et al, 2017;Tripathy et al, 2021) due to land use transformation from a natural landscape to various humandominated land use patterns. The intervention of using land for strict conservation, such as freeing up land for natural use, has been supported through growing policy momentum (Meyfroidt et al, 2022).…”