Drought mortality of bush elephants in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe

Dudley, Joseph P.; Criag, G. C.; Gibson, D.; Haynes, Gary; Klimowicz, Janis

doi:10.1046/j.0141-6707.2000.00297.x

Cited by 89 publications

(101 citation statements)

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“…African elephants, for example, have carcasses that are easily visible from the air for several years after death (DouglasHamilton and Hillman, 1981), and while carcasses have been used to inform local mortality rates (e.g. Dudley et al, 2001;Dunham, 2008) and CITES status (e.g. Wittemyer et al, 2013), we found no peerreviewed study exploiting the spatial location of carcasses.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 46%

Incorporating mortality into habitat selection to identify secure and risky habitats for savannah elephants

Roever

Aarde

Chase

2013

Biological Conservation

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Empirical models of habitat selection are increasingly used to guide and inform habitat-based management plans for wildlife species. However, habitat selection does not necessarily equate to habitat quality particularly if selection is maladaptive, so incorporating measures of fitness into estimations of occurrence is necessary to increase model robustness. Here, we incorporated spatially explicit mortality events with the habitat selection of elephants to predict secure and risky habitats in northern Botswana. Following a two-step approach, we first predict the relative probability of use and the relative probability of mortality based on landscape features using logistic regression models. 2Combining these two indices, we then identified low mortality and high use (primary habitat) and areas of high mortality and high use (primary risk). We found that mortalities of adult elephants were closely associated with anthropogenic features, with 80% of mortalities occurring within 25 km of people.Conversely, elephant habitat selection was highest at distances of 30 to 50 km from people. Primary habitat for elephants occurred in the central portion of the study area and within the Okavango Delta; whereas risky areas occurred along the periphery near humans. The protected designation of an area had less influence on the proportion of prime habitat therein than did the locations of the area in relation to human development. Elephant management in southern Africa is moving towards a more self-sustaining, habitat-based approach, and information on selection and mortality could serve as a baseline to help identify demographic sources and sinks to stabilize elephant demography.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 46%

Incorporating mortality into habitat selection to identify secure and risky habitats for savannah elephants

Roever

Aarde

Chase

2013

Biological Conservation

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“…Corfield, 1973;Walker et al, 1987;Dudley et al, 2001), disease (Berry, 1993;Lindeque, 1988;Turnbull et al, 1991), and predation also affect survival. Lions target unweaned calves in the Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe (Loveridge et al, 2006), and 4-to 15-year-old elephants in the Savuti Region of Botswana (Joubert, 2006).…”

Section: Deathsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These are usually expressed as high survival rates (Laws, 1969;Hanks, 1979;Whitehouse & Hall-Martin, 2000;Dudley et al, 2001;Moss, 2001;Wittemyer et al, 2005b;Gough & Kerley, 2006). Age-and sexspecific survival values have been published for several populations (table 3).…”

Section: Deathsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Elephants on Ecosystems and Biodiversity

Kerley¹,

Landman²,

Kruger³

et al. 2008

Elephant Management

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ISBN 978 1 86814 479 2All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the express permission, in writing, of both the author and the publisher.Cover photograph by Donald Cook at stock.xchng Cover design, layout and design by Acumen Publishing Solutions, JohannesburgPrinted and bound by Creda Communications, Cape Town Foreword SOUTH AFRICA and its people are blessed with diverse and thriving wildlife. We are also a developing economy with a growing population. From these facts emerges the particular situation of having most of our protected areas surrounded by land that has been transformed, to a greater or lesser extent, by human development. Large mammals, such as elephants, no longer roam the entire landscape, and their populations are no longer completely governed by the laws of nature. Protecting elephants and the ecological systems in which they exist in a practical and sustainable way that balances the needs of humans, elephants and the environment is a challenge to which I am committed.This Assessment was undertaken to reduce the degree of scientific uncertainty associated with decisions that must be made very soon and in the medium-to-long term. It helps to evaluate the costs and benefits associated with each choice, both in economic and ecological terms, and clarifies the legal framework within which they must be made. Collectively the chapters in this report reveal the many successes our country's experts, in collaboration with their peers in neighbouring countries and abroad, have achieved in understanding elephants and their needs, in fields as diverse as veterinary science, ecology, animal behaviour, population and resource modelling.Importantly, the Assessment exposes important gaps in our understanding and thus outlines necessary future avenues of research. This Assessment represents a key milestone in an ongoing Elephant Research Programme.Science does not provide all the information required to resolve the difficult issues raised by the management of elephant in a changing and humandominated world. Many of the required decisions have a strong element of human values implicit in them. How do South Africans wish to treat the other species with which they share our land? Extensive consultation and careful consideration of the values expressed by a wide range of stakeholders is also an essential part of the process of managing elephant in a democratic country.I am grateful to the many experts and interested persons who invested their time, experience and intellect to deliver this Assessment. I look forward to their continued engagement on the issue of elephant management, which is of great interest to many. Marthinus van Schalkwyk Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, 2008 ContentS LiSt oF FigureS LiSt oF boxeS About the AuthorS And ContributorS Brandon Anthony is an assistant professor at the Department of EnvironmentalScienc...

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“…Smit and Grant (2009) mention induced mortality through starvation that can be caused by degradation of the top herbaceous layer as a result of such overuse. Oguto et al (2010) and Dudley et al (2001) also stated that such high densities of animals in one area may promote the spread of disease and other density dependent affects, resulting in increased mortality. Territorial fights between individuals as a result of such density dependent stress may also be responsible for increased mortality according to Mtahiko et al (2006).…”

Section: Location Of Water Points Visited By Different Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Utilization of Water Points by Wildlife Species in Nyae Nyae Conservancy, Namibia

Rispel¹,

Lendelvo²

2016

ENRR

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Namibia is a semi-arid country and underground water sources have proven to be reliable water sources for drought-prone countries. Underground water has the ability to sustain conservation activities as long as water infrastructure is in place and maintained. Despite the different water requirements for the wildlife species, water remains an essential component of wildlife management in Namibia. Therefore, this study aims at understanding utilization of water points by various wildlife species in the Nyae Nyae conservancies, which is located in the north-eastern part of Namibia. This study used monitoring data from wildlife counts that are conducted by the Conservancy annually at water points coupled with key-informant interviews with local conservancy members and leaders as well as some stakeholders. The study shows that the Conservancy had a diverse number of wildlife species that were predominantly ungulates (70%). These species were detected at 29 water points distributed across the Conservancy. Most of the water points in the conservancy were artificial points with water drawn from the underground water sources, while a few of the water points were pans (17%). Water resources are very important resources for conservation, not only in terms of being used by wildlife but also in terms of being used to provide an indication of species diversity in the conservation.

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Drought mortality of bush elephants in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe

Cited by 89 publications

References 11 publications

Incorporating mortality into habitat selection to identify secure and risky habitats for savannah elephants

Incorporating mortality into habitat selection to identify secure and risky habitats for savannah elephants

Effects of Elephants on Ecosystems and Biodiversity

The Utilization of Water Points by Wildlife Species in Nyae Nyae Conservancy, Namibia

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