Population and habitat use of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) and five ungulate species in Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary, Chachoengsao Province, Thailand

Abstract

Abstract. Menkham K, Sukmasuang R, Pla-Ard M, Charaspet K, Panganta T, Trisurat Y, Bhumpakphan N. 2019. Population and habitat use of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) and five ungulate species in Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary, Chachoengsao Province, Thailand. Biodiversitas 20: 2213-2221. This study on the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) population, habitat use and the diel activity patterns of elephants and five species of large even-toed ungulates was conducted between March 2017 and March 2018 in Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary, Chachoengsao Province using intensive camera trapping. Fifty-eight camera traps were deployed, adding up to a total of 4,463 trap nights and revealing 1,760 independent encounters. Six species of mammals were recorded, including the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) and five species of large even-toed ungulates; the gaur (Bos gaurus), the banteng (Bos javanicus), the sambar deer (Rusa unicolor), the wild boar (Sus scrofa), and the muntjac (Muntiacus muntjak). The abundance analysis reflected that the probability occupancy of the elephant was 0.92 (SE = 0.04); in dry seasons 0.97 (SE = 0.04) and in wet seasons 0.90 (SE = 0.83). The population of elephants within the study site of 87.95 km2 was within 79.51-334.15 individuals. The elephant age classes were identified as adult, sub-adult, juvenile, and calf with percentages of 77.85%, 5.71%, 9.28%, and 7.14%, respectively. The adult male to adult female sex-ratio was 1: 1.39 and the adult female per calf ratio was 1: 0.12. The percentage of the calf to adult female ratio was 9.17%. Maximum Entropy analysis revealed that saltlicks and artificial water sources were the environmental factors that had the most influence on the probability of occurrence of the elephant (all year). We found that the diel activity pattern of the elephants was strongly nocturnal (85% recorded between 18.00-05.59 hours). Temporal overlapping was seen between elephants and gaurs, bantengs and sambar deer in order. Suggestions for area management include improvement of water sources, salt licks, grassland management, and providing education, publicization, and strict control to decrease human activities within the protected area. There also should be continuous studies to monitor the population and the ecology of these species.

Population characteristics and habitat suitability of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus Linnaeus, 1758) in the Khao Yai National Park, Thailand

“…The analysis of the Relative Abundance Index (RAI) of wild elephants from photographs showed that artificial water sources had the highest RAI, followed by salt licks. Our study findings are also in agreement with Menkham et al (2019), who confirmed that salt licks and artificial water sources were the environmental factors that had the most influence on the probability of occurrence of the elephant.…”

Population characteristics and habitat suitability of Khao Yai National Park, Thailand for Asian elephant and five ungulate species

“…Therefore, considering the ratio of adult female elephants to calves found in the population was 1: 0.50; there were also 40 newborn wild elephants. Menkham et al (2019) and Chaiyarat et al (2015) studied the wild elephant population using the camera trap method as in this study and found that the reproductive rate or the ratio between adult females and calves was 1: 0.3. From the Menkham et al (2019) study, if there are 10 adult female elephants, there will be 3 calves.…”

“…The recruitment rate was measured as the number of young recruits per adult per year (Bowyer et al 2014;Louw et al 2021). The recruitment rate was calculated by adding the number of juvenile elephants and calves and dividing by the number of adult male and adult female elephants times 100 (DeCesare et al 2012;Menkham et al 2019).…”

Beehive fences as a sustainable local solution to human‐elephant conflict in Thailand

“…The district is dominated by agricultural land (mostly cassava, rubber, and oil palm) and is surrounded by the PAs Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary, Khao Soi Dao Wildlife Sanctuary, Khao Sip Ha Chan National Park, and Khao Chamao‐Khao Wong National Park (Figure 1). The PAs serve as a habitat for a growing population of several hundred wild elephants (Jarungrattanapong & Sajjanand, 2012; Menkham et al, 2019), with some PAs reaching a population density of 0.2 elephants/km 2 (Kitratporn & Takeuchi, 2020). Elephants often exit the PAs and individuals can wander as far as 30 km from the boundaries (Suksavatea, Duengkaeb, & Chaiyes, 2019).…”