Secrets of Mali’s desert elephants revealed by GPS tracking

Africa's most northerly elephants in danger from poaching and human elephant conflict

December 2012. Satellite tracking of elephants living near Timbuktu has revealed the secret of their survival in the savage conditions of Mali's desert. The elephants of Africa's northernmost population use over 32,000 square kilometres of the Gourma region in their epic quest for food and water, the largest range ever recorded for the species.

Their circular migration route is also thought to be unique to this population. The findings, published this week in the journal Biological Conservation, have profound implications for efforts to ensure the continued existence of these elephants.

"It's incredible these elephants have survived. They have a truly stressful life with the lack of water and food, and their giant range reflects that," said Jake Wall of Save The Elephants, Kenya (also of the University of British Columbia, Vancouver), who led the study.

9 elephants tracked
Global Positioning System (GPS) collars were attached to nine elephants in March 2008. Over the next two years they were tracked moving in a large circular arc that extended into northern Burkina-Faso. Twice they had to cross a major highway.

Desert elephants coping with extreme conditions
The Gourma elephants are a desert-adapted species of African elephants (Loxodonta africana) and frequently endure sand storms, water shortage, and temperatures over 50 degrees Celsius (122 Farenheit). A severe drought in 2009 dried out Lake Banzena completely, depriving the elephants of one of their key watering points.

Read on:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/mali-elephants.html

Conflict elephant rescued from death sentence

Authorities ordered tusker be put to sleep

February 2012: An adult tusker has been relocated to a new area of India's Rajaji National Park after allegations of human/elephant conflict - rescuing it from an official death sentence.

The successful, if complicated, move from Narendranagar Forest Division to the Chilla Range of the park was a joint operation between the Uttarakhand Forest Department, Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), and is the result of two months of careful planning.

17 deaths
Human elephant conflict has resulted in 17 deaths in the area over the past two years and, after complaints about this tusker, the authorities ordered the animal be put to sleep. But analysis of casualties revealed that most of the killings were accidental and as a result of people venturing inside the forest area or were on roads that are in an elephant corridor. Simultaneously, other options were explored that involved capture and translocation to similar habitat to reduce conflict.

Four-tonne elephant has now been moved across riverIt took three attempts to sedate the elephant - capturing had been unsuccessful on two previous occasions because of unfavourable terrain and conditions. The four-tonne tusker was loaded on a truck and moved 20km across the river Ganga to the pre-selected site.

‘This site has been identified as a rich elephant habitat,' said NN Pandey, Divisional Forest Officer, Narendranagar. ‘It is separated from the capture site by the Chilla Power Channel and its steep embankments and also the river Ganga, minimising chances of the animal returning there. Our task, however, does not end here and the animal shall now be monitored closely by the team.'

Dr Anil Kumar Singh, WTI has been working on human-elephant conflict mitigation for the past 18 years. He feels there is a need to educate and sensitise people to respect wildlife and give it space. Building of physical barriers and deterrents, such as electric fences and trenches, will reduce incidents of elephants entering human habitation.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/elephant-rescue2012.html