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Elephants are awesome!
\"Africa's wild animals are awesome! Bold, vibrant photos and engaging text bring readers up close with elephants. Includes information on habitat, behavior, life cycle, and threats to these amazing creatures\"--Publisher's description.
Book
Mycobacterium bovis Infection in Free-Ranging African Elephants
Mycobacterium bovis infection in wildlife species occurs worldwide. However, few cases of M. bovis infection in captive elephants have been reported. We describe 2 incidental cases of bovine tuberculosis in free-ranging African elephants (Loxodonta africana) from a tuberculosis-endemic national park in South Africa and the epidemiologic implications of these infections.
Journal Article
Movement patterns of two reintegrated African elephant ( Loxodonta africana ) herds: transitioning from captivity to free-living
With the escalating challenges in captive elephant management, the study of elephant reintegration emerges as a pivotal area of research, primarily addressing the enhancement of animal welfare. The term ‘reintegration’ refers to the process of rehabilitating captive elephants to a natural system, allowing them to roam freely without intensive human intervention. There is a relative paucity of research addressing the behavioural adaptations post-reintegration, despite reintegration of over 20 elephants across various fenced reserves in South Africa. Our study centres on two distinct herds of reintegrated African elephants, monitoring their movement patterns in two South African reserves over a 57-month period post-release. The primary goal of the study was to establish whether the flexibility and adaptability of movement behaviour of reintegrated elephants can be considered as one of the indicators of determining the success of such an operation. The second aim of our study was to investigate if the reintegrated elephants demonstrated an adaptability to their environment through their hourly, daily, and seasonal ranging patterns after a period of free roaming that exceeded 4 years. Our findings indicated that reintegrated elephants, much like their wild counterparts (movement based on literature), displayed notable seasonal and diurnal variations in key movement parameters, such as utilisation distribution areas and reserve utilization. These patterns changed over time, reflecting an adaptive shift in movement patterns after several years of free roaming. Notably, the trajectory of changes in movement parameters varied between herds, indicating unique adaptation responses, likely resulting from differences in the reintegration process (familiarity of reserve, season of release, presence of wild elephants). Although our study is constrained by the limited number of reintegrated herds available for analysis, it underscores the potential of captive elephants to successfully adapt to a free-living environment, emphasising the promising implications of reintegration initiatives.
Journal Article
Eavesdropping on elephants : how listening helps conservation
\"Can understanding how forest elephants communicate help scientists find ways to protect them? Come behind the scenes of Cornell University's Elephant Listening Project to see what's being done to keep these majestic animals safe.\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
A Comparative Genomic and Phylogenetic Investigation of the Xenobiotic Metabolism Enzymes of Cytochrome P450 in Elephants Shows Loss in CYP2E and CYP4A
Cytochrome P450 is an important enzyme that metabolizes a variety of chemicals, including exogenous substances, such as drugs and environmental chemicals, and endogenous substances, such as steroids, fatty acids, and cholesterol. Some CYPs show interspecific differences in terms of genetic variation. As little is known about the mechanisms of elephant metabolism, we carried out a comparative genomic and phylogenetic analysis of CYP in elephants. Our results suggest that elephant CYP genes have undergone independent duplication, particularly in the CYP2A, CYP2C, and CYP3A genes, a unique cluster specific to elephant species. However, while CYP2E and CYP4A were conserved in other Afrotheria taxa, their decay in elephants resulted in genetic dysfunction (pseudogene). These findings outline several remarkable characteristics of elephant CYP1–4 genes and provide new insights into elephant xenobiotic metabolism. Further functional investigations are necessary to characterize elephant CYP, including expression patterns and interactions with drugs and sensitivities to other chemicals.
Journal Article
Elevated elephant density does not improve ecotourism opportunities: convergence in social and ecological objectives
In order to sustainably conserve biodiversity, many protected areas, particularly private protected areas, must find means of self-financing. Ecotourism is increasingly seen as a mechanism to achieve such financial sustainability. However, there is concern that ecotourism operations are driven to achieve successful game-viewing, influencing the management of charismatic species. An abundance of such species, including the African elephant (
Loxodonta africana
), has been stocked in protected areas under the assumption that they will increase ecotourism value. At moderate to high densities, the impact of elephants is costly; numerous studies have documented severe changes in biodiversity through the impacts of elephants. Protected areas that focus on maintaining high numbers of elephants may therefore face a conflict between socioeconomic demands and the capacity of ecological systems. We address this conflict by analyzing tourist elephant-sighting records from six private and one statutory protected area, the Addo Elephant National Park (AENP), in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, in relation to elephant numbers. We found no relationship between elephant density and elephant-viewing success. Even though elephant density in the AENP increased over time, a hierarchical partitioning analysis indicated that elephant density was not a driver of tourist numbers. In contrast, annual tourist numbers for the AENP were positively correlated with general tourist numbers recorded for South Africa. Our results indicate that the socioeconomic and ecological requirements of protected areas in terms of tourism and elephants, respectively, converge. Thus, high elephant densities and their associated ecological costs are not required to support ecotourism operations for financial sustainability. Understanding the social and ecological feedbacks that dominate the dynamics of protected areas, particularly within private protected areas, can help to elucidate the management challenges of minimizing ecological trade-offs while meeting ecotourist demands and achieving sustainability.
Journal Article
Novel opportunities for wildlife conservation and research with real-time monitoring
The expansion of global communication networks and advances in animal-tracking technology make possible the real-time telemetry of positional data as recorded by animal-attached tracking units. When combined with continuous, algorithm-based analytical capability, unique opportunities emerge for applied ecological monitoring and wildlife conservation. We present here four broad approaches for algorithmic wildlife monitoring in real time-proximity, geofencing, movement rate, and immobility-designed to examine aspects of wildlife spatial activity and behavior not possible with conventional tracking systems. Application of these four routines to the real-time monitoring of 94 African elephants was made. We also provide details of our cloud-based monitoring system including infrastructure, data collection, and customized software for continuous tracking data analysis. We also highlight future directions of real-time collection and analysis of biological, physiological, and environmental information from wildlife to encourage further development of needed algorithms and monitoring technology. Real-time processing of remotely collected, animal biospatial data promises to open novel directions in ecological research, applied species monitoring, conservation programs, and public outreach and education.
Journal Article