Across the range of African elephants Loxodonta spp., negative interactions with people are prevalent, and the impact of the resulting economic losses on farmers calls for solutions. The use of beehive fences, a mitigation method with ecological and socio-economic benefits, is gaining momentum in African savannah landscapes. We assessed the diurnal and nocturnal defensive behaviours of African honeybees Apis mellifera adansonii in response to visual and physical disturbances in the Campo–Ma'an conservation area, Cameroon. We examined six bee colonies, assessing their activity level, aggressive behaviour and ability to defend themselves when disturbed at different times of day. We found that activity levels varied between colonies and that colonies were more active during the day and inactive at night. The defensive perimeter around the hives also varied between the colonies and was generally greater during morning and evening periods. Bee colonies did not defend their hives around midday and at night. In response to a threat, bees were more likely to fly out from the hive during daytime than at night, with variation amongst colonies. Overall, as elephant intrusions occur mostly at night, beehive fences alone may not be an adequate mitigation method against crop damage caused by forest elephants Loxodonta cyclotis. We suggest combining beehive fences with other mitigation methods to improve crop protection.
Forest elephants are nocturnal and elusive animals, making it difficult to perform direct observations on them. Data on elephants' diet and feeding habit are lacking despite most forest elephants' habitats being lost to anthropogenic activities; yet such knowledge may be important for their conservation, particularly in a human dominated landscape. Local ecological knowledge and field investigations were combined to assess diet composition and feeding habit of forest elephants in Campo-Ma'an landscape. The study also aimed to evaluate the level of concordance between the two approaches. The study reports that forest elephants in Campo-Ma'an feed on 87 plants species, including crops. Twenty-two of these plant species were reported by both methods, most of them being potential drivers of humanelephant conflict as they are simultaneously used by humans and elephants. Also, field investigations revealed that, to satisfy their energy requirements, forest elephants relied mostly on leaves and fruits during the wet seasons and mostly on barks from trees during the dry seasons. Overall, the two methods appeared to be complementary, despite field investigations yielding fewer species, as we only covered the park partially. We suggest that combining both methods could be a cost-efficient way to address forest elephants ecological and management questions.
Background and Research Aim African forest elephants ( Loxodonta cyclotis) are critically endangered yet research on factors influencing their resource use is limited in Central Africa. We assessed the influence of fruit availability, land use types, and anthropogenic activity on forest elephant presence and relative abundance in the southwest part of the Campo-Ma’an Technical Operational Unit (CMTOU) to better understand elephant habitat use in human dominated systems and inform elephant management strategies. Methods We used 17 camera trap stations and surveyed 17 line transects to monitor forest elephant presence and relative abundance as a function of fruit availability, tree species richness, and land use types. Our study area spanned a gradient of human disturbance and included a National Park (NP), Forest Management Unit (FMU), and Community Land (CL). Results Forest elephants were more likely to occur in areas with increased fruit availability and tree species richness. Also, the likelihood of their presence was higher in CL than in FMU and NP. Elephant relative abundance was negatively affected by human activities such as hunting and logging. The relationship between elephant relative abundance and fruit availability was stronger in CL and NP as compared to the FMU. Elephant relative abundance was higher during the rainy season. Conclusion Forest elephant habitat use was positively affected by fruit availability across land use types, and negatively affected by human activities in the southwest part of the CMTOU. Implications for Conservation Continued monitoring of elephant responses to food availability in CMTOU is warranted to track changes in elephant habitat use. Knowledge of the distribution of fruiting trees consumed by forest elephants may allow managers to predict hotspots of habitat use, and to therefore develop effective management strategies.
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