Elephant Translocation

Grobler, Douw G; Altena, JJ van; Malan, Johan H; Mackey, Robin L

doi:10.18772/22008034792.16

Cited by 6 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…Other management tools aimed at immediate population reduction (such as culling or translocation) were not addressed at the workshop. These have previously been well described (Balfour et al 2007;Grobler et al 2008;Slotow et al 2008).…”

Section: Read Onlinesupporting

confidence: 56%

Non-lethal elephant population control methods: Summary of the first workshop of the Elephant Specialist Advisory Group of South Africa

Garai¹,

Bates²,

Bertschinger

et al. 2018

Bothalia

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Management interventions are necessary to control elephant numbers within fenced wildlife reserves in South Africa. Use of non-lethal control methods is increasing, but information about their suitability and effects are not widely available. Three such methods are currently available: immunocontraception with porcine zona pellucida vaccine, vasectomy and gonadotropin-releasing hormone vaccine. Here we consolidate what we know about these methods, using published sources and material shared at a workshop held in South Africa in 2016, in order to provide up-to-date information for future policy decisions concerning the use of these methods in South Africa and elsewhere.

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Section: Read Onlinesupporting

confidence: 56%

Non-lethal elephant population control methods: Summary of the first workshop of the Elephant Specialist Advisory Group of South Africa

Garai¹,

Bates²,

Bertschinger

et al. 2018

Bothalia

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“…Most individual elephants within our three study sites were translocated from Kruger National Park, or were the offspring of such animals [53] . Exceptions were 10 individuals at Phinda Private Game Reserve brought in 1993 from Gonarhezou in Zimbabwe [23] , and six individuals (two from US captive populations, two from Namibia, and two from Mabula Game Reserve) that were released in Pilanesberg National Park [54] .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The process of translocation is well established and designed to be as unobtrusive to the animals as possible [23] , but still results in an elevated physiological stress response for up to 30 days post-release [24] , [25] . However, little is known about the potential for longer-term stress responses in elephants following translocation [26] , despite the need to understand how they habituate to their new surroundings, and if they exhibit aberrant behavior that poses a risk to elephants, other animals and people [23] . To facilitate acclimatization, it has been suggested that managers provide “refuge areas” to allow translocated elephants freedom from harassment [27] .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physiological Stress and Refuge Behavior by African Elephants

2012

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Physiological stress responses allow individuals to adapt to changes in their status or surroundings, but chronic exposure to stressors could have detrimental effects. Increased stress hormone secretion leads to short-term escape behavior; however, no studies have assessed the potential of longer-term escape behavior, when individuals are in a chronic physiological state. Such refuge behavior is likely to take two forms, where an individual or population restricts its space use patterns spatially (spatial refuge hypothesis), or alters its use of space temporally (temporal refuge hypothesis). We tested the spatial and temporal refuge hypotheses by comparing space use patterns among three African elephant populations maintaining different fecal glucocorticoid metabolite (FGM) concentrations. In support of the spatial refuge hypothesis, the elephant population that maintained elevated FGM concentrations (iSimangaliso) used 20% less of its reserve than did an elephant population with lower FGM concentrations (Pilanesberg) in a reserve of similar size, and 43% less than elephants in the smaller Phinda reserve. We found mixed support for the temporal refuge hypothesis; home range sizes in the iSimangaliso population did not differ by day compared to nighttime, but elephants used areas within their home ranges differently between day and night. Elephants in all three reserves generally selected forest and woodland habitats over grasslands, but elephants in iSimangaliso selected exotic forest plantations over native habitat types. Our findings suggest that chronic stress is associated with restricted space use and altered habitat preferences that resemble a facultative refuge behavioral response. Elephants can maintain elevated FGM levels for ≥6 years following translocation, during which they exhibit refuge behavior that is likely a result of human disturbance and habitat conditions. Wildlife managers planning to translocate animals, or to initiate other management activities that could result in chronic stress responses, should consider the potential for, and consequences of, refuge behavior.

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“…The reintroduction of African elephants (Loxodonta africana) has become an increasingly common and controversial tool to reduce the size of large elephant source populations, and to augment or restore small or extirpated populations (Grobler et al, 2008). Whereas reintroductions have been highly successful at restoring elephant populations into portions of their historic range (Garaï et al, 2004), behavioral issues have arisen following release that have been linked to elephant physiology.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Delayed physiological acclimatization by African elephants following reintroduction

2013

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Managers of reintroduced wildlife commonly encounter behavioral problems post-release that have been linked to physiological condition and elevated stress hormone concentrations. However, there is uncertainty about the generality of a stress response among populations, factors influencing the intensity of the response and the amount of time needed to physiologically acclimatize. We evaluated the relationship of temporal, climatic and social factors to stress hormone concentrations in five African elephant (Loxodonta africana) populations following reintroduction. We determined fecal glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations (FGMs) in 1567 fecal samples collected from elephants reintroduced to five fenced reserves with differing reintroduction histories in South Africa during 2000-2006. Variation in FGMs across the five reserves was best explained by the number of years that elapsed since initial release. Compared with FGMs 1 year after release, FGMs were 10% lower 10 years after release and 40% lower 24 years after release. Across all reserves, FGMs were consistently highest in the dry season, although daily and monthly temperature and rainfall were not as important as other factors. FGMs did not vary solely in relationship to reserve size or elephant density. Our findings suggest that regardless of reintroduction site conditions, elephants and likely other species subject to reintroduction require an extended period of time to physiologically acclimatize to their new surroundings. Managers should prepare for prolonged behavioral and physiological consequences of long-term elevated stress responses following reintroduction, such as restricted space use and aggressive behavior. bs_bs_banner Animal Conservation. Print ISSN 1367-9430 Animal Conservation 16 (2013) 575-583

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Elephant Translocation

Cited by 6 publications

References 0 publications

Non-lethal elephant population control methods: Summary of the first workshop of the Elephant Specialist Advisory Group of South Africa

Non-lethal elephant population control methods: Summary of the first workshop of the Elephant Specialist Advisory Group of South Africa

Physiological Stress and Refuge Behavior by African Elephants

Delayed physiological acclimatization by African elephants following reintroduction

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