Elikana Kalumanga, a PhD student at the Department of Physical Geography, has mapped how African elephants move in the landscape, what they eat and how they use various natural resources. Six elephants from different groups in Ugalla in western Tanzania were immobilized and fitted with GPS collars for two years, indicating the position of each elephant four times a day.
The results show that the elephants move more freely around the areas where park guards drive to and from the conservation area, and that they avoid areas in the southern part where there are greater opportunities for poachers to enter. At the same time, some elephants don’t limit themselves to protected areas but move over large areas of the landscape around Ugalla. During the dry season the groups stay near the rivers, while they disperse over vast areas during the rainy season when large areas are flooded and there is plenty of water in the landscape.
Elephants are considered generalists in their choice of food, but the study results show that they can be selective in what they eat. For example, the elephants eat soil from termite mounds to get minerals and salt, which is lacking in the plants they eat.
“The elephants are important for biodiversity and safari tourism and they also have great symbolic value. Despite this, we now know very little about how the elephants move in the forest landscape and which resources they use”, says Sara Cousins, Professor at the Department of Physical Geography and Elikana Kalumanga’s supervisor.
The number of African elephant has declined severely over the past 200 years. In the early 1800s, there were about 24 million elephants. Despite major efforts to conserve the elephants during the 1900s, today there are less than 500,000 remaining. The number of elephants continues to decline due to poaching and to the fact that the areas where they can move around are shrinking.
Although Tanzania has set aside 25 percent of its land area for conservation, the space for elephants is limited. Ugalla is patrolled by armed guards to protect the animals from poaching. Poaching has increased in the area due to an increased amount of weapons, and to the fact that it’s easier to transport the stolen goods from the game reserve and that the demand for ivory and elephant hair from Asia is high.
“A sustainable conservation of biodiversity requires integrated conservation strategies where various ministries and sectors are involved. It includes preservation of the resources required for wildlife, vegetation and also the rural poor. Regular coordinated patrolling against poaching should be introduced throughout Ugalla and the surrounding areas”, says Elikana Kalumanga, PhD student at the Department of Physical Geography of Stockholm University.