African Elephant Migrations
>> Tuesday, December 9, 2008
In an interesting article I found while stumbling around PLoS, I learned that elephants (Loxodonta africana) have very distinct migratory patterns. The study was conducted over five years and used GPS satellite tracking to follow a cow and her daily movements.
The study, by Holland, Thomas and Minot, followed the elephant from her summer home in Kruger National Park (KNP)and Sabi Sands Game Reserve (SSR) in South Africa. In the study, they found that the elephant (and therefore the herd) moved at speeds that corresponded with the temperature. Also, the elephants had the tendency to use the the exact geographic areas as home bases. The elephants actually migrated seasonally. The summer range for the herd was actually four times larger than their winter stomping grounds but that did not deter them. The use of a larger area in the summer in KNP was for better grazing. The area in winter, SSR, had good grazing and water in a smaller area.
The animals also showed distinct wildlife corridors and remained close to water and did not use "random" movements or trails. This was the first study of its kind done for this long. Knowing where these corridors are will help better protect these amazing creatures during their migrations.
You can find the original article here.
Photo licensed under Creative Commons.
African Elephant
Originally uploaded by Lukas Vermeer
Read more...
The study, by Holland, Thomas and Minot, followed the elephant from her summer home in Kruger National Park (KNP)and Sabi Sands Game Reserve (SSR) in South Africa. In the study, they found that the elephant (and therefore the herd) moved at speeds that corresponded with the temperature. Also, the elephants had the tendency to use the the exact geographic areas as home bases. The elephants actually migrated seasonally. The summer range for the herd was actually four times larger than their winter stomping grounds but that did not deter them. The use of a larger area in the summer in KNP was for better grazing. The area in winter, SSR, had good grazing and water in a smaller area.
The animals also showed distinct wildlife corridors and remained close to water and did not use "random" movements or trails. This was the first study of its kind done for this long. Knowing where these corridors are will help better protect these amazing creatures during their migrations.
You can find the original article here.
Photo licensed under Creative Commons.
African Elephant
Originally uploaded by Lukas Vermeer
Read more...
