pachyderm - iucn...16 letter to the editor 17 research and review 17 first, do no harm: a...

January – June 2001 Number 30

Pachyderm

Contents1 Chair reports / Rapports des

présidents1 African Elephant Specialist Group / Groupe

des Spécialistes des Eléphants dÁfriqueHolly Dublin

6 African Rhino Specialist Group / Groupedes Spécialistes des Rhinos dÁfriqueMartin Brooks

12 Asian Rhino Specialist Group / Groupe desSpécialistes des Rhinos dÁsieMohd Khan bin Momin Khan with ThomasJ. Foose and Nico van Strien

16 Letter to the editor

17 Research and review17 First, do no harm: a precautionary

recommendation regarding the movementof black rhinos from overseas zoos back toAfricaSteven A. Osofsky, Donald E. Paglia, RobinW. Radcliffe, R. Eric Miller, Richard H.Emslie, Thomas J. Foose, Raoul du Toitand Mark W. Atkinson

24 Status and trends of the ivory trade inAfrica, 1989–1999Daniel Stiles and Esmond Bradley Martin

37 Forest elephant distribution and habitat usein the Bossematié Forest Reserve, IvoryCoastJörn Theuerkauf, Hermann Ellenberg, WolfEkkehard Waitkuwait and MichaelMühlenberg

44 Management implications of new researchon problem elephantsRichard Hoare

journal of the African Elephant, African Rhinoand Asian Rhino Specialist Groups

January–June 2001 No. 30

EditorHelen van Houten

Editorial Assistant

Pam Mwagore

Editorial BoardHolly DublinEsmond MartinMark Stanley PriceNico van StrienLucy Vigne

Address all correspondence,including enquiries aboutsubscription, to

The Editor, PachydermPO Box 62440, Nairobi, Kenyatel: +254 2 577355, 561597,

572630, 572631fax: +254 2 577389email:[email protected]://iucn.org/themes/ssc/sgs/afesg/

The production ofPachyderm isfinanced by the USFish and WildlifeService

Cover: Mother and baby elephant in Masai Mara, Kenya.Photo: Jonathan and Angie Scott

S P E C I E SS U R V I V A L

C O M M I S S I O N

The World Conservation UnionIUCN Pachyderm

49 Dual-season crop damage by elephants in eastern Zambezi Valley,ZimbabweG.E. Parker and F.V. Osborn

57 Elephant crop damage and electric fence construction in theMaputo Elephant Reserve, MozambiqueFred de Boer and Cornelio Ntumi

65 Mode de dissémination des espèces les plus appétées par leséléphants dans la zone cynégétique de la Djona, les forêtsclassées de Gounguon, de la Sota et des environs, Nord-BéninAristide C. Tehou

70 Elephants as agents of seed dispersal in Aberdare andTsavo National Parks, KenyaJohn Waithaka

75 Elephants as seed dispersal agents in Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, KenyaPaul Kimata Muoria, I. Gordon and N. O. Oguge

81 A new method for implanting radio transmitters into the horns ofwhite and black rhinocerosesAdrian M. Shrader and Brian Beauchamp

87 Closing down the illegal trade in rhino horn in YemenLucy Vigne and Esmond Bradley Martin

96 Notes from the African Rhino Specialist Group96 Deaths in Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania

Matthew Maige

96 Kenya implementing a new black rhino information managementsystemRajan Amin, Benson Okita and Martin Mulama

97 Black rhino dung DNA analysisThomas J. Foose

98 Rhino database workshopRichard H. Emslie

98 Rhino security mattersRichard H. Emslie

99 Announcing the RMG Carrying Capacity Model version 1.0 for blackrhinosKeryn Adcock

100 WILDb rhino databaseRob Brett

100 RHINO rewrite: an updateRichard H. Emslie and Rajan Amin

102 NOTICE: information needed on elephant sightings

103 Guide to contributors

January–June 2001 No. 30

journal of the African Elephant,

African Rhino and

Asian Rhino Specialist Groups

Pachyderm

CHAIR REPORTSRAPPORTS DES PRESIDENTS

African Elephant Specialist Group report

Holly T. Dublin, Chair/Président

WWF Africa and Madagascar Program, PO Box 62440, Nairobi, Kenyaemail: [email protected]

Starting off the new triennium

The first half of 2001 was devoted largely to prepar-ing for the start of a new IUCN triennium. For theSpecies Survival Commission (SSC), the first step inthe process, for all specialist group chairs, is to presentto the Chair of the SSC a list of those recommendedfor appointment as members. The procedure for ap-pointing the new membership is a formal one, requir-ing extensive preparation and consultation along theway. At the time of going to press, appointment let-ters had been sent to all new members and those be-ing reappointed. The AfESG Secretariat is awaitingnews of their receipt and formal acceptance.

Information and communications

The AfESG Web site

In an effort to respond to the overwhelming, and seem-ingly insatiable, demand for information on the Afri-can elephant, we have been working hard on alterna-tive communication tools. One of the tools under de-velopment is the AfESG Web site: http://indaba.iucn.org/external/themes/ssc/sgs/afesg/pachy/. While itis clear that this will not be a tool designed primarilyto meet the needs of our membership or elephantmanagers and conservationists across Africa for sometime to come, it is an attempt to streamline our abil-ity to provide our broad ‘user’ public with useful in-formation and tools as well as provide answers tosimple but frequently asked questions. We hope thatby using this tool to make the process of information

Pachyde

Rapport du Groupe des Spéclialistes des Eléphants d’Afrique

rm No 30 January–June 2001

Lancer les trois prochaines années

Le premier semestre de 2001 fut largement consacréà la préparation du programme de l’UICN pour lestrois prochaines années. Pour la Commission deSauvegarde des Espèces (CSE), la première étape duprocessus, pour tous les présidents des groupes despécialistes, consiste à présenter au Président de laCSE une liste des personnes recommandées pour êtrenommées membres. La procédure pour nommer lesnouveaux membres est officielle, elle exige unelongue préparation et des consultations continues. Aumoment de mettre sous presse, les lettres de nomina-tion ont été envoyées à tous les nouveaux membreset aux anciens qui sont reconduits. Le secrétariat duGSEAf attend des nouvelles de leur bonne réceptionet de leur acceptation.

Informations et communications

Le site web du GSEAf

Afin de répondre à la demande considérable et,semble-t-il, insatiable, d’informations sur l’éléphantafricain, nous travaillons intensément à la mise aupoint d’outils de communication alternatifs. Un desoutils en développement est le site web du GSEAf :http://www.iucn.org/themes/ssc/sgs/afesgintro.htm.S’il est clair que ceci n’est pas un outil conçu d’abordpour répondre aux besoins de nos membres ni desgestionnaires des éléphants ou des conservateurs danstoute l’Afrique, pendant encore quelque temps, disonsque c’est plutôt une tentative de concentrer notre

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dissemination more efficient, AfESG staff will havemore time available to devote to the more challeng-ing aspects of providing service to the membership.We envisage that the site will host the various toolsdeveloped to address the monitoring and managementof human–elephant conflict (including the DecisionSupport System currently under development), themost up-to-date version of the African Elephant Da-tabase and all future additions of Pachyderm. The sitewill also have direct ‘hotlinks’ to the African ElephantLibrary: http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/~drigby/eli3.htm,as well as donor sites where these are authorized orrequired by contractual agreement.

Pachyderm

The saga of Pachyderm continues as does its publi-cation. As I had mentioned in earlier Chair reports, ithad been my hope to hand over responsibility ofPachyderm to one of our fellow specialist groups(African or Asian rhinos) but that was not to be. Wehave recently been awarded an additional year of edi-torial costs through the generous contribution of theUS Fish and Wildlife Service African Elephant Con-servation Fund. So, now that the financial constraintshave been addressed, I feel it is time to get the jour-nal on a more stable and professional base. To thisend, we are hoping to reconstitute the editorial board,appoint a non-group member to be the chair of thisboard, to formulate strategic objectives for the jour-nal and to tighten up on quality control in all aspectsof its production. It is my hope that in so doing, wecan continue the production of this very popular pub-lication while not overly taxing the volunteer networkbehind its production. To this end, I would also liketo extend an open invitation to members of all thethree specialist groups involved in Pachyderm as wellas our broader readership who might be interested inserving on the editorial board or in acting as refereesfor the interesting topical manuscripts submitted forpublication.

The African Elephant Database

I am happy to be able to report that we have recruited anew manager for the African Elephant Database. Al-though the position is not fully funded for the produc-tion of the update every three years, we are confidentthat this will still be possible. Julian Blanc is in place inthe Secretariat offices in Nairobi . He is being met by a

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capacité de fournir à notre vaste public des informa-tions et des outils utiles ainsi que des réponses auxquestions simples que l’on nous pose souvent. Nousespérons qu’en utilisant cet outil pour rendre plusefficace la diffusion des informations, le personneldu GSEAf pourra consacrer plus de temps aux as-pects plus complexes des services que nous devons ànos membres. On prévoit que le site reprendra lesdifférents outils mis au point pour s’occuper ducontrôle et de la gestion des conflits hommes-éléphants (y compris le Système de supportdécisionnel actuellement en préparation), la versionla plus récente de la Banque de données sur l’éléphantafricain, et toutes les futures éditions de Pachyderm.Le site aura aussi des liens directs avec la AfricanElephant Library : http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/~drigby/eli3.htm, ainsi qu’avec les sites des donateurspour autant qu’ils soient autorisés ou reconnus paraccord contractuel.

Pachyderm

La saga de Pachyderm continue, tout comme sa pub-lication. Comme je l’avais mentionné dans mesprécédents rapports, j’avais espéré transmettre laresponsabilité de Pachyderm à un des autres groupesde spécialistes (Rhinos africains ou asiatiques), maiscela ne devait pas se faire. Nous avons reçurécemment de quoi financer une année supplémentairede frais de publication, grâce à la généreuse contri-bution du Fonds de Conservation pour l’Eléphantd’Afrique du USFWS. Dès lors, puisque lescontraintes financières sont levées, il me semble qu’ilest temps d’établir la revue sur une base plus stableet plus professionnelle. C’est pourquoi nous espéronsreconstituer le bureau de rédaction, nommer commeprésident de ce bureau quelqu’un qui n’est pasmembre du groupe, formuler les objectifs stratégiquesdu journal et renforcer les contrôles de qualité à tousles stades de sa production. J’espère vraiment que decette façon, nous pourrons poursuivre la publicationde cette revue très appréciée tout en ne pesant pasexagérément sur le réseau de volontaires qui sous-tend cette production. C’est pourquoi je voudrais aussiétendre mon invitation aux membres de trois groupesde spécialistes impliqués dans Pachyderm ainsi qu’àtous ceux de nos lecteurs qui pourraient être intéressésà faire partie du bureau de rédaction ou à faire officede rapporteurs pour les intéressants manuscrits soumispour publication.

Pachyderm No 30 January–June 2001

large stack of survey reports from around Africa thatAfESG has compiled since the 1998 update. A numberof outstanding issues still need to be resolved beforethe next hard-copy AED update, including improvingthe reliability, quality and veracity of range data; theintegration of some of our data on human–elephant con-flict with data on elephant status and distribution; andthe use of other important data layers.

Technical matters

Development of reintroduction guidelines

Across the continent, discussions on the movementof ‘surplus’ elephants from one site to another (eitherfrom the wild or from captivity) are becoming com-monplace. However, any such moves, whether theyare eventually realized or not, are currently plannedin a technical vacuum, with no formal guidelines orformulae for ‘best practice’. The issues surroundingtranslocations and reintroductions are extensive andcomplex. When plans are to move groupings of Afri-can elephants, rather than simply individuals, the levelof complexity grows significantly. Seeing this as animportant emerging issue, requiring technical assis-tance to inform practitioners (on either the giving orthe receiving end), the AfESG Secretariat contactedthe Secretariat of the Reintroduction Specialist Group(RSG) for advice. Several years ago, RSG draftedthe first reintroduction guidelines, a generalized pam-phlet for a broad-based audience that has now beenwidely adopted. Since that time, RSG has been work-ing with individual groups to develop these guide-lines further for specific taxa. Through a successfulprocess of engagement, the two groups (AfESG andRSG) have agreed to work on a joint initiative to draftformal technical guidelines for translocating and re-introducing African elephants. We are hoping to in-volve the membership as much as possible as we de-velop these guidelines.

The past six months has been a very active periodfor MIKE. The CITES Secretariat has hosted twoimplementation workshops since the beginning of theyear. The first, for West Africa, was held inOuagadougou, Burkina Faso, in February; the sec-ond, for the East African subregion in Dar es Salaam,Tanzania, in March 2001. A similar meeting had al-ready been held for southern Africa and the imple-mentation meeting for Central Africa will be held oncethe pilot phase for the subregion has been completed


La Banque de données sur l’éléphantd’Afrique

Je suis heureuse de pouvoir vous dire que nous avonsengagé un nouveau responsable pour la Banque dedonnées sur l’éléphant d’Afrique. Même si le poste n’estpas complètement financé pour la production de la miseà jour tous les trois ans, nous avons bon espoir que cesoit encore possible. Julian Blanc est dêja au travaildans les bureaux de Nairobi. Il y trouvera une pile derapports d’études venus de toute l’Afrique, que leGSEAf a rassemblés depuis 1998. De nombreuses ques-tions en suspens doivent encore trouver une réponseavant la prochaine édition papier de la BDEA, commel’amélioration de la fiabilité, de la qualité et del’exactitude des données de répartition ; l’incorporationde certaines de nos données sur les conflits hommes–éléphants aux données sur le statut et la distribution deséléphants ; et l’utilisation d’autres sources de donnéesimportantes.

Questions techniques

Développement de directives en matière deréintroduction

Dans tout le continent, on assiste de plus en plusfréquemment à des discussions sur le déplacement deséléphants « en surplus » d’un endroit à un autre (qu’ilsviennent de la brousse ou de captivité). Pourtant, cesdéplacements, qu’on les réalise ou non, sontactuellement programmés dans un vide technique cer-tain, sans directives formelles, ni formules de « bonnesmanières ». Les questions qui entourent les transloca-tions et les réintroductions sont vastes et complexes.Lorsque l’on prévoit de déplacer des groupesd’éléphants plutôt que des individus isolés, le niveaude complexité augmente significativement. Comme ilconsidère ceci comme une question nouvelle etimportante, qui demande l’assistance technique depraticiens expérimentés, le secrétariat du GSEAf acontacté le secrétariat du Groupe des Spécialistes de laRéintroduction (GSR) pour demander conseil. Il y aquelques années, le GSR avait esquissé les premièresdirectives en matière de réintroduction, un fasciculegénéralisé destiné à une vaste audience et qui estmaintenant largement accepté. Depuis lors, le GSRtravaille avec des groupes individuels pour adapter cesdirectives à des taxons spécifiques. Par un processusd’engagement réussi, les deux groupes (GSEAf et GSR)

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and the lessons learned compiled, very likely by mid-year. The AfESG Secretariat was fortunate to partici-pate in both the western and the eastern African meet-ings. The events, attended by practitioners from gov-ernment and members of the MIKE Technical Advi-sory Group, proved to be invaluable opportunities toexchange ideas, learn of new and ongoing researchinitiatives, and obtain information and contact peoplefor recent surveys and those planned for the near fu-ture. It is clear that the implementation of MIKE willadd significantly to our current knowledge base onthe status of elephants across the continent whilemaking great strides towards standardizing data col-lection across many factors and sites.

The day-to-day life of AfESG

West Africa Programme Office

It has been a truly challenging period for our WestAfrica Programme Office, ably staffed by LamineSebogo. Late in 2000, AfESG obtained support fromthe US Fish and Wildlife Service to promote the WestAfrican Elephant Conservation Strategy throughoutthe subregion. This heralded the beginning of an od-yssey for Lamine, who will devote much of the yearto promoting the Strategy with high levels of govern-ment, NGOs and donor partners in West Africa. Somesignificant moves for elephant conservation havetaken place since the inception of the Strategy. Thesehave included furthering the process at the nationallevel by Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Togo.At the field level, more and more elephant-relatedprojects are being initiated in the subregion, mostnotably in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali and Togo. Theseactions will, no doubt, contribute to and benefit fromMIKE, the CITES system for monitoring the illegalkilling of elephants, which is currently entering itsfull implementation phase (see news on MIKE in pre-ceding paragraph).

Central African Programme Office

We are currently recruiting a programme officer forAfESG work in Central Africa. We have a good,strong field of candidates and hope to finalize theappointment by mid-year. The position is particularlytimely now, with AfESG actively involved in devel-oping a subregional Strategy for the Conservation ofElephants in Central Africa and the prospects on the

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ont accepté de travailler ensemble pour rédiger des di-rectives techniques formelles pour le déplacement et laréintroduction des éléphants africains. Nous espéronsimpliquer autant que possible nos membres dans ledéveloppement de ces directives.

Le dernier semestre fut une période très active pourMIKE. Le secrétariat de la CITES a accueilli deuxséminaires d’exécution depuis le début de l’année. Lepremier, destiné à l’Afrique de l’Ouest, s’est tenu àOuagadougou, au Burkina Faso, en février ; et le sec-ond, pour l’Afrique de l’Est, a eu lieu à Dar es Salaam,en Tanzanie, en mars 2001. Il y avait déjà eu une réunionsemblable pour l’Afrique australe, et la réunion pourl’Afrique centrale aura lieu lorsque la phase pilote pourla sous-région sera terminée et que l’on aura rassembléles leçons qu’on en aura tirées, probablement au milieude l’année. Le secrétariat du GSEAf a eu la chance depouvoir participer aux deux réunions pour l’Afrique del’Ouest et de l’Est. Ces événements, auxquels ont assistédes praticiens gouvernementaux et des membres duGroupe de Conseil Technique de MIKE, se sont révélésdes occasions inestimables pour échanger des idées,pour apprendre les initiatives de recherche nouvelles eten cours, pour obtenir des informations et contacter desgens à propos des recherches récentes et de celles quis’annoncent. Il est évident que la mise en applicationde MIKE apportera un supplément d’informationssignificatif à ce que nous connaissons aujourd’hui dustatut des éléphants sur l’ensemble du continent, touten progressant à pas de géant vers la standardisation dela récolte de données sur toute une série de facteurs etde sites.

La vie quotidienne du GSEAf

Bureau du Programme pour l’Afrique del’Ouest

Ce fut une période vraiment stimulante pour notrebureau du Programme pour l’Afrique de l’Ouest, oùofficie avec compétence Lamine Sebogo. A la fin del’année 2000, le GSEAf a obtenu le support du USFish and Wildlife Service, pour promouvoir laStratégie de Conservation de l’Eléphant d’Afrique del’Ouest dans toute la sous-région. Ceci annonçait ledébut d’une odyssée pour Lamine qui va consacrerune grande partie de l’année à promouvoir la Stratégieavec les membres haut-placés des gouvernements, lesONG et les donateurs partenaires en Afrique del’Ouest. Certains changements significatifs pour la


horizon of our upcoming membership meeting to beheld in the subregion.

The Secretariat in Nairobi

In the meantime, many changes have been takingplace in the Nairobi office. After almost a year of liv-ing with unsatisfactory interim measures, we finallyhave a new programme officer for the Secretariat, LeoNiskanen. Leo swung into action from the first of theyear and has contributed immensely in all respectsever since. In the short time since he started, Leo hasbeen to Ouagadougou to visit our programme officefor West Africa to get a grip on the extent and needsof AfESG, and in June he travelled to Cameroon tointerview candidates for the Central Africa programofficer position.

Of course, the Secretariat has also been workinghard to organize the first membership meeting of thenew triennium. The meeting is scheduled to take placelater in 2001, we hope in Cameroon. This will be thefirst meeting of the entire membership of AfESG tobe held in Central Africa, and the logistical gymnas-tics required to pull it off are putting the entire AfESGstaff through their paces. Meetings on the flight ar-rangements alone seem to occupy hours of theirweekly work time!

Before the next Pachyderm is out, we will alsohave replaced our administrative officer, RowenaCosta-Correa. I wish to acknowledge, even before thatsad day arrives when Rowena emigrates to Canada,how badly she will be missed. Her ever-effervescentpersonality and overall positive outlook on life havehelped me through some difficult times over the pastyear. Rowena will be a hard act to follow, but we arealready working on recruitment, hoping to have asufficient handover period for the new administra-tive officer before Rowena goes.

With all these transitions, I am grateful to havemy longstanding right-hand woman, Monica Buyu.Monica has been secretary for AfESG since 1992.Her long institutional memory is helping to fill inthose gaps brought on by my increasingly frequent‘senior moments’.


conservation des éléphants ont eu lieu depuis le débutde la Stratégie. Ceux-ci comprennent la progressiondu processus, au niveau national, au Burkina Faso,en Côte d’Ivoire, au Ghana et au Togo. Sur le terrain,de plus en plus de projets liés aux éléphants sont lancésdans la sous-région, surtout au Burkina Faso, auGhana, au Mali et au Togo. Ces actions pourront sansaucun doute contribuer à et profiter de MIKE, lesystème de la CITES pour contrôler le massacre illégaldes éléphants, qui entre maintenant dans sa phase depleine exécution (pour des nouvelles de MIKE, voirle paragraphe précédent).

Bureau du Programme pour l’Afriquecentrale

Nous sommes occupés à recruter un responsable deprogramme pour le travail du GSEAf en Afriquecentrale. Nous avons déjà un certain nombre de bonscandidats et nous espérons finaliser la nominationpour le milieu de l’année. Ce poste vientparticulièrement à point au moment où le GSEAfs’implique activement dans la mise au point d’uneStratégie sous-régionale pour la Conservation desEléphants en Afrique centrale et dans la perspective,qui apparaît à l’horizon, de la prochaine réunion desmembres qui se tiendra dans la région.

Le secrétariat de Nairobi

Pendant ce temps, de nombreux changements ont eulieu au bureau de Nairobi. Après avoir vécu pendantpresque un an avec des solutions intérimaires peusatisfaisantes, nous avons maintenant un nouveauresponsable de programme pour le secrétariat, LeoNiskanen. Leo s’est rué à l’ouvrage dès le début del’année, et sa contribution n’a pas cessé d’être degrande valeur. Alors qu’il n’a commencé querécemment, Leo est allé à Ouagadougou visiter lebureau de notre programme pour l’Afrique de l’Ouest,pour se rendre compte de l’étendue et des besoins duGSEAf puis, en juin, il s’est rendu au Cameroun pourinterviewer des candidats au poste de responsable deprogramme pour l’Afrique centrale.

Bien sûr, le secrétariat a aussi travaillé dur pourorganiser la première réunion des membres de cestrois prochaines années. La réunion doit avoir lieuplus tard en 2001 ; nous espérons que ce sera auCameroun. Ce sera la première réunion de tous lesmembres du GSEAf qui se tiendra en Afrique

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centrale, et la gymnastique logistique requise pour samise en place met tout le staff du GSEAf à rudeépreuve. Les réunions concernant les seulesréservations des vols semblent nécessiter des heuresde leur temps de travail !

Avant que paraisse le nouveau Pachyderm, nousaurons aussi remplacé notre responsable del’administration, Rowena Costa-Correa. Je doisavouer, avant même que ce triste jour n’arrive oùRowena part pour le Canada, qu’elle nous manqueraénormément. Sa personnalité, toujours en efferves-cence, sa façon toujours positive de voir la vie m’ontaidée à traverser certaines périodes difficiles l’annéedernière. Rowena ne sera pas facile à remplacer maisnous cherchons déjà quelqu’un, en espérant que lenouveau responsable disposera d’une période de pas-sage du relais suffisante avant le départ de Rowena.

Avec tous ces bouleversements, je suis heureusede garder mon fidèle bras droit, Monica Buyu. Monicaest secrétaire du GSEAf depuis 1992. Sa longueexpérience institutionnelle est précieuse pour comblerles trous qui apparaissent de plus en plus souvent dansma « mémoire défaillante ».

African Rhino Specialist Group report

Africa

Martin Brooks, Chair/Président

PO Box 13055, Cascades, 3202, KwaZulu-Natal, Souemail: [email protected]

The period under review has been a busy one, re-viewing and developing national rhino conservationstrategies and plans.

Botswana

On 15 January 2001, a Botswana Rhino Stakehold-ers Workshop was held at the Khama rhino sanctu-ary. A draft of the updated national rhino strategydocument has since been produced incorporatingcomments from Botswana’s Department of NationalParks. This draft has been circulated for additionalcomment before its ratification is proposed.

Rapport du Groupe des Spécialistes des Rhinos d’Afrique

La période qui vient de s’écouler a été très occupéeavec la révision et la mise au point de stratégies et deplans de conservation nationaux pour les rhinos.

Botswana

Le 15 janvier 2001, un atelier des Rhino Stakehold-ers du Botswana s’est tenu au sanctuaire des rhinosde Khama. Un projet de document sur la stratégienationale pour les rhinos a vu le jour depuis lors, quireprend les commentaires du Département de ParcsNationaux du Botswana. Ce projet est actuellementen circulation afin de recueillir des commentairessupplémentaires avant d’en proposer la ratification.


Cameroon

As I indicated in the last edition of Pachyderm, a majorinitiative is under way to support the Ministry of En-vironment and Forests in Cameroon in its efforts toprevent the extinction of the critically endangeredwestern black rhino, Diceros bicornis longipes. Thetechnical experts meeting chaired by the ministry washeld in Yaounde on 13–15 November 2000. It wasattended by their cooperating agencies IUCN andWWF and other parties. This meeting agreed on anappropriate conservation strategy and set short-, me-dium- and long-term goals for the black rhino, withthe immediate intention of securing at least five ani-mals in a breeding population. WWF is supportingan intensive survey of the isolated relic populationsin mid-2001. If adequate numbers can be found for afounder population, potential sanctuary sites inCameroon will be investigated and the preferred siteselected by the end of 2001. The situation remainsextremely tenuous, but the government of Cameroonis strongly committed to the success of theprogramme, as indicated by its decision to appoint anational rhino coordinator to ensure that appropriateactions are implemented.

Kenya

In the last Pachyderm, I reported on the workshop todevelop a revised Kenyan black rhino conservationstrategy for the next five-year period. Following de-tailed comments by reviewers on the first edition ofthe new Conservation and Management Strategy forthe black rhino (D. b. michaeli) in Kenya (2001–2005), a revised second edition has been circulatedand is currently being reviewed. It is expected thatthe finalized new five-year strategy will be ratifiedsoon.

At the request of the Kenya Wildlife Service andas part of the USAID-funded Kenyan Rhino Man-agement Programme Project, AfRSG organized aknowledge-exchange visit to selected South Africanblack rhino parks, with help from both Kwa Zulu-Natal (KZN) Wildlife and North West Parks and Tour-ism Board. The tour took place on 19–29 November2000 with four Kenyans and one external program-mer from the Zoological Society of London attend-ing. (For further details see Notes from AfRSG in thisissue.)


Cameroun

Comme je l’avais signalé dans la dernière édition dePachyderm, une initiative importante est en cours poursupporter le Ministère de l’Environnement et desForêts dans les efforts qu’il fait pour empêcherl’extinction du rhino noir de l’Ouest, Diceros bicornislongipes, qui est gravement en danger. Il y a eu uneréunion d’experts techniques présidée par le Ministèreà Yaoundé du 13 au 15 novembre 2000. Les agencesde coopération UICN et WWF y ont assisté ainsi qued’autres parties. La réunion a trouvé un accord surune stratégie de conservation appropriée et a définides objectifs à court, moyen et long terme pour lerhino noir, avec l’intention immédiate de garantir laprésence d’au moins cinq individus dans une popula-tion de reproduction. Le WWF soutient la surveil-lance intensive des dernières populations isolées dèsle milieu de l’année 2001. Si l’on peut en trouver unnombre suffisant pour une population reproductrice,on fera des investigations pour des sites de sanctuairespotentiels au Cameroun, et on choisira le site préféréà la fin de l’année. La situation demeure extrêmementprécaire, mais le Gouvernement camerounais s’estvraiment engagé à faire réussir le programme, commele prouve sa décision de nommer un coordinateurnational pour les rhinos afin de garantir que toutesles mesures appropriées sont prises.

Kenya

Dans le dernier Pachyderm, j’ai fait un rapport surl’atelier destiné à mettre au point une stratégie réviséepour la conservation de rhino noir de Kenya pour lescinq prochaines années. Pour répondre auxcommentaires détaillés de ceux qui ont révisé lapremière édition de la nouvelle Stratégie de Conser-vation et de Gestion pour le rhino noir (D. b. michaeli)du Kenya (2001-2005), on a fait circuler unedeuxième édition qui est en train d’être révisée. Onpeut s’attendre à ce que la nouvelle stratégie finaliséepour cinq ans soit bientôt ratifiée.

A la demande du Kenya Wildlife Service, et dansle cadre du projet Programme de gestion du rhino auKenya financé par USAID, le GSRAf a organisé unevisite pour des échanges de connaissances à quelquesparcs pour rhinos noirs choisis en Afrique du Sud,avec la collaboration de KZN Wildlife et North WestParks and Tourism Board. La visite s’est déroulée du19 au 29 novembre 2000, avec la participation de

7

Nambia

Namibia held a major stakeholders workshop to reviewand examine its national rhino conservation strategy.This workshop was held the third week of June 2001.

Zimbabwe

On 12–13 October, Zimbabwe’s Department of Na-tional Parks and Wildlife Management held a RhinoStakeholders Meeting in Harare to review the exist-ing Zimbabwean Rhino Policy and Management Plan.The meeting was attended by DNPWLM staff andstakeholders in the private sector and by the AfRSGscientific officer, the SADC rhino programme coor-dinator, and representatives of NGOs such as WWF,the Zambezi Society and Marwell Zimbabwe Trust.The meeting concluded that the existing policy andmanagement plan was a sound document needinglittle modification and that the primary need was toimprove its implementation. The workshop identifiedthe need to set up the relevant regional rhino com-mittees as soon as possible.

Rhino Management Group

The Rhino Management Group of Southern Africa(RMG) met in Kruger Park, South Africa, on 24–25October 2000. In an encouraging development,Zimbabwe’s official rhino coordinator attended anRMG meeting for the first time together with repre-sentatives from Namibia and South Africa. The meet-ing discussed a draft introductory RMG guide onmanaging black rhinos for private landowners inSouth Africa. A revised version incorporating com-ments was since compiled and sent out to South Afri-can RMG members for comments before it was fi-nalized at the end of June. However the documentwill be updated to reflect the latest biological man-agement strategies to emerge from the RMG biologi-cal management workshop which was held in lateJuly. The meeting also debated issues surroundinghow best to manage populations for maximum pro-ductivity and how to interpret monitoring data. Thistopic was especially pertinent, as South Africanmetapopulation performance has been declining inrecent years. Some populations in Namibia and Zim-babwe have also been performing suboptimally. Themeeting therefore decided that in view of these fac-tors, and as monitoring had been ongoing for a decade,

8

quatre Kenyans et d’un chef de programme extérieur,de la Société Zoologique de Londres. (Pour plus dedétails, voyez les Notes du GSRAf dans ce numéro.)

Namibie

La Namibie projetait aussi la réunion d’un atelier pourles principaux stakeholders afin de réviser etd’examiner sa stratégie nationale de conservation desrhinos. Il a eu lieu la troisième semaine de juin 2001.

Zimbabwe

Les 12 et 13 octobre, le Département zimbabwéendes Parcs Nationaux et de la Gestion de la Faune atenu une réunion des Rhino Stakeholders à Harareafin de réviser la Politique Zimbabwéenne pour leRhino et le Plan de gestion actuels. Le personnel duDNPWLM et les dépositaires du secteur privé ontassisté à cette réunion, ainsi que le responsablescientifique du GSRAf, le coordinateur du programmerhino du SADC et des représentants d’ONG tellesque le WWF, la Zambezi Society et le Marwell Zim-babwe Trust. La réunion a conclu que la politique etle plan de gestion actuels étaient des documentssolides qui ne demandaient que peu de modificationset qu’il fallait d’abord améliorer leur application.L’atelier a relevé la nécessité d’instaurer dès que pos-sible les comités régionaux adéquats pour les rhinos.

Groupe de Gestion des Rhinos

Le Groupe de Gestion des Rhinos d’Afrique du Sud(RMG) s’est réuni au Parc Kruger, en Afrique du Sud,les 24 et 25 octobre 2001. Evolution intéressante, pourla première fois, un coordinateur officiel zimbabwéenpour les rhinos a assisté à une réunion du RMG avecdes délégués de Namibie et d’Afrique du Sud. Laréunion a discuté d’un projet de guide RMG d’initiationà la gestion des rhinos noirs destiné aux propriétairesprivés, en Afrique du Sud. Une version révisée, quiintègre les commentaires, a été produite depuis lors etenvoyée aux membres sud-africains du RMG pour denouveaux commentaires avant sa finalisation, fin juin.Cependant, le document sera mis à jour pour refléterles dernières stratégies biologiques de gestion émergantde l’atelier biologique de gestion de RMG, qui a étéconclu fin juillet. La réunion a aussi discuté les ques-tions qui concernent la meilleure façon de gérer lespopulations en vue d’une productivité maximale, et la


a workshop was needed to review existing and alter-native strategies and make recommendations formaximizing metapopulation performance, especiallywith regard to recommended offtakes and stockingrates. Funding for this workshop has since been se-cured from the SADC rhino programme, and it washeld in the last week of July. Further details will begiven in the next edition of Pachyderm.

The SADC Regional Programme forRhino Conservation

The Italian-funded SADC (Southern Africa Devel-opment Community) Regional Programme for RhinoConservation has been active in the period under re-view. A series of detailed country reviews was com-pleted and used by the programme to identify a num-ber of potential projects for funding. The programmecoordinator also visited rhino agencies and parks inBotswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, SouthAfrica, Swaziland, Tanzania and Zimbabwe in recentmonths. At the SADC rhino programme consortiummeeting in October, 72 proposals or concept propos-als were considered, and after the March 2001 SADCRhino Range States Meeting, a further 36 full projectproposals were considered. To date funding, totallingUSD 440,000, has been approved by the programmefor 33 projects involving 9 of the 10 SADC rangestates that are part of the programme. As one of fiveconsortium members, AfRSG has been primarilyplaying a technical role in the programme.

Encouragingly for the most part, official countryrepresentatives on AfRSG have been nominated asthe nationally identified focal points for the SADCrhino programme (who also attend SADC RhinoRange State meetings). This will enable continuityand good links to be maintained between the SADCprogramme and AfRSG.

A SADC Rhino Range States meeting was recentlyheld at KwaMaritane in Pilanesberg National Park 6–7March 2001. One of the major developments at thismeeting was the decision to form a new SADC RhinoRecovery Group (SADC-RRG). The meeting also de-cided that the existing southern African Rhino Man-agement Group should come in under the SADC um-brella as the SADC-RMG. Having two SADC rhinogroups will not only be cost effective but will alloweach to focus on issues most pertinent to it. The RhinoRecovery Group will concentrate on basic surveys,drawing up national plans, setting up and re-establish-


manière d’interpréter les données sur les contrôles. Cettequestion était particulièrement pertinente parce que lesperformances de la métapopulation sud-africaine ontdécliné ces dernières années. Au Zimbabwe et enNamibie aussi, certaines populations ont connu desrésultats moins bons que prévu. La réunion a doncdécidé qu’au vu de ces résultats, et comme la surveil-lance dure depuis une dizaine d’années, il fallaitorganiser un atelier pour passer en revue les stratégiesactuelles et leurs alternatives et faire desrecommandations pour maximaliser les performancesde la métapopulation, spécialement en ce qui concerneles prélèvements recommandés et les taux de densité.Cet atelier est deja tenu en dernière semaine de juillet àl’abri du programme de rhino de SADC. D’autres détailsseront donnés dans la prochaine issue de Pachyderm.

Le Programme Régional du SADCpour la Conservation des Rhinos

Le programme régional du SADC pour la Conserva-tion des Rhinos financé par l’Italie a été très actif pen-dant toute la période que nous passons en revue. Leprogramme a terminé toute une série de révisionsnationales détaillées dont il se sert pour identifier uncertain nombre de projets qui pourraient être financés.Le coordinateur du projet a aussi visité ces derniers moisdes agences pour les rhinos et des parcs au Botswana,au Malawi, au Mozambique, en Namibie, en Afriquedu Sud, au Swaziland, en Tanzanie et au Zimbabwe. Ala réunion du consortium du programme rhino duSADC, en octobre, on a étudié 72 propositions ou propo-sitions de concepts, et après la Réunion du SADC desEtats de l’Aire de répartition qui a eu lieu en mars 2001,36 nouvelles propositions définitives de projets ont étéétudiées. Actuellement, le programme a approuvé lefinancement, à hauteur de US$ 440.000, de 33 projetsimpliquant 9 des 10 Etats de l’aire de répartition duSADC qui font partie du programme. En tant qu’undes cinq membres du consortium, le GSRAf joueprincipalement un rôle technique dans le programme.

Fait très encourageant, les délégués nationauxofficiels du GSRAf ont été nominés pour être les pointsfocaux reconnus au niveau national pour le programmerhino du SADC (qui assiste aussi aux réunions du SADCdes Etats de l’Aire de Répartition des Rhinos). Ceci vapermettre d’assurer la continuité et de bons liens entrele programme du SADC et le GSRAf.

Une réunion du SADC des Etats de l’Aire deRépartition des Rhinos s’est tenue récemment à

9

ing rhinos in new sanctuaries, and developing capacityin rhino management; the Rhino Management Groupwill continue to be concerned with issues of ongoingmetapopulation management, monitoring, status report-ing and rhino use. The two groups will have some sharedmembership to facilitate exchange of ideas, and willlink up with AfRSG in the continent. This arrangementalso prevents duplication of work already being doneby AfRSG throughout Africa and the RMG in the re-gion.

The SADC programme is also providing techni-cal input towards evaluating and planning new andexisting areas in SADC range states (Botswana,Malawi, Zambia) where rhino populations are beingre-established or will be reintroduced within the nexttwo years. Expertise from the SADC region is alsobeing provided to Tanzania to assist with surveys andmonitoring of remnant populations of southern blackrhinos in the Selous Game Reserve.

The SADC programme has produced a new rhinodatabase, WILDb, currently being field tested. Aspreadsheet model and manual have also been pro-duced, which will enable ecologists to estimate blackrhino carrying capacities like the experts (see Notesfrom AfRSG for more information). The SADCprogramme also held a course in rhino identificationmonitoring techniques using the updated third ver-sion of the AfRSG course. The course was held atIthala Game Reserve 20–22 March, in which del-egates gained practical field experience. Delegatesfrom Botswana, Malawi, South Africa, Zambia andZimbabwe attended the course. Progress has also beenmade on completely revising and rewriting theRHINO population estimation software; and the nextversion of the software will be made available free ofcharge to both SADC and non-SADC rhino rangestates (such as Kenya) by October 2001. SADC fund-ing was used to facilitate the resuscitation and restruc-turing of the Rhino and Elephant Security Group inJune 2001. Revised terms of reference for the RESGwere produced at the meeting. Under the programme,a training manual on techniques for scene-of-the-crime investigation is to be produced and used in train-ing courses.

AfRSG ID training course updated

AfRSG has produced a third edition of the ID train-ing course for field rangers. Fifteen more sets havebeen produced, and this latest version of the course

10

KwaMaritane, dans le Parc National de Pilanesberg,les 6 et 7 mars 2001. Un des résultats les plus importantsde cette réunion fut la décision de créer un nouveauRhino Recovery Group (SADC-RRG). La réunion aaussi décidé que l’actuel Groupe de Gestion des Rhi-nos sud-africains devrait se ranger sous l’égide duSADC en tant que SADC-RMG. Le fait d’avoir deuxgroupes rhinos au sein du SADC sera non seulementplus économique, mais permettra aux deux groupes dese concentrer sur les questions qui leur sont plusappropriées. Le Rhino Recovery Group se concentrerasur les études de base, la conception des plans nationaux,l’attribution et la réinstallation des rhinos dans denouveaux sanctuaires et le développement des capacitéspour la gestion des rhinos. Le Rhino Management Groupcontinuera à s’intéresser aux questions relatives à lagestion de la métapopulation, aux contrôles, aux rap-ports sur le statut et à l’utilisation des rhinos. Les deuxgroupes partageront certains membres, ce qui faciliterales échanges d’idées et fera le lien avec le GSRAf danstout le continent. Ces dispositions empêcheront aussila répétition des travaux que le GSRAf fait déjà danstoute l’Afrique, et le RMG dans la région.

Le programme du SADC fournit aussi un apporttechnique en ce qui concerne l’évaluation et laprogrammation des zones existantes ou nouvelles dansles Etats du SADC (le Botswana, le Malawi et laZambie) où l’on est en train de reconstituer les popula-tions de rhinos, ou bien où on va les réintroduire aucours des deux prochaines années. L’expertise venantde la Région du SADC va aussi profiter à la Tanzanie,pour l’assister dans les recherches et le contrôle despopulations restantes de rhinos noirs du Sud, dans laRéserve de Faune de Selous.

Le programme du SADC a produit une nouvellebanque de données pour les rhinos, la WILDb, quel’on teste actuellement sur le terrain. Il a aussi produitun modèle de tableau et un manuel qui permettrontaux écologistes d’évaluer comme les experts lescapacités de charge pour les rhinos noirs (voir lesNotes du GSRAf pour de plus amples informations).Le programme du SADC a aussi donné un cours detechniques de contrôle d’ID des rhinos, en se servantde la troisième version, réactualisée, du cours duGSRAf. Le cours s’est donné à la Réserve de Fauned’Ithala du 20 au 22 mars, et les délégués ont pu ygagner une expérience pratique de terrain. Lesdélégués du Botswana, du Malawi, d’Afrique du Sud,de Zambie et du Zimbabwe ont assisté au cours. On aaussi progressé dans la révision et la réécriture


was used at the SADC training course on monitoringheld recently at Ithala Game Reserve. In addition tothe whole text being re-edited, the condition assess-ment module and posters have been extensively re-vised and an additional clean rhino module added. Afourth edition of the course will be produced incor-porating ideas for further improvement gained fromexperience gained as the course was given. AfRSG isalso investigating a cheaper and less labour-intensivemethod for making ear models.

Declining budgets

Despite all the recent encouraging developments,declining workforce and budgets for state conserva-tion agencies throughout Africa continues to presenta major challenge for rhino conservationists. Seenagainst this background, the targeted support of ap-propriate projects by donor agencies and NGOs isplaying an increasingly valuable role and is enhanc-ing existing field conservation efforts.

Acknowledgements

Once again, I would like to thank WWF-US andWWF-Denmark for partial support of the AfRSG sci-entific officer’s position and to WWF-South Africafor support of the AfRSG chair’s running expenses.Without this valued support, the AfRSG Secretariatcould not function.


complètes du logiciel sur l’estimation de populationRHINO ; la prochaine version du logiciel seradisponible gratuitement pour les Etats de l’aire derépartition des rhinos, qu’ils soient du SADC ou pas(comme le Kenya), en octobre 2001. Le financementdu SADC a servi à faciliter la résurrection et larestructuration du Groupe de Sécurité pour le Rhinoet l’Eléphant en juin 2001. Le mandat révisé pour leRESG a été fourni lors de la reunion. Dans le cadredu programme, on va produire un manuel de forma-tion aux techniques d’enquêtes sur « les lieux ducrime », qui servira dans les cours de formation.

Mise à jour du cours de formation IDdu GSRAf

Le GSRAf a produit une troisième édition du cours deformation ID pour les gardes de terrain. On en a produit15 sets supplémentaires, et cette dernière version a servipour le cours de formation du SADC sur les contrôles,qui s’est donné récemment à la Réserve de Fauned’Ithala. On a non seulement réédité tout le texte, maisaussi révisé en profondeur le module d’évaluation desconditions et les posters, et ajouté un module bien clairsur les rhinos. Une quatrième édition du coursincorporera les idées de nouvelles améliorations issuesde l’expérience acquise lorsque le cours a été donné.Le GSRAf cherche aussi une méthode meilleure marchéet plus aisée pour faire des modèles d’oreilles.

Budgets en baisse

Malgré les récentes évolutions intéressantes, la réductionde la main-d’œuvre et des budgets pour les agencesnationales de conservation dans toute l’Afrique continue àposer un grave défi à ceux qui veulent conserver les rhi-nos. Face à cet état de fait, le soutien bien ciblé desprojets appropriés par les organismes et les ONGdonateurs joue un rôle de plus en plus inestimable etencourage les actuels efforts de conservation sur le terrain.

Remerciements

Une fois encore, je voudrais remercier le WWF-USet le WWF-Danemark pour le support préférentielqu’ils accordent au poste de responsable scientifiquedu GSRAf et le WWF-South Africa qui aide à couvrirles frais de fonctionnement du président du GSRAf .Sans cette aide très appréciée, le secrétariat du GSRAfne pourrait pas fonctionner.

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Asian Rhino Specialist Group report

Mohd Khan bin Momin Khan, Chair/Président, with/avec Thomas J. Foose and/etNico van Strien, Programme Officers/Responsables de Programme

14000 International Road, Cumberland, OH 43732, USAemail: [email protected]

Indonesia

The Rhino Protection Units (RPUs) in Indonesia—Ujung Kulon National Park on Java; Way KambasNational Park, Bukit Barisan Selatan National Parkand Way Kambas National Park in Sumatra—con-tinue to operate despite the difficult situation in mostconservation areas. The current economic and politi-cal uncertainty in the country has a severe impact onthe natural resources and renders protection of habi-tat and wildlife extremely challenging. Encroachment,theft of forest produce and poaching are intensifying,and the ability of the conservation staff to countersuch activities is diminishing.

The situation with the Javan rhino in Ujung Kulonis stable; no rhino has been lost to poaching for sev-eral years. Yet the rhino population appears not to beincreasing, and in a large part of the park rhinos areless common than before. WWF is conducting re-search to identify possible reasons for this stagna-tion.

In Way Kambas National Park, rhinos have not yetbeen poached, but other forms of hunting, encroach-ment and other illegal activities are on the increase. Thenumber of RPUs will soon be increased from four tofive to enable them to cover the northern parts of thepark more intensively. The biggest poaching threat iscurrently from hunters that enter the park by boat alongthe river forming the park boundary in the north andalong the Wako River in the centre of the park.

Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park probably hasthe highest density of rhinos, and rhinos are now alsofrequently encountered at the periphery of the forest.Encroachment is severe, and significant parts of thepark are lost annually in illegal conversion to farm-land. The high density of the rhinos and the shrink-ing habitat render this population extremely vulner-able to poaching, and recently several rhino traps werediscovered and destroyed. One rhino was killed in a

12

Rapport du Groupe des Spécialistes des Rhinos d’Asie

Indonésie

Les Unités de Protection des Rhinos (RPU) enIndonésie, au Parc National d’Ujung Kulon, à Java,au Parc National de Way Kambas, à Sumatra,continuent à travailler malgré la situation difficile quiprévaut dans la plupart des aires de conservation. Lesincertitudes économiques et politiques que connaît lepays ont un impact sévère sur les ressources naturelleset font de la protection de l’habitat et de la faunesauvage un fameux défi . Les implantations sauvages,le vol de produits de la forêt et le braconnages’intensifient alors que les capacités du personnel dela conservation à contrer ces activités vont endiminuant. La situation du rhinocéros de Java à UjungKulon est stable ; on ne déplore aucune perte due aubraconnage depuis plusieurs années. Mais la popula-tion de rhinos ne semble pas augmenter, et dans unegrande partie du parc, les rhinos sont moins communsqu’avant. Le WWF est en train de réaliser une étudepour identifier les causes possibles de cette stagna-tion.

Dans le Parc National de Way Kambas, on n’a en-core braconné aucun rhino, mais d’autres formes dechasse, l’envahissement sauvage, et d’autres activitésillégales sont en augmentation. Le nombre de RPUpassera bientôt de 4 à 5 pour leur permettre de couvrirplus efficacement les parties nord du parc. La plusforte menace de braconnage provient des chasseursqui pénètrent dans le parc en bateau le long de la rivièrequi forme la limite du parc, au nord, et le long de larivière Wako, au centre du parc.

Le Parc National de Bukit Barisan Selatan abriteprobablement la plus forte densité de rhinos ; on enrencontre même souvent à la lisière de la forêt. Lesenvahissements sont graves, et des portionssignificatives du parc sont chaque année convertiesillégalement en terres de culture. La forte densité desrhinos et la réduction de leur habitat rendent cette


poacher’s snare, but the animal was discovered be-fore the poachers could collect the bounty. The poach-ers operate from a village near Kerinci Seblat, whererhinos have now been almost exterminated. The RPUpatrols may have to intensify to counter the increas-ing poaching pressure.

Kerinci Seblat National Park, where two decadesago probably a few hundred Sumatran rhinos wereliving, now has only a few surviving in a small partof the park in northern Bengkulu Province. Theserhinos are so widely dispersed that the sexes may nolonger be able to locate mates. The justification ofcontinued RPU activities in this park is under review.

The pair of Sumatran rhinos in the Sumatran RhinoSanctuary in Way Kambas is doing well. The inten-sity and the duration of courtship and mating activi-ties gradually increase each time the animals arepaired during the female oestrous. The couple has notyet completely copulated, but successful breeding isonly a matter of time as both animals, though inexpe-rienced, are healthy and obviously ready to reproduce.

Dusun, the other female in the Sumatran RhinoSanctuary, who was originally captured at SungaiDusun in Malaysia, died in February 2001 of a com-plex of chronic pathological conditions and old age.She had not manifested any reproductive activitiesfor many years and her condition would probably nothave permitted a pregnancy. The necropsy revealedmajor chronic defects in most internal organs, andthe wear on her dentition clearly indicated her oldage. Interestingly, an old lead bullet was found en-capsulated in the tip of one of her lungs.

Nepal

More rhinos have been translocated from Chitwan toBardia and further translocations are planned for laterthis year. A major stakeholders workshop was con-ducted in Kathmandu in April 2001 to advance de-velopment of a Terai Arc Ecosystem Program andTrust Fund.

Peninsula Malaysia

As reported in the last issue of Pachyderm, seriousefforts are in progress to intensify law enforcementin Taman Negara. A meeting of the RPU Coordinat-ing Committee in July 2001 was attended by the di-rector general, the deputy director for protection andthe rhino coordinator of the Department of Wildlife


population extrêmement vulnérable au braconnage,et on a récemment découvert plusieurs pièges à rhi-nos que l’on a détruits. Un rhino a été tué dans unlacet de braconnier, mais on a découvert l’animalavant que les braconniers puissent récolter leur butin.Les braconniers opèrent à partir d’un village près deKerinci Seblat, où les rhinos sont maintenantpratiquement exterminés. Les patrouilles des RPUdevraient peut-être s’intensifier pour contrer lacroissante pression du braconnage.

Le Parc National de Kerinci Seblat où, il y a deuxdécennies, plusieurs centaines de rhinos de Sumatravivaient sans doute, n’en héberge plus que quelques-uns dans une petite partie du parc, dans la provincede Bengkulu, au nord. Ces rhinos sont si dispersésque les animaux de chaque sexe pourraient devenirincapables de localiser un partenaire. On est en trainde revoir la justification de la poursuite des activitésdes RPU dans ce parc.

Le couple de rhinos de Sumatra dans le Sanctuairedes rhinos de Sumatra de Way Kambas se porte bien.L’intensité et la durée des activités de parade etd’accouplement augmentent progressivement, chaquefois que les deux animaux sont réunis quand la femelleest en chaleurs. Le couple n’a pas encore complètementterminé une copulation, mais la réussite de la repro-duction n’est qu’une affaire de temps puisque ces deuxanimaux, bien qu’inexpérimentés, sont en bonne santéet visiblement prêts à se reproduire.

Dusun, l’autre femelle du Sanctuaire des rhinosde Sumatra, qui avait été capturée à Sungai Dusun,en Malaisie, est morte en février 2001 d’un ensemblede complications pathologiques chroniques et devieillesse. Elle n’avait manifesté aucune activitéreproductrice depuis des années, et son état n’auraitsans doute pas permis une gestation. L’autopsie arévélé d’importants défauts chroniques dans la plupartdes organes internes, et l’usure de sa denture étaitune indication claire de son âge avancé. Il estintéressant de remarquer qu’on a trouvé une balleancienne en plomb logée à la pointe d’un poumon.

Népal

D’autres rhinos ont été déplacés de Chitwan versBardia, et l’on en prévoit encore pour plus tard dansl’année. Un atelier important des dépositaires a eulieu à Katmandou, en avril 2001, pour faire avancerla mise au point d’un Programme pour l’Ecosystèmede Terai Arc et un Fonds fiduciaire.

13

and National Parks as well as the superintendent ofTaman Negara, seven state wildlife directors, and theAsRSG chair. The park superintendent reported thatno evidence of poacher camps or activity had beendetected since the last meeting in April 2001, sug-gesting that the RPU patrols may be succeeding inpreventing the poachers from entering the park. How-ever, patrols along the border outside the park dis-covered fresh evidence of intended entry into it. Themain poachers in Taman Negara appear to be fromThailand. The RPU patrol discovered a message inThai, which led to significant amounts of concealedfoodstuffs. It appears the Thai poachers were pre-vented entry this time, but vigilance must be main-tained. Evidence of rhinos was detected in five dif-ferent areas of the park; there is also much evidenceof tiger, elephant, gaur, tapir and deer. The RPUs areprotecting all these species. Indeed, the Save the Ti-ger Fund has recently provided two vehicles and otherequipment to enhance the capability of the protec-tion units to interdict poaching of tigers and other largemammals as well as rhinos.

RPUs are also operating outside Taman Negara.The state of Pahang has three units, including one forthe border patrol of Taman Negara. Several areasoutside the park have been discovered to contain rhi-nos, including two females with calves. These areforest reserves and subject to logging. The situationis further exacerbated by local poachers (as differen-tiated from the Thai poachers in Taman Negara), in-cluding aborigines, who use traps mainly for pigs andother bush meat. The RPUs are destroying as manytraps as possible and are arresting people who areviolating the Wildlife Act. RPUs are also operatingin the states of Perak, Kelanatan and Johore.

The rhino breeding activities in Sungai Dusun havecontinued with great vigour despite limited success.Many more matings are now occurring, but no preg-nancies are resulting. Of the five females, several havepathological conditions, one so severe that she prob-ably will never be reproductive. The female that wasborn, but not bred, in captivity to a female that wascaptured pregnant (and is still at Sungai Dusun) hasdeveloped a fluid deposit in her uterus and her cycleshave stopped. Efforts are in progress to correct this situ-ation as soon as possible as this animal and her motherare the females with the best prospects of reproducing.Introductions are being guided by hormonal analysesin conjunction with managed introductions similar towhat has proved effective at Cincinnati.

14

Péninsule Malaise

Comme l’indiquait le dernier numéro de Pachyderm,on fait des efforts sérieux pour intensifier l’applicationde la juridiction à Taman Negara. Une réunion duComité de Coordination des RPU qui s’est tenue enjuillet 2001 a vu la participation : du directeur général,du directeur adjoint pour la protection, et ducoordinateur pour les rhinos du Département de la Fauneet des Parcs Nationaux, ainsi que du superintendant deTaman Negara, de sept directeurs nationaux pour lafaune et du président du GSRAs. Le superintendant duparc a rapporté que l’on n’avait détecté aucune trace decamps ou d’activités de braconniers depuis la réuniond’avril 2001, suggérant donc que les patrouilles de laRPU pourraient réussir à empêcher les braconniers depénétrer dans le parc. Cependant, des patrouilles faitesle long de la limite à l’extérieur du parc ont permis dedécouvrir des traces récentes de tentatives d’intrusiondans le parc. Les plus importants braconniers de TamanNegara semblent venir de Thaïlande. La patrouille dela RPU a découvert un message en thaï qui l’a conduiteà des quantités significatives de nourriture cachée. Ilsemble que cette fois on a empêché les braconniersd’entrer dans le parc, mais il faut rester vigilant. On adétecté des traces de rhinos dans cinq régions différentesdu parc ; on y trouve aussi beaucoup de traces de tigres,d’éléphants, de gaurs, de tapirs et de cerfs. Les RPUprotègent toutes ces espèces. En effet, le Save the TigerFund a récemment fourni deux véhicules et del’équipement pour augmenter la capacité des unités deprotection, afin d’empêcher le braconnage des tigres etdes autres grands mammifères aussi bien que des rhi-nos.

Les RPU travaillent aussi en dehors de TamanNegara. L’état de Pahang a trois unités, y compriscelle qui fait des patrouilles à la limite avec le TamanNegara. On a découvert que plusieurs régions situéesen dehors de Taman Negara abritaient des rhinos, ycompris deux femelles avec des petits. Ce sont desréserves forestières, soumises à l’exploitationcommerciale. Cette situation est encore aggravée parles braconniers locaux (différents des braconniersthaïs de Taman Negara), y compris les aborigènes,qui utilisent des pièges surtout pour les cochons etd’autres gibiers. Les RPU détruisent autant de piègesque possible, et arrêtent les gens qui violent le Wild-life Act. Les RPU travaillent aussi dans les états dePerak, de Kelanatan et de Johore.

Les activités de reproduction des rhinos de Sungai


Cincinnati Zoo

Emi is now in her 14th month of gestation and thefoetus appears to be very healthy. Hopes are high thatby the end of September, a calf will be born, the firstcaptive-bred birth of the current program—in fact,the calf will be the first Sumatran rhino conceivedand born in any zoo anywhere in over a century.

Asian Rhinos

Publication of Asian Rhinos has again been delayedbut work on it is progressing. In the meantime, de-velopments are reported on the AsRSG page of theIRF Website (www.rhinos-irf.org).


Dusun continuent avec beaucoup de vigueur, à défautde succès. Il y a maintenant beaucoup plusd’accouplements, mais il n’y a encore aucune femelleen gestation. Plusieurs des cinq femelles souffrentd’atteintes pathologiques, si sévères pour l’une d’ellesqu’elle ne sera sans doute jamais en mesure de sereproduire. La femelle qui était née en captivité d’unefemelle capturée pleine (qui est encore à SungaiDusun) a développé une accumulation de liquide dansl’utérus et ses cycles sont interrompus. On est occupéà essayer de corriger cette situation aussi vite quepossible parce que cet animal est, avec sa mère, lemeilleur espoir de reproduction. Les introductionssont régies par des analyses hormonales, enconjonction avec les introductions similaires qui sesont montrées efficaces au zoo de Cincinnati.

Le Zoo de Cincinnati

Emi en est maintenant à son 14 ème mois de gesta-tion et le foetus semble être en très bonne santé. Onespère fortement qu’à la fin de septembre, le petitsera né. Ce sera la première naissance en captivité;en fait, le petit sera le premier rhino de Sumatra conçuet né dans quelque zoo que ce soit en plus d’un siècle.

Asian Rhinos

La publication d’Asian Rhinos a encore été retardée,mais le travail avance. En attendant, on peut prendreconnaissance des développements sur la page duGSRAs du site IRF (www.rhinos-irf.org).

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Dear Sir,Recently while going through the pages of Pachy-derm no. 21 of 1996, I again looked at the photo ofthe Sumatran rhino published on p. 13. It looks like aJavan rhino with one horn (very clearly visible in thephoto) and lack of brownish hair on the body.

I would like to have your comments.

Anwaruddin Choudhury

It’s a common misperception that having two hornsand hair are good distinguishing characteristics forthe Sumatran rhino, as both characters are usually notvisible in the field or on low resolution pictures. Thesecond horn is normally only a knob above the eyesand, when the head is turned away as in the Pachy-derm picture, not visible. The hair in the wild is very
short, 1–2 cm in length except on theear fringes and tail tip, and Sumatranrhinos are usually covered in mud. Hairis therefore rarely visible in a wildrhino, and the ones in Way Kambas areparticularly shorthaired. The longshaggy hair that develops in zoos is anaberration caused by lack of mud wal-lows and thick vegetation.
The print in Pachyderm is clearly aSumatran rhino even though the sec-ond horn and the hair are not visible.The form of body and head, the folds,the skin structure and colour are muchbetter characteristics, but more difficultto quantify or describe. The body form,skin folds and skin structure of a Javanrhino are quite different.

It has happened several times in thepast that Sumatran rhinos were mis-identified as Javan rhinos because the‘report’ does not indicate a second hornor hair. In 1958 the great Grzimek pub-

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lished a picture of a Sumatran rhino walking on a plan-tation road in Malaysia as a Javan rhino, because thepicture does not show a second horn or hair. The firstrhino seen in Way Kambas in 1990 was also identifiedas being a Javan rhino because the guards that saw therhino reported only one horn, no hair, and ‘scales’ onthe body (most likely cracked mud). The rediscoveryof the Javan rhino on Sumatra, believed to have beenexterminated in the 1930s, was quickly published. Theseare only two examples, and there are many more caseswhere one should doubt the identification.

Also reports of large tracks have in the past beenreferred to Javan rhino without providing any furtherevidence. The form of the foot is quite distinct be-tween the two species, even in specimens of aboutthe same size, and from a clear picture, or better aplastercast, one usually can determine whether it’s aJavan rhino or an ‘overlapper’ of a Sumatran.

Great caution has to be taken with any report of‘single-horned’, ‘hairless’ or ‘large-footed’ rhinos.One needs to have a good picture, or a reliable sketchof the body and the body folds, or a good plastercastof a clear footprint before an identification can bemade.

Nico J. van Strienemail: [email protected]


RESEARCH AND REVIEW

First, do no harm: a precautionary recommendation regardingthe movement of black rhinos from overseas zoos back to Africa

Steven A. Osofsky,1* Donald E. Paglia,2 Robin W. Radcliffe,3 R. Eric Miller,4

Richard H. Emslie,5 Thomas J. Foose,6 Raoul du Toit7 and Mark W. Atkinson8

1 Director, Field Support, WWF-US Species Conservation Program1250 24th St. NW, Washington, DC 20037, USAemail: [email protected]

2 Hematology Research Laboratory, Dept. of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, UCLA School of Medicine10833 LeConte Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA

3 Director, Animal Health Services, Fossil Rim Wildlife Center2155 County Road 2008, Glen Rose, Texas 76043, USA

4 Director of Animal Health and Conservation, St. Louis Zoo, Forest Park1 Government Drive, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, USA

5 Scientific Officer, IUCN SSC African Rhino Specialist GroupPO Box 13053, Cascades 3202, Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, Republic of South Africa

6 Program Director, International Rhino Foundation20 Pen Mar Street, Waynesboro, Pennsylvania 17268, USA

7 Conservancy Project Executant, WWF-Southern Africa Regional Program OfficePO Box CY1409, Causeway, Zimbabwe

8 Director of Animal Health, The Wilds14000 International Road, Cumberland, Ohio 43732, USA

* corresponding author

Introduction

The international zoological community considers itimportant to maintain captive animals for a varietyof reasons, including the concept that a captive popu-lation may serve as a ‘safety net’ in the face of in situcrisis (Foose 1993; Emslie and Brooks 1999), as wellas a potential source of animals to re-establish or rein-force wild populations in the future.

With black rhinos managed in the wild as well asin overseas zoological parks, it would seem prudent,if not essential, to develop consensus on when it doesand when it does not make conservation sense foranimals to be moved from overseas captivity to pro-tected areas in Africa.


In our opinion, moving black rhinos from over-seas zoos to free-range settings in Africa can be con-sidered in the following three situations, but only af-ter both thorough disease risk and cost-benefit analy-ses have been specifically undertaken when any suchmovement is proposed.1) When introducing new genetic material is deemed

necessary for the recipient population’s long-termviability, such as for populations with limitedfounders. This presumes a reasonable knowledgebase about the history and genetic diversity of therecipient population and the genetic origins of theanimal or animals being considered for reintroduc-tion. This also presumes that the reintroduced ani-mals will breed effectively in the wild setting.

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OR2) If or when the captive population can contribute

biologically significant numbers to an area belowits estimated ecological carrying capacity, or to anarea within the species’ historic range but currentlydevoid of black rhinos. The reasons for the absenceof endemic animals must obviously have been dealtwith before a reintroduction is considered. Through‘compound growth’, early introduction of signifi-cant numbers of animals, particularly females, canlead to much faster population expansion, particu-larly in areas well below their ecological carryingcapacity. Generally, one would expect that wildsources of rhinos for such supplementation wouldbe fully utilized before overseas zoological sourceswould be considered.OR

3) When captive rhino reintroduction techniques needto be studied well in advance of actually applyingthem on any significant scale. By testing variousmethods (ideally using animals considered geneti-cally ‘surplus’ by the community managing cap-tive animals), the techniques may be refined, in-creasing the chances of successful reintroductionsif and when they are actually deemed to be a con-servation intervention of choice (see 1, 2 above)in any given locale. It should be noted that inter-mittent releases of animals that have been handreared in Africa for a variety of reasons offer op-portunities to evaluate different reintroduction tech-niques.While these three scenarios seem relatively

straightforward, many caveats are buried within theprerequisite disease risk and cost–benefit analyses—which must be recognized as two discrete processes.

Our primary objectives here are to point out someunique reintroduction risks related to the state of healthof black rhinos in captivity and to emphasize that theprudence of management activities with biologicalrisks can be properly assessed only in light of the ac-tual conservation benefits that are likely to accruebecause of such activities. A more general yet usefuloverview is provided by the ‘IUCN guidelines for re-introductions’ (IUCN 1998), and veterinary informa-tion in the IUCN Veterinary Specialist Group’s new‘Quarantine and health screening protocols for wild-life prior to translocation and release into the wild’(Woodford in press) may be of interest.

We further recognize that, beyond disease issues,crucial management and behavioural factors have an

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impact on the success of any rhino reintroduction pro-gram. Rhino managers in Africa, dealing with wildanimals, not zoo-born rhinos naïve to free-rangingconditions, have learned that for optimal transloca-tion results, large numbers of rhinos (ideally 20 ormore) should be moved into an understocked or va-cant protected area within a relatively short time. Thenumbers give any resident animals, particularly domi-nant bulls, less opportunity to assert themselves andinjure or kill newcomers (Brett 1998). Animals trans-located individually or in small groups tend to sufferhigher mortalities, usually because of encounters withresident males (Brett 1998). Techniques to acclima-tize and reintroduce captive-bred rhinos must ofcourse take these issues into account.

We also feel it is important to critically evaluatefinancial trade-offs when it comes to the relative costsof supplementing range areas with rhinos from over-seas zoos versus obtaining animals from other wildpopulations that are able to provide them. Finally, wenote that the animals being moved from overseas cap-tivity are of course exposed to an array of risks them-selves during any reintroduction process. It is notwithin the scope of this paper to discuss, for example,the heightened disease risks that the animals beingmoved from captivity to African protected areas mayface when exposed to what for them may be novelpathogens and parasites at their destination. Thisissue is also associated with various actual and po-tential costs (Wobeser 1994). Africa’s endemic dis-ease-causing organisms, including parasites, will ob-viously be novel to zoo-born animals. However, blackrhinos coming from captive settings will experiencedisease risks beyond those of their wild counterpartseven when faced with micro-organisms that wouldbe, under normal circumstances, unlikely patho-gens—if the rhinos carry with them iron loads sig-nificantly beyond normal (Weinberg 1974; Payne andFinkelstein 1978; Paglia and Dennis 1999; Weinberg1999). This issue is discussed below. ‘Normal’ ironloads are defined as those seen in wild black rhinosthat have never spent significant time in captivity.

Disease-risk assessment

Much has been written on disease risk assessmentand its implications in conservation decision-making,and we will not review this material here (see, forexample, Wolff and Seal 1993; Armstrong and Seal2000). Three primary sets of skills are needed to ad-


dress disease-risk concerns associated with movinganimals for conservation purposes: 1) disease biol-ogy as applied to animals being considered for move-ment and to any recipient populations, 2) data analy-sis and decision facilitation, and 3) communicationsfor accurately conveying risk-analysis results to de-cision-makers (Armstrong and Seal 2000). Armstrongand Seal (2000) also recognize that ‘a zero risk toler-ance philosophy does not meet the needs for decisionmaking in conservation programs’ and acknowledgethat ‘there is not a comprehensive agreed, unified,broadly applicable set of tools such as protocols,models, policies, guidelines to assist assessment ofdisease risk associated with needed animal movementdecisions’.

Anyone who has participated in thorough risk-as-sessment exercises knows that they are generally time-consuming and somewhat frustrating processes—usu-ally due more to what the participants do not knowthan related to what they do know. In short, disease-risk assessment is often, uncomfortable as it may seemto decision-makers trying to apply the results, a sub-jective interpretation of available information by thecollective expertise consulted. While computerizedmodelling exercises can be helpful and are alwaysbeing refined, the bottom line is that in all too manycases there is much we do not know about the rangeof diseases affecting or potentially affecting the spe-cies of interest, particularly in the wild. So we areforced to make decisions in the face of uncertainty inthe real world.

Disease and the captive black rhino

This leads us to the ‘first, do no harm’ precautionaryrecommendation in the case of the black rhino. Blackrhinos in captivity have suffered from an extraordi-nary range of syndromes that appear related to thefact that they are captive; these conditions are sel-dom, if ever, observed in the wild. Conditions includeacute episodic haemolytic anaemia, chronic non-haemolytic anaemia, superficial necrolytic dermat-opathy, haemosiderosis, haemochromatosis, centralnervous system degeneration (leukoencephalomala-cia), idiopathic and toxic hepatopathies, stress-in-duced sudden death, a haemorrhagic disease of themicrovasculature (idiopathic haemorrhagic vasculo-pathy syndrome), a noticeable susceptibility to fun-gal pneumonias and other infectious agents (Myco-bacterium, Salmonella, Leptospira), and other as yet


incompletely understood disorders (Miller 1993,1994; Paglia 1994; Lung et al. 1998; Munson et al.1998; Paglia and Dennis 1999; Murray et al. 2000;Paglia et al. 2001). In the absence of known causes,most of these disorders remain enigmatic, but accu-mulating evidence suggests that at least some may berelated to dietary management (Dierenfeld et al. 1995;Smith et al. 1995). More specifically, these condi-tions may be sequelae of diet-related iron overloadsthat develop progressively in captivity and appear toaffect only captive black and Sumatran rhinos, whichbrowse, and not captive white or Indian rhinos, whichgraze (Smith et al. 1995; Paglia and Dennis 1999;Paglia and Radcliffe 2000; Paglia et al. 2001). Fur-ther research, which is ongoing, is essential if we areever going to be able to better address the plethora ofbiomedical concerns outlined in this paper.

While we believe the basic problem of iron over-load in captivity is related to dietary factors, one ofthe primary consequences of iron overload in humansand quite likely in black rhinos is increased suscepti-bility to infectious diseases, or increased virulence ofmicro-organisms of all types in iron-overloaded hosts(Weinberg 1974; Payne and Finkelstein 1978; Pagliaand Dennis 1999; Weinberg 1999). In many instances,it appears as if the animals become immunocom-promised.

Two disease conditions in black rhinos merit par-ticular attention here: idiopathic haemorrhagicvasculopathy syndrome (IHVS), which may or maynot have an infectious aetiology, and tuberculosis—both Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the usual agent ofhuman TB, and Mycobacterium bovis, so-called bo-vine tuberculosis or BTB.

IHVS, first reported in 1995, presents clinically asan acute non-haemolytic anaemia owing to extensivehaemorrhage into skeletal musculature and subcuta-neous tissues, often associated with extensive swell-ing of soft tissues (for example, neck, shoulders, ex-tremities), respiratory stridor and dyspnea, laminitis,oronasal ulcers and stressful events (Lung et al. 1998;Murray et al. 2000). The clinical characteristics andunderlying pathology, a haemorrhagic microvascu-litis, are most consistent with an immune-complexdisorder of the type often initiated in humans and othermammals by infectious agents such as the strepto-cocci that have been isolated from about half of theaffected rhinos. Attempts to detect IgG and IgA im-mune complexes with rhino-specific reagents havethus far been unsuccessful, but the possibility of an

19

undetected infectious component remains. All but oneof the seven cases described (Murray et al. 2000) oc-curred in Texas, again perhaps hinting at an infectiousagent. Since we do not know what is causing or trig-gering IHVS, we obviously cannot test for it as part ofpre-shipment or quarantine screening protocols, nor canwe guess whether ‘it’ can be transmitted by arthropodsor other potential vectors.

Tuberculosis, for which there is as yet no com-pletely reliable antemortem diagnostic test in rhinos,can be caused by several types of mycobacteria, thestrains of which may or may not resemble those foundin places like South Africa’s Kruger National Park interms of pathogenicity, host predilections, drug-resistance profiles, and so on. While BTB is nowpresent in Kruger Park and several other protectedareas in Africa and affects a wide range of wildlifespecies, to our knowledge no confirmed cases havebeen reported in wild rhinos.

Meanwhile, bovine as well as human tuberculosishave been reported in African rhinos in overseas zoo-logical parks, as have M. avium and other paratuber-culous strains (Stetter et al. 1995). These cases haveoften eluded a variety of diagnostic techniques em-ployed while the animals were still alive. A black rhinowith minimal clinical signs other than weight loss,and harboring M. tuberculosis as eventually provenby nasal cultures and PCR amplification, had 17 nega-tive cultures over a 12-month period, including onespecimen obtained endoscopically, yet recently diedwith extensive necrotizing granulomatous pneumo-nia. It is unclear whether this represents an exampleof enhanced TB virulence in an iron-loaded host orsimply reflects a general tendency for rhinos to sup-press outward signs of weakness or vulnerability, al-most regardless of the extent of underlying disease.The zoological community is now at a heightenedstate of alert regarding tuberculosis, not only becauseof cases in rhinos, but perhaps more so because ofthe number of cases being recognized in captiveelephants over the past few years (Mikota et al. 2000).It is also important to note that tuberculosis is azoonotic disease, meaning it can be transmitted notonly among animals but back and forth between ani-mals and people, an obvious public health concernfor zoos and the agencies that regulate them(Dalovisio et al. 1992).

Excess iron in captive black rhinos may well be amajor factor contributing to enhanced susceptibilityto a wide range of infectious agents, all of which are

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dependent on host iron for replication and metabo-lism. Recent reviews of iron overload and its rela-tionship to a wide variety of human diseases, includ-ing infections, note that nearly 50 microbial genera,including Mycobacterium, contain strains that aremore pathogenic in iron-loaded hosts (Moyo et al.1997; Weinberg 1999).

One might ask whether excess iron will dissipateonce a captive black rhino is reintroduced to Africa.Unfortunately, mammals lack any effective physi-ological mechanisms for excreting such excess iron.Judging both by necropsy pathology and by quanti-tative serum and tissue assays, black rhinos born inor recently brought into captivity have normal ironstores, but these stores begin rising progressively withtime in captivity and can increase 10-fold in threeyears or even less. Longer periods in captivity canresult in adult rhinos with iron loads 100-fold orgreater than normal.

In the absence of excretory mechanisms, simpleinterdiction of additional uptake, such as by releaseinto a natural habitat with a presumably normal diet,unfortunately would not affect excessive iron burdensthat the animals would carry from captivity into thewild. These burdens could be modified only by ac-tive intervention involving physical removal: 1) bypharmacological chelators, which are used in humanswith haemochromatosis but which would be prohibi-tively expensive in rhinos, or 2) by repetitive phle-botomies, or controlled bleedings, which would bepractical only in very tractable, tolerant and chute-trained animals. It seems reasonable to conclude that,for a variety of reasons, if there are scenarios in whichit makes conservation sense to reintroduce black rhi-nos from captivity to the wild, younger animals wouldgenerally be more sensible candidates than animalsthat have been captive for many years. The question‘How many years is too many?’ merits further analy-sis.

In short, even if we employ excellent screeningand quarantine procedures for both sending and re-ceiving black rhinos for reintroduction, we run therisk of a captive rhino appearing completely healthyand still serving as a Trojan horse for a strain of TBor BTB or another infectious agent not previouslyseen in rhinos in Africa. Can we quantify this risk?No. Is there less risk if we move captive rhinos intolocales within the historic range of the species butcurrently devoid of endemic rhinos? Yes, particularlyover the short term. All of these issues point to the


obvious fact that we must put more thought intoanalysing the conservation benefits of any such pro-posed reintroduction before it is undertaken. This typeof management intervention is not a trivial one.Should we bring zoo black rhinos into continentallykey or important wild black rhino populations? Givenour incomplete understanding of the true nature ofmany of the disorders affecting captive black rhinosand of the mechanisms involved, we would stronglyargue that, at the present time, we should not.

Discussion and recommendations

Disease risks should be assessed case by case in lightof specific anticipated conservation benefits beforeany black rhino reintroductions from zoos are under-taken. All other things being equal, younger (withinreason) captive animals are in general likely to poselower disease risks to any recipient population of con-specifics than older animals from captive settings.Hypothetically, it might make sense to move a par-ticular animal from an overseas zoo to a small, iso-lated reserve for black rhino restoration or as part ofa program to develop better captive black rhino rein-troduction methods. It would be ill advised to movethat same animal into a continentally key or impor-tant black rhino population. Of course, either way,subsequent movements of animals within Africa couldresult in any given animal from a captive facility, orthe pathogens it brought with it and then passed onto vectors or to other conspecifics, or both, eventu-ally ending up somewhere else. This is an issue thatIUCN AfRSG and the SADC Rhino Program shouldconsider as they assemble guidelines regarding themovement of rhinos within Africa.

We acknowledge that the available information re-garding disease incidence and prevalence in wild Afri-can rhino populations still has many gaps. We recog-nize, for example, that the bovine tuberculosis alreadypresent in ecosystems important to African rhinos re-mains a concern meriting further research. AfRSG andSADC will of course consider diseases and vectors al-ready known to be present in different parts of Africaas they develop their translocation guidelines. The needfor thorough disease risk assessments before wild rhi-nos are moved within Africa is an extremely importanttopic, but is beyond the scope of this paper.

Cost effectiveness must be assessed for any blackrhino supplementation plan. A comparative overviewof the cost effectiveness of in situ versus ex situ black


rhino conservation programs, using costs per rhinoas a measure, suggests that conservation in the wildhas been more cost effective than overseas captivebreeding (Currie unpubl.). Add to any overseas zoo-to-Africa black rhino reintroduction project the vari-ous costs associated with quarantine on shipping andreceiving ends, transportation, and infrastructure andstaff time associated with an acclimatization processlikely to require months to years for a zoo rhino tosuccessfully adapt to a plethora of ‘lifestyle differ-ences’ in its new home, and one is faced with thereality that such operations are quite expensive com-pared with the sourcing of rhinos within Africa when-ever biologically and politically possible. (Moveswithin Africa, however, should of course be accom-panied by some of the same precautionary proce-dures.) Again, this reality emphasizes the need tocarefully evaluate the real conservation benefits an-ticipated from such a zoo-to-wild exercise beforeproceeding. For the foreseeable future, it does seemlikely that supplementing from stock within Africawill generally be lower in cost than importing rhinosfrom overseas zoos.

The demand for captive animals for restocking wildareas will likely be largely a function of the numberof surplus wild black rhinos that are available, whichhas been limited in recent years. However, there ap-pears to be a growing number of wild populationsacross several rhino range states wherein populationperformance seems to have declined as rhino densi-ties have grown closer to estimated longer-term eco-logical carrying capacities. A number of these popu-lations are showing such classic signs of density-dependent reduction in reproductive performance aslong intercalving intervals, low ratios of calves (ani-mals < 3.5 years old) to adult females and lower popu-lation growth rates. Given the growing number ofpotential donor populations in Africa and the fact thatimproved biological management to maintain highmetapopulation growth rates is a key component ofmost national black rhino management plans, the den-sities of many of these currently suboptimally per-forming populations may be actively reduced by cap-ture and translocation as wildlife officials attempt toincrease overall reproductive performance. Hopefully,more wild black rhinos will thus become availablefor restocking.

Finally, while it is not a primary subject of thispaper, we want to acknowledge that rhinos in over-seas captive facilities have usually been secured

21

through formal international agreements with the sup-plying range countries. The legal ownership and dis-position issues surrounding wild-caught zoo rhinosas well as their progeny need to be understood andrespected as the types of movements discussed in thispaper are contemplated.

Acknowledgement

The authors thank Holly Dublin for encouraging apaper on this topic and for her helpful comments on adraft of the manuscript.

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23

Status and trends of the ivory trade in Africa, 1989–1999

Daniel Stiles1 and Esmond Bradley Martin2

1 P.O. Box 5159, Diani Beach, Kenyaemail: [email protected]

2 P.O. Box 15510, Nairobi, Kenyaemail: [email protected]

AbstractMajor surveys of 22 cities in 15 African countries found over 100,000 elephant ivory items for retail sale inthe late 1990s. In all countries except Egypt, Gabon and Sudan, this domestic trade is mostly legal. The citieswith the largest number of pieces were Abidjan (20,114), Harare (19,958) and Cairo (11,627). The mainbuyers of African ivory pieces are foreign tourists (mostly from France, Italy and Spain), Chinese and Koreanworkers and businessmen, French military and their families, United Nations officials, and national diplo-mats. Except for Zimbabwe, the export of all those ivory commodities is illegal.

There is a significant illicit movement of raw ivory (tusks) within Africa, especially from central to WestAfrica for the local carving industries. Tusks are the cheapest in the Democratic Republic of Congo, theCentral African Republic, Cameroon and Mozambique, where there are still relatively large populations ofelephants, and there is little law enforcement. Prices vary for tusks from USD 14/kg in Maputo in Mozambiqueto over USD 100 in Dakar in Senegal for a tusk weighing 1–5 kg. There is also an illegal trade in tusks off thecontinent, mostly to China, but also to South Korea and other countries in eastern Asia.

Compared with 1988 the prices for most retail ivory items have decreased in many parts of Africa as a result ofthe decline in demand (that is, the absence of buyers) and the devaluation of local currencies. There has also beena sharp decline in the price of the tusks in most places. Since the 1990 CITES ban on the international trade inAfrican elephant ivory, the only surveyed African city having an increase in retail sales is Lagos in Nigeria. Sincethe mid-1990s, there has been an expansion in retail sales in Abidjan in Cote d’Ivoire.

ResumeDes recherches importantes réalisées dans 22 villes de 15 pays africains ont permis de trouver plus de 100.000objets en ivoire d’éléphant à vendre à la fin des années 1990. Dans tous les pays, sauf l’Égypte, le Gabon et leSoudan, ce commerce intérieur est le plus souvent légal. Les villes où l’on a trouvé le plus grand nombre d’objetsétaient Abidjan (20.114), Harare (19.958) et Le Caire (11.627). Les acheteurs principaux d’objets africains enivoire sont des touristes étrangers (surtout de France, d’Italie et d’Espagne), des travailleurs et des hommesd’affaires chinois et coréens, les militaires français et leur famille, les employés des Nations unies et les diplo-mates locaux. L’exportation des articles en ivoire est interdite dans tous les pays sauf au Zimbabwe.

Il existe un trafic illégal significatif d’ivoire brut (défenses) en Afrique, spécialement d’Afrique centrale etoccidentale vers les industries de sculpture locales. Les défenses les moins chères se trouvent en RépubliqueDémocratique du Congo, en République centrafricaine, au Cameroun et au Mozambique, où les populationsd’éléphants sont encore relativement importantes et où les lois sont peu appliquées. Le prix des défenses variede USD 14 le kilo à Maputo, au Mozambique, à plus de USD 100 à Dakar, au Sénégal, pour une défense quipèse entre 1 et 5 kilos. Il existe aussi un trafic illégal en dehors du continent, surtout vers la Chine, mais aussivers la Corée du Sud et d’autres pays d’Extrême-Orient.

Lorsqu’on les compare avec ceux de 1988, les prix de la plupart des objets en ivoire ont baissé dans denombreuses régions d’Afrique, suite à la diminution de la demande (c.-à-d., l’absence d’acheteurs) et ladévaluation des monnaies locales. Il y a aussi souvent une forte diminution du prix des défenses. Depuis leban imposé par la CITES en 1990 sur le commerce international de l’ivoire d’éléphant africain, la seule villeafricaine visitée où l’on a constaté une augmentation des ventes au détail est Lagos, au Nigeria. Depuis lemilieu des années ’90, il y a une augmentation des ventes au détail à Abidjan, en Côte d’Ivoire.

24 Pachyderm No 30 January–June 2001

Introduction

The surveys on the domestic trade in ivory, carriedout in 22 cities within 15 countries of Africa, were toestablish baseline data on various indicators of theivory trade from which to assess the current statusand future trends. Something can also be said aboutthe trend in demand for worked and raw ivory in Af-rica from comparing the results of this study with datacontained in previous reports, beginning in 1989, theyear CITES agreed to establish the ban on the inter-national trade in African elephant ivory. It is widelyagreed that the CITES ban, which started in 1990,and the associated publicity campaign greatly reducedthe volume of trade and demand for ivory. Thisachieved its intended result of decreasing the poach-ing of elephants (Dublin and Jachmann 1992, Dublinet al. 1995), at least until recently.

This study was made more urgent by the 1997CITES decision to transfer some southern Africanelephant populations to Appendix II and permit asingle experimental quota and auction of governmentivory stocks for export to Japan (Gray 1997). Theseauctions were held in April 1999 in Zimbabwe,Botswana and Namibia and 49,735 kg of ivory weresold to Japanese dealers at an average price of USD103/kg (JWCS 2000). Some have argued, based oninformation from vendors, that the Appendix trans-fer stimulated poaching in anticipation of the easingof the ban (JWCS 2000, EIA 2000, AWI 2000, Kantai2000). Elephant poaching was possibly also stimu-lated by the proposals made to CITES 2000 in Nairobiby South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibiato sell limited quantities of ivory again to Japan, ac-cording to people in the ivory carving industry inter-viewed in southern Africa.

There are few hard data with which to assess theeffects of the 1999 auctions and any future ivory sales.The results of this study show that there have beensigns of a recent increase in demand in some parts ofAfrica, but we cannot conclude that the auctionsstimulated this demand because information from the1996–1998 period is not complete enough. This studycan be used to assess changes in future in the ivorytrade in Africa in response to any renewed legal in-ternational ivory trade, as now the baseline of data ismuch more solid. This study should be repeated be-fore the CITES Conference of the Parties in 2005 toprovide necessary information to the delegates on thestatus and trends of the trade at that time to assist


their making a decision about whether to permit re-newed ivory sales, if requested by a party state.

Save the Elephants, a conservation organizationbased in the United Kingdom and Kenya, sponsoredthe 1999 survey, but the authors arrived at the resultsindependently, and we take full responsibility for thefindings and conclusions of the study. Further detailscan be found in Martin and Stiles (2000), althoughwe have revised certain interpretations and conclu-sions in this article.

Methods

The 15 countries selected for the surveys are the mostactive in Africa for domestic ivory sales. The Repub-lic of the Congo and Angola reportedly have moder-ate domestic markets, but they could not be visitedbecause of insecurity. Selected data are used fromMadzou and Moukassa (1996) for the Republic ofthe Congo, however. Thirteen of the countries werevisited between May and November 1999, with re-sults of the work given in this paper; Egypt and Sudanwere surveyed in 1997 and 1998 by one of us (Mar-tin 1998, 2000) and are referred to in the tables andthe conclusion. Martin covered north-eastern andsouthern Africa while Stiles visited central and WestAfrica. We visited the capitals of each country, andin some cases other centres of the ivory trade, buttime and money constrained a comprehensive surveyas the final report needed to be ready before the 2000Conference of the Parties of CITES.

We each visited as many retail outlets and ivory-carving workshops in each city as we could find in thetime available. We then counted every piece seen, ob-tained representative retail asking prices and the priceof raw ivory the workshops paid to middlemen by tuskweight categories, asked about ivory turnover measuredby value and weight in both retail outlets and work-shops, counted the number of craftsmen, tried to deter-mine their incomes, and asked about past conditions ofall of these indicators back to the 1989 pre-CITES banperiod. We have also used the results of previous stud-ies in this paper and in tables 1–4. In several places, weengaged in bargaining to assess what the actual goingprices for selected worked types would be.

Obtaining good data presented many difficulties.Vendors and craftsmen were often wary and suspicious,particularly in countries in which illegal ivory was be-ing used, but they gave consistent data. The politicaland security situation in some countries also made work

25

demanding. Occasionally we did not have time to countevery piece and had to make estimates. Nevertheless,we collected sufficient information to present a fairlyclear picture of the current status of the ivory trade.

Stiles estimated the weights of the pieces he saw.All ivory items were categorized by type and size,for example, bust 10–20 cm, 20–30 cm, and so on;animal 10–20 cm, 20–30 cm, and so on. The methodwas to pick up a representative piece and assess itsweight, then multiply by the number in each categoryand add up the total weight for each outlet. Estimatedweights were checked with craftsmen as a guide.Since the Martin and Stiles (2000) report has beenpublished, the Madzou and Moukassa (1996) reporthas been obtained. This report published detailed de-scriptions and photographs of ivory types inBrazzaville, including the weights obtained by actualscale weighing, which confirmed that the estimatesStiles made were within 10% of the actual weights.

Results

Central Africa’s legal position for the tradein ivory

CAMEROON

Selling worked ivory under permit is legal inCameroon and raw ivory can be possessed, trans-ported and traded internally provided it has a Certifi-cate of Origin issued by the government and it is reg-istered and marked (Dublin et al. 1995). Cameroonjoined CITES in 1981. Sport hunting is legal every-
where in the country except for thefar north, but elephants with tuskssmaller than 10.1 kg are protected.
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

Internal ivory sales are legal in Cen-tral African Republic (CAR) if theivory is certified by the governmentas either found or confiscated andthen sold under licence to users. Inpractice, however, vendors said thatthe government sells no ivory underlicence. All raw ivory obtained andused by carvers in Bangui is there-fore illegal, obtained from poachedelephants or from government per-sonnel through corruption. An audit

26

of government-declared ivory stocks in Africa thatTRAFFIC reported to CITES in February 1998 revealedthat CAR declared 886.2 kg but TRAFFIC found only121.8 kg at around the same time. CAR joined CITESin 1980. Sport hunting is openly carried out in CAR, inspite of a hunting ban made in 1985 (ELC 1987).

CHAD

Chad joined CITES in 1989. The sale of carved ivorywithin the country is legal. Hunting was made illegalin the country in 1999 by presidential decree, exceptin authorized sites for private investors.

REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

Elephant hunting in the Republic of the Congo wasbanned in 1991 and the possession of tusks or otherelephant products must be declared to the govern-ment within three months. It is legal to sell workedivory, but the ivory must be marked by the Ministryof Water and Forests and vendors must keep recordsof purchases and sales. The Republic of the Congojoined CITES in 1983. (This information is fromMadzou and Moukassa 1996.)

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC, formerlyZaire) joined CITES in 1976. Commercial ivory ex-ports have been banned since 1980 (Caldwell andBarzdo 1985) and elephant trophy hunting was bannedin 1984 (Caldwell 1987). Selling worked ivory is ap-

A potential customer shops for ivory in the Lagos Ilasan art market.


parently legal as it is sold openly in various places inthe capital, and one section of the central craft mar-ket is reserved for ivory. Kinshasa was the only placesurveyed, as the civil war was going on when Stilesvisited the country in June 1999.

GABON

It is illegal to kill elephants, transport raw ivory orsell worked ivory in Gabon (ELC 1987), thus there islittle openly displayed. Gabon joined CITES in 1989.

Retail sales of worked ivory in centralAfrica

In the five countries of central Africa that Stiles sur-veyed, he visited 129 retail shops and 23 workshops.More than 14,000 worked ivory pieces weighing a


minimum total of 1,430 kg (table 1) were seen. Theamount of worked ivory displayed has decreased since1989 according to the data in the places where theyare available (Allaway 1989a,b,c), from 2230 kgfound in Gabon’s capital, Libreville, and in Doualaand Yaounde in Cameroon to 698 in 1999. The num-ber of outlets where ivory is sold has also been re-duced, and there are fewer workshops in 1999 thanthere were in 1989 (table 2). Nevertheless, Doualawas still the third most active retail ivory market seenin central and West Africa in 1999, after Abidjan andLagos.

The only place where the sale of worked ivorycould be calculated was the Bikeko market inKinshasa in DRC. Retail sales have plummeted sincethe CITES ban in 1990, but Stiles calculated a figureof about 1600 kg a month of ivory worked in 1999,

Table 1. Indicators of the ivory trade and prices for raw ivory, mostly as of 1999

City Retail Workshops Craftsmen Raw prices (USD) Min. no. Weightoutlets visited items (kg)

< 1 kg 1–5 kg > 5 kg

Dakar 30 2 4 – 100–120? – 4338 407Abidjan 52 14 + 1?* 97 + 10?* 4 41–58 65–80 20114 2748Lagos 40 5 + 1?* 33 + 10?* < 50 46–50 50 5966 1742N’Djamena 24 0 0 – – – 1000+ 33+Douala 28 7 + 6?* 32 + 12?* < 27 27–30 30–50 4891 510Yaounde 15 1?* 6?* < 30 38 38–50 1124 144Libreville 8 0 0 < 30 30 42 462 44Bangui 26 3 12 + 10?* < 15 15–20 20–25 2219 211Kinshasa 28 13 116 30 30–50 > 50 4324 485Brazzaville 1995 – – – – 4–9 8–20 – –Djibouti-ville 18 0 0 – 68 – 453 –Addis Ababa 54 4 + 2?* 10–20 28 37 53 9996 –Cairo – – – – 80 137 – –Cairo 1998 88 6 + 4?* 100 34 62 98 11627 –Luxor 1998 33 0 + 1* < 12 – – – 6445 –Aswan 1998 21 0 0 – – – 3388 –Omdurman &Khartoum 1997 34 3 < 20 15 44 – 1500–3000 –Harare 23 1 + 6* 30 8 12 17 19958 –Victoria Falls 10 0 0 – – – 517 –Johannesburg 20 0 0 – – – 1361 –Cape Town 33 0 0 – – – 2036 –Durban 20 0 + 1* 1–3 – – – 3989 –Maputo 52 8 +? * 100 – 14 28 3619 –Totals 657 67 + 22?* 573–585 + 42?* 109327–110827

* Workshops and craftsmen told about but not visited.– no data

27

Table 2. Comparisons of ivory trade indicators and raw ivory prices for 1983 or 1989 and 1999

CITY Price for pieces > 1 kg Outlets (no.)* Workshops (no.) Quantity for sale (kg)(USD/kg)

1989 1999 1989 1999 1989 1999 1989 1999

Abidjan – 40–80 56–61 37 12 15 4880 2748Lagos 14–29 46–50 34 35 – 6 1081.5 1742Douala 65–81 27–50 ~ 50 21 > 3 > 7 880 510Yaounde – 38–50 15 14 – 1? 610 144Libreville 45–65 30–42 > 48 ~ 10 > 9 0? 740 44Kinshasa 40–50 30–50 – 30 21 13 – 485Harare 105 16 – – – 7 – –Johannesburg – – – – 2+a 0 – –Cape Town – – – – 2+a 0 – –

* non-workshop outlets– no dataa 1983 data

or 19.2 tonnes a year, which should be considered arough estimate. Of this amount, approximately 1200kg of worked ivory per month is exported, taking intoaccount 20% carving waste (Martin and Stiles 2000).Stiles estimated the 1996–1998 amount to be 1300kg being sold at the Bikeko market, leaving a bal-ance of about 1600 to 1900 kg a month for exportbefore the rebellion. De Meulenaer and Meredith(1989) estimated that Kinshasa factories processed 5to 10 tonnes of raw ivory in 1989; thus it appears thativory consumption has at least doubled since then,although it is still considerably below the estimated60 to 70 tonnes that were consumed in 1988.

Although the data from 1989 are not detailedenough (Allaway 1989a,b,c), it appears that retailprices are slightly less today than in 1989 in absolute

28

terms (table 3). If inflation is taken into account, re-tail prices are considerably lower in 1999.

The buyers of worked ivory in central Africa varysomewhat from country to country, but the main onesappear to be French, Italian and Spanish among theEuropeans, and Chinese, Korean and Japanese fromAsia. They are diplomats, UN personnel, business-men, missionaries and military (French). Tourists buya small amount. Italians and Spanish ship workedivory to their countries by air, and African traders takeivory to these countries to sell in street markets. Blankname seals (hankos) are popular with many easternAsians.

Table 3. Average retail price comparisons for selected central and West African cities, 1989–1999

Lagos (USD ) Libreville (USD ) Douala & Yaounde (USD )

Item 1989 1999 1989 1999 1989 1999

Necklace, large 20.95 8–35 32.40 13.10–36.10 32.40–48.40 12.30–41Bracelet < 1 cm 11.40 4–15 16.10 9.80–13.10 12.60–14.50 4.90–9.80Bracelet > 2.5 cm 28.60 5–50 45.20 19.70 19.35–48.40 9.80–41Earrings 2.90–5.70 0.50–10 3.20–9.70 1.60 6.45–9.70 1.60–8.20Human figure 10–20 cm 210 25–150 – 24.60 113 41–164Human figure 30–40 cm 476 40–400 194 32.80–82 226 57.40–98.40Animal 20–30 cm – 25–250 80.65–135 49.20–65.60 194 131–246Carved tusk 50 cm – 50–300 565 – 194 148–557

USD 1 = 310 CFA and 10.5 Nigerian naira in 1989– no data

The data presented here for the Republic of theCongo are from 1994–1995 (Madzou and Moukassa1996). Worked ivory is sold in Brazzaville mainly at


Brooch, small 8 3– no data

the Plateau market, at the Sofitel and Meridien ho-tels, at the Score supermarket, in front of the mainpost office, and at the Maya-Maya airport. The Pla-teau market has nine tables that display ivory, but noinformation was given by Madzou and Moukassa onthe other outlets. Ivory weights were given for onlyfour tables at the Plateau market. They vary from aminimum of 3 kg to a maximum of 70 kg at eachtable. The quantities vary by season in response todemand. The average price of all categories forworked ivory was USD 100/kg (350 CFA francs =USD 1). The four sample ivory tables earned a com-bined annual income of USD 83,759, with a range ofUSD 40,706 down to USD 1065. The four tables solda total of 859.3 kg of worked ivory over the course ofa year, with a range of 476.6 to 8.3 kg.

The main buyers were Congolese (24%), French(24%), Senegalese (13.7%), Chinese (7.9%), Italians(5.8%) and Russians (5.2%), but in quantity purchasedthe order was Senegalese merchants first, then French


military and diplomats, followed by Chinese, Ital-ians and Russians about equal.

Table 4. Price comparison of selected worked ivory pieces in north-eastern and southern Africa, 1983 or1993 and 1999

Addis Ababa (USD ) Harare (USD ) Johannesburg (USD )

Item 1993 1999 Item 1983 1999 Item 1983 1999

Comb 11 cm 30 19 Animal 2.5 cm 7 2.43 Necklace, beaded 60 30Pipe 11–20 cm 71 25 Animal 4 cm 18 3 Lighter 45 40Female bust 12 cm 121 81 Key chain 4–8 1.76 Napkin rings, 6 45 40Bangle 7 mm 8 4 Bangle 7 mm 10 – Bangle 1.25 cm 45 40

Raw ivory prices in central Africa

Raw ivory prices had been rising over the past two years(1997–1999) and by mid-1999 seemed to be in flux.The reason given was that the war in DRC was cuttingoff ivory supplies. Bangui in CAR was definitely thecheapest place, where < 1 kg tusks cost less than USD15/kg depending on size and quality, and mid-rangetusks (1–5 kg) went for USD 15–20/kg. Larger tusks,rare these days in CAR, still cost only USD 20–25/kgbecause of the low demand. Similar tusks in Cameroonand elsewhere ranged at USD 25–50/kg (table 1). Priceswere considerably higher in 1989 before the CITESban everywhere except Lagos (table 2), where priceshave risen to USD 50/kg for large tusks. An informantfrom Bukavu in eastern DRC, encountered in Kenyain October 1999, said that raw ivory was plentiful in

eastern DRC. The price wasUSD 20/kg, and it could besmuggled into Kenya hidden intrucks with imports of crafts.Raw ivory from eastern DRC iscurrently being smuggled intoKampala in Uganda and ex-ported to Hong Kong by a localcraft dealer (Thomas Price, wild-life trader, pers. comm., October1999).

A typical ivory stall in the Ilasan art market outside Lagos, Nigeria.

The prices in the Republic ofthe Congo in 1995 seem very low(Madzou and Moukassa 1996),but they support informant state-ments in this study about recentprice rises. Tusks less than 5 kgsold at USD 4.29–8.57/kg, de-

29

pending on quality, and 5–10-kg tusks cost from USD8 to more than USD 20/kg (350 CFA = USD 1).Meredith (1989) found that raw ivory in Brazzavillecost USD 16.66–26.66/kg for tusks less than 5 kg andUSD 26.66–30/kg for 5–10 kg tusks in 1989, belowother central African prices at that time (table 2).

Abidjan, Ivory Coast, not only displayed the mostworked ivory of any city visited in the entire study,but the carving styles were also the most varied.

Ivory workshops in central Africa

Stiles visited 23 workshops in central Africa, althoughthere were probably others that could not be foundbecause informants either would not reveal their lo-cation, or if they did, would not agree to take the in-vestigator to them. None of the workshops had largeivory stockpiles, and all of the craftsmen complainedof a severe ivory shortage caused by the DRC war.Wood, bone, or hippo or pig tusks are replacing ivoryin Bangui, Kinshasa and Libreville, althoughCameroon still has adequate ivory supplies. Some fac-tories in Douala also manufacture fake ivory antiques,which is a growing business.

30

The workshops sell much of their output to ven-dors at the local craft centres and hotels, but residentEuropeans and Asians also come directly to the work-shops to buy it. Senegalese and Nigerian traders usedto come to Kinshasa and Bangui to buy both raw andworked ivory to take out with them, but few do todaybecause of limited supplies. Douala workshops stillget quite a few foreign traders coming to buy for ex-port, although Yaounde seems much less involved.

West Africa’s legal position for the trade inivory

CÔTE D’IVOIRE

Côte d’Ivoire has a ban on hunting elephants, and on7 March 1997 the government banned all domestictrade in ivory tusks and called for strict controls tostop the smuggling of tusks into and out of the coun-try (Anon. 1997). However, it is legal to possess andsell worked ivory in the country. Côte d’Ivoire joinedCITES in 1994.

NIGERIA

It appears that the internal trade in both raw andworked ivory is permitted as long as documentationis obtained from the relevant authorities and that theivory originates from ‘mature’ elephants, although nodefinition is provided as to what constitutes a matureelephant (ELC 1987, Allaway 1989c, Dublin et al.1995). Mature elephants can be hunted under licencein northern Nigeria (Dublin et al., 1995). Nigeriajoined CITES in 1975.

SENEGAL

Worked ivory is legally sold in Senegal, but elephanthunting is illegal (ELC, 1987). Senegal joined CITESin 1977.

Retail sales of worked ivory in West Africa

The survey visited 122 outlets and 21 workshops inWest Africa. The large number of these for the threecountries of Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and Nigeria isalmost equal to the total seen for the five countriesvisited in 1999 in central Africa, demonstrating thatthe ivory market is more active in this region. Thequantity of pieces seen, some 30,418 weighing at least4900 kg, was also much greater than that found incentral Africa (table 1). Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire dis-


played more ivory than any other city in the study.The retail prices of worked ivory also tended to behigher than prices in central Africa, particularly thosein Dakar in Senegal, which were higher than any-where except Egypt.

No reliable ivory turnover rates could be gatheredfrom informants, but observation suggested that Lagosand Abidjan had brisker sales and more buyers thanelsewhere. Both these cities demonstrated clear evi-dence of a rise in sales for worked ivory since 1990and 1994 respectively, after the market crash that theCITES ban caused. The total weight of almost 1.8tonnes of worked ivory seen for sale in Lagos in 40outlets in 1999 is a marked increase over 1989 whenAllaway (1989c) found 34 outlets displaying 1,081.5kg, and in 1994 when Dublin et al. (1995) found only500–700 kg of worked ivory in that city. In Abidjanthe pattern is of a drop in displayed ivory from 4880kg in 1989 to about 1750 kg in 1994, followed by aresurgence to about 2750 kg in 1999. We were notable to evaluate the reliability or comparability of theother reports, however, as they did not describe themethod used for either their surveys or estimatingivory weights. The worked ivory domestic market

A craftsman in Douala, Cameroon, shapes an ivorybust with an electric drill.


seemed much less active in Dakar in 1999 than in theother two West African cities of Abidjan and Lagos,which were more comparable to Kinshasa.

Retail prices were highest in Dakar. There is noclear evidence of retail price changes between 1989and 1999, as the data are not detailed enough from1989 (table 3).

The main buyers in Lagos were Chinese workersrenovating the rail system, American oil workers andbusinessmen from the Middle East. In Abidjan andDakar vendors would not answer questions about whothe main buyers were.

Raw ivory prices in West Africa

Prices increased with distance from the main rawivory sources in central Africa. Tusks in Lagos at USD45–50/kg were somewhat more expensive than inDouala, particularly for the smaller sizes, with higherprices still in Abidjan (USD 41–80/kg). Vendors inDakar would not answer questions concerning rawivory prices, but judging from prices for polishedwhole tusks, the raw ivory price would be USD 100–120/kg for 1–5 kg sizes (table 1). Ivory carvers allsaid that prices had been rising since the conflictstarted in DRC.

Lagos is the only city with price data from 1989(Allaway 1989c), and prices have increased fromUSD 14–29/kg to USD 45–50/kg in 1999 (table 2).Dublin and Jachmann (1992) at the time of their studyin 1991 cite a price before the ban of USD 231–264/kg for raw ivory in Abidjan from the first to secondmiddleman (that is, the carver), dropping to USD 99–132/kg for small to medium tusks.

Ivory workshops in West Africa

Six workshops were identified in Lagos, 14 in Abidjanand only 2 in Dakar (table 1). As in central Africa,vendors did not want to reveal the location of work-shops. Stiles believes, based on informants’ responses,that the survey established the location of all those inAbidjan, but it is probable that others not found existin Lagos and Dakar. All informants complained ofsevere ivory shortages, and many carvers were work-ing on alternative materials at the time of the visit.The origin of raw ivory was said to be DRC, CARand Cameroon, in that order. A couple of people men-tioned Gabon, and one craftsman even said ivory wasflown in from Mozambique.

31

The main buyers are the local craftshops. In Lagos some Chinese buy di-rectly from the workshops. In Abidjan,French, Japanese and Lebanese resi-dents sometimes order certain piecesto be made or buy finished pieces onhand from factories. Japanese techni-cal assistance workers and diplomats,even the ambassador, were said to bebig buyers of ivory and paid highprices. Art gallery owners from To-kyo and France were said to comeannually to buy worked ivory.

The carvers in Lagos and Abidjansaid that business was not bad but thatthe scarcity of raw ivory and increas-ing prices were hurting them.

North-eastern Africa’s legal position onivory

DJIBOUTI

Djibouti acceded to CITES in 1992. All ivory itemsand tusks are imported as there is no carving indus-try. It is still legal to sell elephant ivory items andraw tusks within the country.

ETHIOPIA

The country became a party to CITES in 1989. Ethio-pian law permits internal trade in tusks and carvingsfrom ivory obtained legally from government auc-tions that were held until about 1990; since then, therehas been no legal source of new tusks.

Retail sales of worked ivory in north-eastern Africa

Martin visited almost all the retail ivory shops in AddisAbaba and Djibouti-ville; they numbered 54 and 18respectively with a total of 10,449 (453 of these inDjibouti-ville) ivory pieces for sale (see table 1). Theshops offer a large variety of items includingjewellery, wild animals, busts and name seals. Mostof the commodities for sale are small, typical of mostcities in Africa, because they are easier to hide in lug-gage. The main buyers in Djibouti are the Frenchmilitary and their families, while in Ethiopia, the cus-tomers are French and Italian tourists, Chinese

32

labourers, Japanese businessmen and diplomats, Ko-reans and a wide variety of foreign diplomats, UNemployees and people attending conferences, accord-ing to traders interviewed.

Since the beginning of the recent war with Eritreain May 1998, the ivory business has been very poorin Addis Ababa because most foreign tourists andbusinessmen have avoided coming to Ethiopia. Thus,the turnover in ivory commodities has declined byabout 80%. In Djibouti, the shopkeepers also com-plained about poor sales, but the French military andtheir families are still purchasing ivory items.

Most shops that offer ivory for sale in Djibouti-ville are small and areowned and managed by Somalis.

Raw ivory prices in north-eastern Africa

The prices for raw ivory in Addis Ababa are muchcheaper than in Djibouti because Ethiopia has its ownelephant populations. Wholesale prices in Addis Ababavary from an average of USD 28/kg for tusks less than1 kg to USD 62.50 for large tusks over 25 kg. The rawivory for the Ethiopian carving industry comes from adecreasing population of elephants within the country,from eastern Sudan and from Kenya. Djibouti-ville shopowners claim that they receive tusks from Somalia andEthiopia, but as there is no carving industry in Djibouti,the tusks are sold retail in their raw state.

Ivory workshops in north-eastern Africa

Because of the recent collapse in the sales of workedivory in Ethiopia, the number of craftsmen has alsodeclined. Many have left the business to work on


wood, silver or gold. There may be 10 to 20 ivorycraftsmen remaining in Addis Ababa, but most arenot working full time in ivory. In 1999, the immedi-ate future for the crafting and sales of worked ivoryseemed bleak in Ethiopia.

South Africa used to be a major market for ivory commodities suchas these in the photograph, but since the CITES ivory ban cameinto force in 1990, retail sales have plummeted by more than 95%.

Southern Africa’s legal position on ivory

MOZAMBIQUE

Mozambique joined CITES in 1981. Internal trade inraw tusks is illegal, but the domestic trade in workedivory is legal (H. Dublin, pers. comm., 2000).

SOUTH AFRICA

South Africa has been a member of CITES since 1975.Domestic trade in ivory is legal in the country.

ZIMBABWE

In 1981, Zimbabwe joined CITES. After the TenthMeeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES in1997, Zimbabwe was allowed to export elephanthides, elephant leather goods and ivory carvings fromSeptember 1997, but for non-commercial purposes(Gray 1997).

Retail sales of worked ivory in southernAfrica

Harare’s shops have more ivory items for sale


(19,958) than any other city in Africaexcept Abidjan that Martin and Stilesvisited (see table 1). However, almostall the items were made before 1990when the international ban came intoforce. Since then, the sales of ivoryhave declined by over 90%.

The craftsmen in Zimbabwe usedto make a large variety of ivory com-modities, the most common ones be-ing key rings, jewellery, boxes, wildanimals and human figures. Less nu-merous are paper knives, napkin rings,hair clips, name seals and lamps. Nowfew of these items are bought becauseof the decline in demand for ivorypieces, and their retail prices are someof the lowest in Africa.

Compared with the late 1980s when the main cus-tomers were Americans, British and other Europe-ans, the main buyers of worked ivory in Zimbabwenow are a few Japanese and European visitors (espe-cially the southern Europeans), and foreign diplomatsincluding those from the Koreas and China.

In South Africa, the ivory business is even moredepressed than in Zimbabwe. In the main cities ofJohannesburg, Cape Town and Durban, there were atleast 7386 ivory items for sale, but business is downby over 95% because of the lack of buyers. In addi-tion to the locally made ivory goods, similar to theitems produced in Harare, there are also older piecesmade in China, Europe, Japan and Nigeria. The pres-ence of imported old ivory pieces distinguishes theshops in South Africa from those in north-eastern andthe rest of southern Africa.

Mozambique may be the only country in southernAfrica where the retail ivory trade has not collapsed.This is because after the civil war in Mozambiqueended in 1992, the country once again became stable.With amenities for tourists and businessmen improv-ing in Maputo, foreigners are again visiting the capi-tal city. There are about as many ivory items for salein Maputo (3619) as in Durban. The main buyers inorder of importance are Portuguese, Italian and Span-ish.

Raw ivory prices in southern Africa

The prices for raw ivory in southern Africa are someof the lowest on the continent as a result of the col-

33

lapse in the demand for tusks and the sharp devalua-tion of local currencies. For example, the governmentof Zimbabwe sold tusks of 10 to 12/kg in the firsthalf of 1999 for only USD 17.57/kg, while the crafts-men in Maputo paid USD 16.58/kg for tusks of simi-lar quality weighing 6 to 10/kg, all from illegalsources.

Ivory workshops in southern Africa

The numbers of workshops and ivory craftsmen inZimbabwe and South Africa have declined sharplysince 1989. For example, in Zimbabwe in the mid-1980s about 200 craftsmen were consuming about15 tonnes of raw ivory a year (Martin 1984) but in1999 only 35 ivory craftsmen remained in the entirecountry. Informants said that there were at least eightworkshops in Maputo, which employed approxi-mately 100 carvers. There are no existing data fromprevious studies with which to compare the Maputofigures.

Summary results of the 1999 study

Table 1 aggregates the data for cities in 15 countrieson the African continent to produce figures for thetotal number of outlets, workshops, craftsmen anditems for sale. Also, figures are given on the averageprices for various weights of raw ivory in most majorcities. Results of surveys in Egypt and Sudan under-taken by Martin in the late 1990s are included in thetable, in addition to the 13 countries studied for the
1999 survey, along with data fromMadzou and Moukassa (1996) for theRepublic of the Congo.
Discussion

Trend in the ivory trade inAfrica, 1989–1999

Unfortunately, available data in pub-lished and unpublished reports are notcomplete enough to allow full com-parisons between trade now and ear-lier. In this section, as well as the 13African countries surveyed in 1999,Egypt and the Sudan are also includedfrom earlier work undertaken by Mar-tin (1998, 2000) to give a more com-

34

prehensive understanding of the ivory trade on thecontinent. Tables 2, 3 and 4 present data on the pricesof raw ivory, numbers of workshops, number of crafts-men and the prices of selected ivory items over time,mostly comparing the 1980s with 1999.

Conclusion

This study is the first of its kind aimed at quantifyingthe number of ivory pieces offered for retail sale in themajor ivory markets of Africa and recording the num-ber of retail outlets and ivory workshops and factoriesin these countries. Follow-up surveys and proper analy-sis of the data in future years will enable conservation-ists and government officers to decide whether the de-mand for ivory has increased or decreased because ofCITES-approved sales. Rational decisions could thenbe made based on scientific data from the surveys onwhether future ivory sales should be allowed.

Retail sales of ivory items in Africa

At least 110,000 pieces of worked ivory were seen inthe main cities of the 13 countries visited during the1999 survey, plus Egypt and Sudan, surveyed earlier.Thousands more are found in the Republic of theCongo and other places not visited. The sale of workedivory is slow everywhere, however, except in Lagos,Abidjan and Douala. Retail sales are down in most ofthe cities in north-eastern and southern Africa by 65to 95% compared with what they were in the late1980s. In central and West Africa, retail sales are down

Patrick Mavros, a well-known Zimbabwean artist, is examining oneof his ivory animals in his workshop just outside Harare.


everywhere from 1989 except for Lagos, where thereis a moderate rise.

Personnel from international organizations, such asthe UN, and government and military personnel (in-cluding foreigners) are today some of the major buyersof ivory. In many cases the actual purchase of raw andworked ivory is legal, but the buyers take the ivory itemsout of the countries in contravention of CITES and na-tional laws. The main customers for ivory in Djiboutiare French army personnel and their families. From mid-1998 to mid-1999, during the Ethiopian–Eritrean war,the number of tourists to Ethiopia declined by at least80% and by June 1999 the souvenir shops in the capitalhad almost no customers.

The main retail buyers of worked ivory through-out the continent, excluding the various officials andmilitary personnel mentioned above, are tourists, es-pecially from France, Italy and Spain. There is alsoincreased buying of ivory items by Chinese and Ko-rean workers in several countries such as Sudan andCAR. Fairly significant buyers are Japanese, Portu-guese and Latin Americans. The most popular piecesare small items, especially jewellery, as they are easyto hide in luggage. The large carved tusks and otherbig pieces sell extremely slowly in most places, andmany of these were carved before the 1990 CITESban.

The sale of ivory items made in Ethiopia has declined sharply inAddis Ababa since mid-1998, because of the Ethiopian–EritreanWar, which scared away foreign tourists.

The wholesale market of ivory items andraw tusks in Africa

The main customers for ivory are the Chinese andthe North and South Koreans, who transport these


goods to sell in eastern Asia. Africanbusinessmen, mainly Senegalese andNigerians, buy substantial quantitiesof worked ivory in certain central andWest African countries to transport toother countries in the region.

Ivory from eastern DRC and CARgoes to north-eastern Africa. Egyptianivory markets are also partly suppliedfrom elephants poached in Cameroon,and a little ivory is brought in byMuslin pilgrims from Nigeria. Themain raw ivory sources for the WestAfrican markets are DRC, CAR,Cameroon and Gabon, probably inthat order. Ivory from eastern DRCand CAR goes north-west to Nigeria

and to Abidjan and Dakar. Maiduguri in northernNigeria is a main transit centre for the western trade.Ivory from Gabon leaves Libreville by three mainroutes: by ship, by air or by land across the northernborder into Cameroon. The raw ivory leaving by seaand air is destined for Europe and Asia. The ivoryfrom poached elephants in northern Gabon is trans-ported by road to Yaounde where it is sold or trans-ported to Douala or sent on to Nigeria. Some tusksfrom Cameroon enter Nigeria via Calabar by boat ontheir way to Onitsha, where some is worked and someis sent on to Lagos to be worked. Ivory fromCameroon and elsewhere that enters northern Nige-ria via Maiduguri goes to Kano. Some is crafted andsold there, some goes to Lagos, and some is trans-ported to Abidjan or Dakar by road.

Raw and worked ivory exports off theAfrican continent

Traders in Mozambique, Gabon, Nigeria, DRC,Sudan, and especially Cameroon, illicitly export tusksto Europe (usually in transit to Asia), China, SouthKorea and Taiwan. North Korean diplomats are no-torious for smuggling worked ivory items as well astusks. They are even supported by their governmentto do so, probably a unique situation (Kaplan et al.,1999).

Future ivory sales

The authors believe that advertising and holding an-other auction in Africa, as proposed by four southern

35

African countries at CITES 2000, would strengthenthe current misconception, brought about by faultyreporting, that the international trade in ivory is nowcondoned, and that this could stimulate the search foradditional ivory stocks in anticipation of a more ro-bust market. It is the common perception amongstivory traders and craftsmen, and probably an accu-rate one, that many more people would buy more andlarger pieces of worked ivory if they could carry orexport them legally to their home countries. In manyparts of southern Africa this increased trade might besustainable, but it almost certainly would not be incentral or West Africa where wildlife and protectedareas management are weak or non-existent. EasternAfrica is a particular situation, where elephants arenot threatened with extinction, and their value to tour-ism exceeds the value of their ivory (Brown and Henry1993).

Acknowledgement

We wish to thank Save the Elephants for their sup-port towards the fieldwork that was carried out inAfrica in 1999.

References

Allaway, J. (1989a) The ivory trade in Gabon. In: The ivorytrade and the future of the African elephant. Ivory TradeReview Group, Oxford.

Allaway, J. (1989b) The ivory trade in Cameroon. In: Theivory trade and the future of the African elephant. IvoryTrade Review Group, Oxford.

Allaway, J. (1989c) The ivory trade in Nigeria. In: The ivorytrade and the future of the African elephant. Ivory TradeReview Group, Oxford.

[AWI] Animal Welfare Institute (2000) A deadly experi-ment gone wrong. Animal Welfare Institute Quarterly 49,8–9.

Anon. (1997) Côte d’Ivoire ivory trade ban. TRAFFICBulletin 17(1), 1.

Brown, G., and Henry, W. (1993) The viewing value ofelephants, In: Barbier, B., ed., Economics and Ecology:New frontiers and sustainable development. Chapman& Hall, London. p. 146–155.

Caldwell, J.R. (1987) The effect of recent legislativechanges on the pattern of the world trade in raw ivory.Traffic Bulletin 9, 6–10.

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Caldwell, J.R., and Barzdo, J.G. (1985) The world trade inraw ivory, 1983 and 1984. In: Martin, R.B., Caldwell,J.R., and Barzdo, J.G., African elephants, CITES andthe ivory trade. Report to the CITES Secretariat,Lausanne.

De Meulenaer, T., and Meredith, M. (1989) The ivory tradein Zaire. In: The ivory trade and the future of the Africanelephant. Ivory Trade Review Group, Oxford.

Dublin, H.T., and Jachmann, H. (1992) The impact of theivory ban on illegal hunting of elephants in six rangestates in Africa. World Wide Fund for Nature, Gland,Switzerland.

Dublin, H.T., Milliken, T., and Barnes, R.F.W. (1995) Fouryears after the CITES Ban: illegal killing of elephants,ivory trade and stockpiles. IUCN/SSC African ElephantSpecialist Group, Gland, Switzerland.

[EIA] Environmental Investigation Agency (2000) Lethalexperiment. EIA, London.

[ELC] Environmental Liaison Centre (1987) African wild-life laws. IUCN Environmental Law Centre, IUCN,Gland, Switzerland.

Gray, J. (1997) Report of the tenth meeting of the Confer-ence of the Parties to CITES. TRAFFIC Bulletin 17(1),5–19.

[JWCS] Japan Wildlife Conservation Society (2000) Ef-fect of resumption of international trade on Japaneseivory market. JWCS, Tokyo.

Kantai, P. (2000) Elephants and ivory: the debate contin-ues. Swara 22(4), 24–30.

Kaplan, D., Butler, S,. and Madden, M. (1999) NorthKorea’s global crime spree. Reader’s Digest, SouthernAfrica edition, August, 48–51.

Madzou, Y.C., and Moukassa, A. (1996) Situation de lavente de l’ivoire sculpté sur le marché de Brazzaville.New York Zoological Society, Wildlife ConservationSociety, Global Environment Facility, Brazzaville, Re-public of the Congo.

Martin, E.B. (1984) Zimbabwe’s ivory carving industry.Traffic Bulletin 6(2), 33–38.

Martin, E.B. (1998) New buyers of ivory in the Sudanthreaten elephants. Oryx 32(3), 166–169.

Martin, E.B. (2000) The present day Egyptian ivory trade.Oryx 34(2), 101–108.

Martin, E.B., and Stiles, D. (2000) The ivory markets ofAfrica. Save the Elephants, Nairobi and London.

Meredith, M. (1989) The ivory trade in Congo. In: The ivorytrade and the future of the African elephant. Ivory TradeReview Group, Oxford.


Forest elephant distribution and habitat use in the BossematiéForest Reserve, Ivory Coast

Jörn Theuerkauf,1 Hermann Ellenberg,2 Wolf Ekkehard Waitkuwait3

and Michael Mühlenberg4

1 Department of Biology, Philipps University, 35032 Marburg, Germany2 Institute for World Forestry, Federal Research Centre for Forestry and Forest Products,

21031 Hamburg, Germany3 Projet forestier SODEFOR-GTZ, B.P. 878, Abengourou, Ivory Coast4 Centre for Nature Conservation, University of Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany

Present address of corresponding author:Jörn Theuerkauf, Am Schäperkamp 3, 27711 Osterholz-Scharmbeck, Germanye-mail: [email protected]

Additional key words: habitat structure, human influence, Loxodonta africana cyclotis

Abstract

We studied the influence of human presence and habitat structure on the distribution and habitat use of forestelephants (Loxodonta africana cyclotis Matschie, 1900) in the heavily exploited Bossematié Forest Reservein south-eastern Ivory Coast. From August 1993 to April 1994, we estimated the distribution of elephants bydung counts on transects and documented their habitat use by trail mapping. Elephant dung density increasedwith the distance to the forest border and to the nearest village. During the study, the elephants used only 60%of the forest regularly. They avoided the rest because of forestry operations and human presence. Forestroads, in light but regular use, had no influence on the elephants’ spatial distribution. Elephants avoidedcoffee and cocoa plantations in all seasons. During the dry season, elephants walked more often throughforest parts with greater tree canopy cover than during the wet season, when they avoided valley bottoms. Themain influence on the spatial distribution of elephants in the study area was human presence, followed byhabitat structure.

Résumé

Nous avons étudié l’influence de la présence humaine et de la structure d’habitat sur la répartition et l’utilisationd’habitat des éléphants de forêt (Loxodonta africana cyclotis Matschie, 1900) dans la Forêt Classée deBossematié (sud-est de la Côte d’Ivoire) qui fut fortement exploitée. De août 1993 à avril 1995, nous avonsestimé la répartition des éléphants par des comptages de crottes sur transects et décrit leur utilisation d’habitatpar la cartographie de leurs traces. La densité des crottes d’éléphants a augmenté avec la distance de la lisièrede la forêt et du plus proche village. Au cours de l’étude les éléphants ont utilisé régulièrement seulement60% de la forêt. Les éléphants ont évité le reste de la forêt à cause d’opérations forestières et de la présenced’hommes. Les routes forestières en usage léger mais constant n’avaient aucune influence sur la distributionspatiale des éléphants. Durant toutes les saisons, les éléphants ont évité les plantations de café et de cacao.Pendant la saison sèche, les éléphants de forêt ont marché plus souvent dans les parties de forêt avec unecanopée plus fermée que pendant la saison des pluies où ils ont aussi évité les vallées. Dans le site de recher-che, l’influence principale sur la répartition spatiale des éléphants était la présence humaine suivie par lastructure d’habitat.

Pachyderm No 30 January–June 2001 37

Introduction

Following poaching and habitat loss, the number offorest elephants in West Africa has declined dramati-cally during the last decades (Barnes 1999). In 1988/1989, Merz and Hoppe-Dominik (1991) estimatedthat 200 elephants lived in south-eastern Ivory Coast.In 1993, only about 55 remained (W.E. Waitkuwait,Y. Guiro, J. Theuerkauf, H. Ellenberg, unpubl. data,1993): roughly 20 in the Songan-Tamin-Mabi-YajaForest Reserve complex (1700 km+), 5 in the BékiForest Reserve (150 km+), and 30 in the BossematiéForest Reserve (220 km+). For the last of the forestelephants in south-eastern Ivory Coast to survive, itwas necessary to implement measures to prevent fur-ther poaching and to protect large forest tracts thatmeet the habitat needs of the animals. To contributetowards establishing conservation priorities for ele-phants in south-eastern Ivory Coast, we investigatedthe influence of human presence and forestry opera-tions on the distribution and habitat use of the ele-phants in the Bossematié Forest Reserve. The studywas part of a long-term biomonitoring programmeincluded in a rehabilitation project for the reserve.The project was created to develop methods for therestoration and sustainable use of all formerly over-exploited forest reserves in south-eastern Ivory Coast.

Barnes et al. (1991) and Hall et al. (1997) showedthat in central Africa elephant densities are directlyrelated to distance from human settlements or roads.We therefore investigated if human presence affectedthe distribution of the elephants in and around ourstudy area. Elephants that live in large forest com-plexes prefer habitats with an open canopy and denseherbaceous tangle (see Barnes et al. 1991, Prins andReitsma 1989, Struhsaker et al. 1996). However, tim-ber extraction had been heavy in our study area (Wöll1992), and the canopy was much more open than thatin the forest complexes where the above-mentionedstudies had been conducted. The study area had a lowdensity of fruit trees, an important food source forforest elephants in West Africa (Alexandre 1978,Short 1981, White et al. 1993, Theuerkauf et al.2000b). The objectives of this study were to deter-mine 1) the influence of roads, villages, the forestborder and forestry operations on the distribution ofelephants and 2) the habitat types that elephants se-lect. The results were necessary to design manage-ment measures aimed at improving the survivalchances of the elephants.

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Study area

The Bossematié Forest Reserve (Forêt Classée deBossematié) is a moist, semi-deciduous rain forest inthe lowland zone of south-eastern Ivory Coast (6°22' to6°33' N, 3°24' to 3°35' W). The annual distribution ofrainfall is bimodal with peaks in September–Octoberand April–July; August and December–February aredry. Mean annual rainfall for 1961–1990 was 1330 mmbut varied significantly from year to year (Schrothunpubl.). The 220-km+ forest block is surrounded byfallow land as well as cocoa, banana and coffee planta-tions. Human density outside the forest is about 25 in-habitants per km2 in the north and west of the studyarea and about 50 inhabitants per km2 in the south andeast (Kientz unpubl.). There are no settlements in theforest itself. Cars, bicycles and pedestrians pass regu-larly but infrequently on the forest roads, which con-nect villages situated around the forest.

During the 30 years up to 1988, the forest had beenheavily exploited for timber (Wöll 1992), resultingin a mosaic of degraded forest with few old fruit treesand many small clearings. Only 16% of the foresthas a canopy cover over 30%, whereas about 8% ofits surface consists of mostly illegal cocoa and coffeeplantations, clustered mainly along the southern mar-gin of the forest (Wöll 1992). During the time of thisstudy, forestry operations (cleaning around targettrees, replanting, inventorying) were concentrated inthe northern part of the forest.

Elephant poaching was common in the 1980s un-til 1990 when the rehabilitation project for theBossematié Forest Reserve started and elephantpoachers were arrested. During this study, some 27to 33 elephants lived in the reserve (Theuerkauf et al.2000a) and no elephant was observed to migrate intoor out of the study area.

Methods

We counted elephant droppings on permanent 2-kmtransects to document the distribution of elephantswithin the study area. Because the elephants some-times walked along the permanent transects, we usedthe presence of elephant droppings in 250-m sectorsto represent the relative density of elephants, whichensured that agglomerations of droppings producedby an elephant group that had walked along a transectdid not distort the data. We then calculated the pro-portion of sectors with elephant dung on each transect.


We noted elephant droppings that we could see fromthe transect line and removed all droppings after count-ing to ensure an independent sample for the next count.From November 1993 to February 1994, we countedon 8 transects monthly. Before the November count,we had removed droppings in October. In March 1994,we cleared and included in the April counts a further 8transects. To assess human influence on the distribu-tion of the forest elephants, we compared by regressionanalyses the percentage of transect sectors with elephantdung with the distances between the centres of the 16transects and the nearest road, the nearest forest borderand the nearest village.

To determine how the forest elephants used the habi-tat, we searched for fresh elephant trails that crossedforest roads. We then followed and mapped the trail bycompass and topofil (a distance-measuring instrument)with the assistance of an experienced elephant tracker.We followed the trails of 16 different elephant groupsfor distances between 0.8 and 15.7 km (total 82.2 km)and juxtaposed the trails we had followed to a treecanopy stratification map and a soil map.

The tree canopy stratification map of the BossematiéForest Reserve (Sabenin and Kra unpubl.), based onaerial pictures taken in 1992 and 1993, distinguishedbetween strata of big trees (30–40 m in height) and smalltrees (up to 20 m). We pooled the strata into five classes:canopy cover < 10%, 10–20%, 20–30%, > 30%, andplantations. The soil map (Gerold and Hetzel unpubl.),


which was mainly based on the topography of the studyarea, identified Ferralsol and Plinthosol on high groundand the upper parts of slopes, Cambisol on the middleand lower parts, and Arenosol and Gleysol in valleybottoms. We distinguished between two classes: highground (Ferralsol, Plinthosol) and valley (Cambisol,Arenosol, Gleysol).

We measured the length of each trail through thedifferent habitat types to calculate the percentage of thehabitats on the trail. To compensate for the differenttrail lengths, we used a weighting factor when calculat-ing mean percentages and confidence limits. We con-sidered the average trail length (5.1 km) as the standardsample unit. The weighting factor (sample unit) of atrail was therefore not 1 but the length of the given traildivided by the mean length of the 16 trails. We consid-ered that elephants selected or avoided a habitat if theactual (expected) percentage of the habitat in the ele-phant range was below or above the confidence inter-val of the mean percentage that elephants used the habi-tat. To define the elephant range, we drew a minimumconvex polygon around the elephant trails and deter-mined the actual percentage of each habitat type in thearea of the minimum convex polygon.

Results

The percentage of sectors with elephant dung ontransects varied little between months (SD = 2%) but

Table 1. Percentages of 250-m sectors with forest elephant dung on 16 transects, each 2 km long, in theBossematié Forest Reserve, November 1993 to April 1994

Transect November December January February April Mean

1 – – – – 0 02 0 0 0 0 25 53 – – – – 13 134 – – – – 13 135 0 0 0 0 0 06 13 0 0 0 0 37 0 0 38 0 13 108 0 0 25 25 0 109 0 0 0 0 0 0

10 – – – – 13 1311 – – – – 13 1312 38 25 0 13 13 1813 – – – – 13 1314 0 0 0 25 0 515 – – – – 0 016 – – – – 0 0all 6 3 8 8 7 7

39

more between transects (SD = 6%), which reflectedthe heterogeneous distribution of elephants in the for-est (table 1). The percentage of sectors with elephantdung increased with the distance from the middle ofa transect to the nearest border of the forest (fig. 1a).The linear relationship was, however, not significant(P = 0.067), because there were no elephant drop-pings on transects in the northern part of the studyarea in which forestry work was concentrated at thetime of the study. When we excluded the northerntransects (1, 5 and 9) from the regression analysis,the linear relationship between the distance to theforest border and the percentage of sectors with el-ephant dung became significant (P = 0.008). In 1992,when no forestry work was under way in the north-ern region, the probability of observing elephanttracks at waterholes in the northern region was de-pendent (P < 0.001) on the distance to the forest bor-der (fig. 1b).

The percentage of sectors with elephant dung alsoincreased with increasing distance to the nearest vil-lage when we excluded the northern region (P =0.017) but not when we included all transects in theanalysis (P = 0.246). There was no linear relation-ship between the percentage of sectors with elephantdung and the distance to the nearest forest road (P =0.988).

We grouped transects into three zones to draw amap of the forest presenting an estimate of elephantdistribution (fig. 2). It appeared that in 1993 and 1994,humans reduced the area available to the elephants to130 km+ (60% of the forest) in the core of the forest(fig. 2). We found six carcasses of elephants poachedbefore 1990, which were all in the centre of the for-est in a mean distance of 600 m from a main forestroad (range 500–800 m).

In the dry season, elephants walked more than ex-pected in areas where the canopy cover was higherthan 20% and less than expected in more open forestparts (fig. 3). Forest elephants tended to use areas witha high canopy cover more often in the dry season thanin the wet season. In the wet season, elephants usedopen forest (< 10% cover) more than expected. Inboth dry and wet seasons, elephants strongly avoidedplantations (outside 99.8 and 98.6% confidence in-terval, respectively).

High ground and valleys accounted for 78% and22% respectively of the minimum convex polygonsurface. During the wet season, only 13% of the ele-phant trails were in valleys, which was less than ex-

40

pected, whereas they walked more on high ground(87%) than expected. The actual percentages of highground and valleys were both outside the 98.3% con-fidence interval of the mean percentages of elephantuse. During the dry season, elephants used valleysmore (35%) and high ground less (66%) than expectedbut only at the 91.1% confidence interval level. Atthe peak of the dry season, elephants were observedto leave the forest on two occasions to eat bananaplants.

Figure 1. a) linear regression between the distancesfrom the middle of a transect to the nearest forestborder and the percentages of 250-m sectors withelephant dung on 16 transects in 1993/1994; b)linear regression between the distances fromwaterholes to the nearest forest border and theobservation probability of elephant tracks atwaterholes in 1992 (data from Mühlenberg et al.unpubl.). Dotted lines: all transects or all water-holes; continuous line: excludes transects of thenorthern region (1, 5 and 9). Transects andwaterholes of the northern region are shown asopen circles, those of other regions as closedcircles.

0 2 4 6

0 2 4 6

20

10

0

20

10

0

ay = 0.028x + 0.02

y = 0.022x + 0.02

y = 0.039x – 0.003

b

Distance to forest border (km)


Figure 2. Estimated distribution of forest elephants in 1993/1994 in the Bossematié Forest Reserve andlocation of human settlements in its surroundings.

minimum cover polygon around theelephant trails

roads and border of the forest transects

water shades controlled in 1992

waterholes controlled in 1992

human settlements

low elephant density

area that elephants used before forestoperations began

mean elephant density

high elephant density

1

Figure 3. Canopy cover classes crossed by forestelephants compared with the actual percentagespresent in the used area (minimum convex polygonin fig. 2). The 95% confidence intervals of elephantuse indicate avoidance or preference when they arebelow or above actual percentages.

Discussion

In Central Africa, where elephants range over largeforests, their density is directly related to the distancefrom human settlements or major roads, according toBarnes et al. (1991) and Hall et al. (1997). Both stud-

> 30 20-30 10-20 < 10 plantations

Canopy cover (%)

40

20

0

dry-seasoncrossing

wet-seasoncrossing

95% confidenceintervals

actual percentagesof cover


ies found very low elephant densities in the first 10–20 km from settlements. In south-eastern Ivory Coast,conditions are more difficult for forest elephants be-cause of widespread deforestation and ubiquitous landexploitation, which have resulted in small and frag-mented forests. In our study, elephants avoided a zonewithin 4 km of villages and reached their maximumdensity in the centre of the forest, 7–11 km fromsettlements. The distance to the forest border was abetter measure of human influence than the distanceto the nearest village because it reflected the humanactivity around the forest, which was not limited tovillages. The forestry operations during the time ofthe study also influenced elephant distribution, prob-ably because of the long-time human presence,whereas forest roads did not affect it. Roads, how-ever, seemed to have facilitated poaching, as all ele-phants poached before this study were killed nearroads.

Barnes et al. (1991) found a direct relationshipbetween the density of elephant dung and the per-centage of secondary forest, which implies that ele-phants prefer the parts of the forest with the lowestcanopy cover. Elephant preference for forest partswith higher canopy cover in the Bossematié ForestReserve contradicts these findings and suggests that

41

the forest has been so heavily exploited that it is nowtoo degraded to offer optimal conditions for the ele-phants. In Taï National Park of Ivory Coast, Merz(unpubl.) observed higher density of elephants in sec-ondary forest than in primary forest but also inten-sive use of primary forest parts because of the abun-dance of fruit trees in the latter. In Bia National Parkof Ghana, forest elephants mainly select open areasbut eat the bark and fruits of trees in areas with highcanopy cover (Short 1981). We suggest that our ele-phants selected forest parts that had a higher canopycover to obtain fruits from the remaining mature trees.Furthermore, elephants selected shade-tolerant spe-cies (Theuerkauf et al. 2000b), which were rare afterthe heavy exploitation.

Vanleeuwe and Gautier-Hion (1998) found that theforaging paths of elephants were mostly in forest partswith a canopy cover of 80%, as this provided the ele-phants with herbaceous plants and fruits. As in ourstudy, those elephants avoided dense forest parts withan open canopy. The elephants they studied, however,fed regularly in clearings. During our fieldwork, wenoticed no preference for clearings, which in the studyarea are usually covered by the introduced neotropicalAsteraceae Chromolaena odorata, an invasive plantwithout importance in the elephants’ diet. Elephantsin our study area also avoided plantations, which weremainly cocoa and coffee and provided them with littlefood.

It is likely that the selection of open or closed partsof a forest is also influenced by weather. In the dryseason, the preference was for closed canopy, per-haps because exposure to the sun would increase waterloss. The elephants’ avoidance of valleys in the wetseason may be a result of the poorer soils (Geroldand Hetzel unpubl.), which could bear vegetation oflower nutritional value than that found on high ground.In the dry season when water is scarce on high groundand soils in valleys remained moister than on highground, elephants used valleys more frequently. Al-though the habitat use of elephants changed with theseasons, this did not affect the distribution of elephantsin the forest. Waterholes are numerous in the studyarea and elephants use them often in the dry season(Theuerkauf and Ellenberg 2000). Fruits of differenttrees (for example, Desplatsia chrysochlamys) as wellas crop plants (for example, banana) supplement thewater requirements of elephants during the driestmonths (January to March).

We conclude that the heavy timber exploitation and

42

plantation of coffee and cocoa have lowered the habi-tat quality of the Bossematié Forest Reserve for theelephants. We have suggested that the optimal habitatstructure for forest elephants may be found in forestswith a canopy cover denser than in our study area.We therefore provided a list of 25 food plants of par-ticular importance to the elephants. This list was in-cluded in the management plan for the BossematiéForest Reserve and the species now stand under pro-tection during forestry operations. Large-scale forestryoperations also negatively affected the distribution ofelephants. Forest exploitation should therefore be lim-ited to small areas and short periods to prevent el-ephants from avoiding the areas altogether. However,forestry activity deterred poachers and thus also hada positive effect, which led to the high recruitment ofthe elephant population observed every year since theprotection of the Bossematié Forest Reserve (W.E.Waitkuwait, unpubl. data, 1998).

Acknowledgements

This study was part of the pilot project Réhabilitationde la Forêt Classée de Bossematié under theprogramme Réhabilitation des forêts à l’est de la Côted’Ivoire, a collaboration between the Société deDéveloppement des Plantations Forestières(SODEFOR), the Deutsche Gesellschaft fürTechnische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) and theKreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW). We thank H.-J. Wöll, H. Fickinger, N. Seabé and the SODEFORteam, who took care of financial and logistical aspects;J. Slowik, H. Plachter and the late H. Remmert forcooperation; and S. Rouys for useful comments onearlier drafts of this article. We particularly thank Y.Guiro for sharing his elephant tracking experience.

References

Alexandre, D.Y. (1978) Le rôle disséminateur des éléphantsen forêt de Taï, Côte d’Ivoire. Terre et Vie 32, 47–72.

Barnes, R.F.W. (1999) Is there a future for elephants in WestAfrica? Mammal Review 29, 175–199.

Barnes, R.F.W., Barnes, K.L., Alers, M.P.T., and Blom, A.(1991) Man determines the distribution of elephants inthe rain forests of northeastern Gabon. African Journalof Ecology 29, 54–63.

Gerold, G., and Hetzel, F. (unpubl.) Bodenkarte des ForêtClassée de la Bossematié. 1993 map. University ofGöttingen.


Hall, J.S., Inogwabini, B.I., Williamson, E.A., Omari, I.,Sikubwabo, C., and White, L.J.T. (1997) A survey ofelephants (Loxodonta africana) in the Kahuzi-Biega Na-tional Park lowland sector and adjacent forest in easternZaire. African Journal of Ecology 35, 213–223.

Kientz, A. (unpubl.) Participation de la population riveraineà la protection de la Forêt Classée de Bossematié. 1993report. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusam-menarbeit.

Merz, G. (unpubl.) Untersuchungen über Lebensraum undVerhalten des afrikanischen Waldelefanten im Taï-Nationalpark der Republik Elfenbeinküste unter demEinfluß der regionalen Entwicklung. PhD thesis, 1982.University of Heidelberg.

Merz, G., and Hoppe-Dominik, B. (1991) Distribution andstatus of the forest elephant in the Ivory Coast, WestAfrica. Pachyderm 14, 22–24.

Mühlenberg, M., Slowik, J., and Waitkuwait, W.E.(unpubl.) Waldrehabilitierung in der Ostregion der Côted’Ivoire. Bericht über die ökologischen Begleitmaß-nahmen in der Projektphase 1991–1993. 1993 report.Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit.

Prins, H.H.T., and Reitsma, J.M. (1989) Mammalian bio-mass in an African equatorial forest. Journal of AnimalEcology 58, 851–861.

Sabenin, Y., and Kra, Y. (unpubl.) Etude expérimentale dela stratification dans la Forêt Bossematié. 1993 map.IGCI/IGT.

Schroth, G. (unpubl.) Rapport de mission pour le projetStabilisation des systèmes de production agricole dansla région d’Abengourou. 1992 report. DeutscheGesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit.


Short, J. (1981) Diet and feeding behaviour of the forestelephant. Mammalia 45, 177–185.

Struhsaker, T.T., Lwanga, J.S., and Kasenene, J.M. (1996)Elephants, selective logging and forest regeneration inthe Kibale Forest, Uganda. Journal of Tropical Ecology12, 45–64.

Theuerkauf, J., and Ellenberg, H. (2000) Movements anddefecation of forest elephants in the moist semi-decidu-ous Bossematié Forest Reserve, Ivory Coast. AfricanJournal of Ecology 38, 258–261.

Theuerkauf, J., Ellenberg, H., and Guiro, Y. (2000a) Groupstructure of forest elephants in the Bossematié ForestReserve, Ivory Coast. African Journal of Ecology 38,262–264.

Theuerkauf, J., Waitkuwait, W.E., Guiro, Y., Ellenberg, H.,and Porembski, S. (2000b) Diet of forest elephants andtheir role in seed dispersal in the Bossematié Forest Re-serve, Ivory Coast. Mammalia 64, 447–459.

Vanleeuwe, H., and Gautier-Hion, A. (1998) Forest elephantpaths and movements at the Odzala National Park,Congo: the role of clearings and Marantaceae forests.African Journal of Ecology 36, 174–182.

White, L.J.T., Tutin, C.E.G., and Fernandez, M. (1993)Group composition and diet of forest elephants,Loxodonta africana cyclotis Matschie 1900, in the LopéReserve, Gabon. African Journal of Ecology 31, 181–199.

Wöll, H.-J. (1992) Le projet Rehabilitation de la ForêtClassée de Bossematié, Côte d’Ivoire, région d’Aben-gourou. Tropenbos Series 1, 163–179.

43

Management implications of new research on problem elephants

Richard Hoare

P O Box A222, Avondale, Harare, Zimbabweemail: [email protected]

Abstract

The pressing problem of human–elephant conflict has attracted considerable conservation interest and isincreasingly being studied in Africa under an initiative spearheaded by AfESG. Important ideas are begin-ning to emerge from recent research that may be directly relevant to managing ‘problem elephants’. One ofthese concerns the persistence of problem elephant behaviour in many populations, even when identifiedculprit individuals are regularly removed from these populations over a long period. Rather than having afew habitual problem animals that can be removed, it is possible that elephant populations have what may betermed a problem component. As animals comprising this component are removed, for example by killing ortranslocating them, others take their place. If this problem component theory is true, it implies that eitherkilling or translocation options, if chosen, will have to continue indefinitely. This reasoning is difficult to testbut is supported by considerable circumstantial evidence and does agree with accepted principles in agricul-tural pest control. Merely killing individuals of a pest species seldom has much impact on the problem andmost pests are effectively controlled only by denying them either their target food or a nearby refuge.

Resume

Le problème urgent posé par les conflits hommes-éléphants suscite beaucoup d’intérêt dans le monde de laconservation et est de plus en plus étudié en Afrique grâce à une initiative du GSEAf. Des idées importantescommencent à émerger des recherches récentes qui peuvent avoir un rapport direct avec la gestion des« éléphants à problèmes ». Une d’elles concerne la persistance du comportement des éléphants à problèmesdans de nombreuses populations, même lorsque les coupables, identifiés, sont régulièrement écartés de cespopulations pendant de longues périodes. Plutôt que d’avoir quelques animaux qui ont l’habitude de faire desproblèmes, il est possible que ce soient les populations d’éléphants qui connaissent ce que l’on pourraitappeler une composante à problème. Lorsque les animaux qui ont cette composante sont enlevés, par exempleen les tuant ou en les déplaçant, d’autres prennent leur place. Si cette théorie de la composante à problèmes’avère exacte, cela signifie que les options d’abattage comme de déplacement, lorsqu’on les choisit, devraientse poursuivre indéfiniment. Ce raisonnement est difficile à tester, mais il est étayé par des preuves trèséloquentes et s’accorde avec les principes reconnus du contrôle des nuisances en agriculture. Le fait de tuersimplement des individus d’une espèce nuisible a rarement un impact sur le problème posé, et la plupart desanimaux nuisibles ne sont efficacement contrôlés que lorsqu’on leur interdit l’accès à la nourriture ou à unrefuge proche.

Introduction

It is well documented that many African elephantpopulations conflict with sedentary, agriculturallybased people at the edges of their respective distribu-tions and that the resolution of human–elephant con-flict is a priority issue in the conservation of the spe-cies (WWF 1997; Hoare 2000a). From observationsof other agricultural pest species, intuitively one

44

would reason that the proximity of more elephantsmight mean more problems (that is, that the activityof such ‘problem elephants’ exhibits some ‘densitydependence’) (Barnes et al. 1995). Very little evidencehas so far accumulated, however, to support a hy-pothesis that levels of problem-elephant activity aredependent on local elephant numbers or densities.

There is evidence to suggest that levels of prob-lem-elephant activity may be more dependent on the


behaviour of individual animals than on the localabundance of elephants. Hoare (1999a) proposes a‘male behaviour hypothesis’ to explain the irregularand unpredictable nature of crop raiding and otherconflict incidents attributed mainly to bull elephantsin many savanna areas of Africa. This agrees withthe conclusions of similar, previous work on Asianelephants in India (Sukumar 1991; Sukumar andGadgil 1988). Even where elephant cow groups areknown to raid crops, it is plausible to suggest thatindividual matriarchal behaviour may be an impor-tant factor, especially since few elephant populationsare food limited in the wild and crop raiding by fe-males and offspring appears to be concentrated aroundpeak time of the harvest and usually in farming areasclose to a natural refuge.

Regardless of any debate, scientific or otherwise,on causal factors, the management of human–elephantconflict goes on in practice across the African conti-nent. But the frequently practised removal of suppos-edly identified individual culprit elephants by wild-life managers has apparently repeatedly failed to pro-duce any meaningful reduction in conflict incidence.

Recent social and biological research into human–elephant conflict (Hoare 2000b) has now reached thestage where although there is still a lot to learn, it ispossible to feed back some important recommenda-tions that should be discussed and field tested bymanagers responsible for conflict mitigation (AfESG2001). One of the most far-reaching of these issuesinvolves questioning the assumption that merely re-moving a problem elephant (by either killing it ortranslocating it) has any meaningful effect on subse-quently alleviating conflict levels at the human–elephant interface.

Killing problem elephants

Killing is a standard problem-elephant control mea-sure that has been applied for many years over muchof Africa. It is employed as a quick-fix method, sinceit is popular with both wildlife authorities and affectedpeople. Its advantages are that it is relatively cheapand quick to carry out, has high public relations valuefor wildlife authorities (chiefly through the ‘retribu-tion factor’ and provision of free meat to affectedpeople) and may in fact have some temporary effect.The temporary effect and public relations value havebeen exploited in many sites by killing individual ele-phants at intervals during peak seasons of conflict.


As this develops into a cycle that is repeated indefi-nitely, it really amounts to what has been termed a‘ritual palliative’ to affected people (Hoare 1995).

Practical disadvantages of killing are being increas-ingly noted as the problem of human–elephant conflictbecomes apparently intractable in some places. First,killing has to be done by trained personnel and can be adangerous activity. Second, it is particularly difficult toidentify culprit animals; even well-organized research-ers with technological aids like radio collars and night-vision equipment have great difficulty sexing and iden-tifying many individual animals at night, which is whenmost elephant raiding occurs.

Most important of all, it seems to have little deter-rent effect on other persistent raiders (fig. 1), some-thing that anecdotal reports have attested to for a longtime. Wildlife managers often maintain that killingan elephant ‘teaches’ others to avoid entering farm-ing areas. The example given in figure 1 is one of themost unambiguous of its kind yet produced and clearlydoes not support this view.

The persistence of elephant raiding almost every-where where problem elephants have been destroyed,in some cases for decades (such as the area in fig. 1),must call the method into question. Also the rising ap-preciation of elephants (whether aesthetic, ecologicalor financial), has led to further doubt about the wisdomof widespread reliance upon killing as a control strategy.

Translocating problem elephants

In some situations, translocating live problem ele-phants has recently been proposed as a solution alter-native to killing them and indeed has been undertakenfor this purpose in several parts of Africa(Karindawaro 1998). Elephants can be immobilizedfairly easily by teams of specialist people but the sub-sequent safe transport of such huge animals is a com-plicated logistical exercise costing large sums ofmoney. But as live capture and translocation of prob-lem elephants is an option especially attractive to themany opponents of destroying them, the required fi-nancial resources can sometimes be found. There ismuch to suggest, however, that this option is far froma panacea.

First, as with any decision to kill an offender, cor-rectly identifying the culprit is very difficult. Also itis impossible to be certain that the problem will notbe exported with the animal, especially if thebehaviour hypothesis is to be believed. Alternatively,

45

Figure 1. Movements of a radio-collared male elephant tracked by a researcher in Zimbabwe. One of theelephant’s group mates was shot dead in the farming area on the night of 7 April. The animal returned initiallyto the sanctuary of the adjacent national park but four nights later (11–12 April) was crop raiding again in thefarming area close to where the shooting took place. April is the peak of the harvest season. (Redrawn withpermission from Osborn unpubl.)

1 km

11 April 210012 April 0300

11 April 0900

10 April 1500

8 April 1200

9 April 2100

NATIONALPARK

River

INADEQUATELYFENCED BOUNDARY

AGRICULTURALAREA

radio-collared elephant

7 April 2100

killed elephant

the problem animal might return to its former range.An additional disturbing issue that has emerged

with elephant translocation in practice is welfare con-cerns in transit, which even the closest supportiveveterinary care cannot always address. Elephantstranslocated within Kenya, for example, have had toendure extended, stressful periods of incarceration invehicles because of logistical problems in road trans-

46

port (Njumbi et al. 1996). These problems were notfully anticipated at the time of capture.

The problem component idea

Unfortunately, in most human–elephant conflict situ-ations in Africa the extent of the problem has not beenmonitored systematically or measured quantitatively.


Therefore, judgement of conflict intensity has oftenhad to rely on the scientifically crude but socially veryimportant barometer of tolerance to elephants by af-fected local communities (Hill 1998). An almost uni-versal demand from human communities affected toany degree is that problem elephants be shot.

As problem elephants have been studied for longerperiods by researchers in the field, significant evidenceis emerging about why reliance on the removal of suchindividuals may be flawed as a long-term controlmethod. This is because it now appears that almost anyelephant population, rather than having a few habitualraiders that can be successfully removed, may have whatmight be termed a ‘problem component’. As animalscomprising this problem component are removed, oth-ers replace them (Hoare 1999b). The problem compo-nent thus remains. Elephant crop raiding both in Asia(Sukumar and Gadgil 1988) and Africa (Hoare 1999a)has been hypothesized as conforming to the predictionsof optimal foraging theory. Therefore there seems novalid reason not to suspect that if those individuals whoare in a position to practise crop raiding are removed,others will copy them without having to be ‘taught’.

The problem component idea arose out of a study toinvestigate whether the same individual elephants areusually responsible for most conflict incidents at any givensite (habitual raiders) (Hoare 1999b). It was arrived atby working backwards, as it were—asking why the re-moval of culprits (especially males) seemed to have solittle lasting deterrent value. What is not clear at presentis whether the problem component idea is equally ap-plicable in larger elephant populations where there isscope for immigration as well as in those that are smalland greatly range restricted (pocketed populations).

Implications for problem-elephantmanagement

If the problem component idea is true, the removedanimal will probably be replaced by another problemanimal from within the same population, thus imply-ing that either killing or translocation options, if cho-sen, will have to continue indefinitely. At present thetheory rests only on strong circumstantial evidencesince adequate manipulative experimentation to proveit would be impossible in most countries with ele-phants. Nevertheless, the management implicationsfrom the general line of reasoning presented here aretwofold and solid enough to be seriously considered.

First, the likelihood of a problem component in


any elephant population should be taken into account.In many cases if you have elephants, some of themwill cause problems for neighbouring people. Sec-ond, such an inevitability having been accepted, ele-phant problems are best managed in situ, but remov-ing culprit individuals increasingly appears to be anineffective way to manage them.

Doubts about the effectiveness of problem-elephantremoval are in line with an accepted principle of agri-cultural pest control, which states that merely killingindividuals of a species of pest that is numerous is sel-dom effective (Caughley and Sinclair 1994). In someother species (notably some feral mammals, wild birdsand wild rodents), enthusiastic bouts of pest destruc-tion have failed to have an impact on the problem be-cause reduced intraspecific competition increases thefecundity of survivors. Notwithstanding that elephantsare slow breeding compared to most pest species andthat their problem activity may not show density de-pendence anyway, a logical principle still applies: whatneeds to be controlled in the case of most agriculturalpests is not the pest itself but the effects of the pest. Toadequately control the effect of an agricultural pest youneed to do one of two things around the farming sys-tem where it is being a nuisance: either deny it the sourceof food or deny it a place to live nearby.

Multiple countermeasures againstproblem elephants

Applied research across Africa has revealed a wholesuite of countermeasures that can be used against prob-lem elephants (Hoare 2000a, AfESG 2001). These canbe grouped into 10 broad categories: traditional meth-ods applied by farmers, disturbance of problem ele-phants, killing of individual elephants, various formsof fences and barriers, olfactory and sound repellents,translocation, compensation schemes, revenue-gener-ating wildlife utilization programmes, increased researcheffort, and land planning with land-use zonation.

Any one of these is not necessarily very effectiveon its own, but a whole package of individual mea-sures derived from these categories can act synergis-tically and make a difference. Killing does have aplace amongst these control measures (for example,for very aggressive animals or persistent fence break-ers) but the traditional, widespread reliance upon itshould be decreased by the combined use of appro-priate non-fatal alternatives.

Dealing in such complicated ways with problem ele-

47

phants and the effects they have on people is one of themost difficult scenarios that wildlife managers in Af-rica face. Appreciating, planning, funding and imple-menting integrated packages of widely differing indi-vidual countermeasures against problem elephants be-comes a complex discipline, as much an art as a science.

What may have contributed to this overall difficultyis the way human–elephant conflict has traditionallybeen viewed as a problem in isolation. A recent analy-sis and synthesis of management options for human–elephant conflict (AfESG 2001) suggests that the sub-ject should be incorporated more vigorously into thebroader issues of elephant conservation. Human–el-ephant conflict mitigation should rank alongside otherroutinely applied elephant management activities likecensus of elephant populations, law enforcement againstpoaching and monitoring of elephant effects on crucialwildlife habitats. In particular, the topic should be in-cluded in the multifaceted national management plansor programs for elephant conservation that are increas-ingly being drawn up to suit individual African elephantrange states, such as Kenya (MGM 1998), Mozambique(MADR 1999) and Ghana (GWD 2001).

Acknowledgements

The financial support of the World Wide Fund forNature for the activities of the IUCN African ElephantSpecialist Group’s Human–Elephant ConflictTaskforce is greatly appreciated. The AfESG Chair,Dr Holly Dublin, is especially thanked for her en-couragement in this field of research. Dr Rob Olivierprovided useful review comments on the manuscript.

References

[AfESG] African Elephant Specialist Group (2001) A de-cision support system for managing human–elephant con-flict situations in Africa. IUCN African Elephant Spe-cialist Group Report

Barnes, R.F.W., Asika, S., and Asamoah-Boateng, B. (1995)Timber, cocoa and crop-raiding elephants: a preliminarystudy from southern Ghana. Pachyderm 19, 33–38.

Caughley, G., and Sinclair, A.R.E. (1994) Wildlife ecologyand management. Blackwell Science, Oxford.

[GWD] Ghana Wildlife Division (2001) Strategy for conser-

48

vation of elephants in Ghana. Ghana Wildlife Division,Accra.

Hill, C.M. (1998) Conflicting attitudes towards elephantsaround the Budongo Forest Reserve, Uganda. Environmen-tal Conservation 25(3), 244–250.

Hoare, R. (1995) Options for the control of elephants in con-flict with people. Pachyderm 19, 54–63.

Hoare, R. E. (1999a) Determinants of human–elephant con-flict in a land use mosaic. Journal of Applied Ecology 36,689–700.

Hoare, R. E. (1999b) Assessing the evidence for the exist-ence of habitual problem elephants. IUCN African ElephantSpecialist Group Report.

Hoare, R. (2000a) Humans and elephants in conflict: the out-look for coexistence. Oryx 34(1), 34–38.

Hoare, R. (2000b) Projects of the IUCN AfESG human–el-ephant conflict taskforce: results and recommendations.Pachyderm 28,73–77.

Karindawaro, K.S. (1998) Nineteen problem elephants relo-cated to Montana Ranch. Zimbabwe Wildlife (July), 20.

[MADR] Ministerio da Agricultura e Desenvolvimento Ru-ral (1999) National strategy for the management of el-ephants in Mozambique. MADR, Direccao Nacional deFloresta e Fauna Bravia, Republica de Mozambique,Maputo, 26 p.

MGM (1998) Evaluation of the elephant conservation andcommunity wildlife programme (1993–1998) of the KenyaWildlife Service. Report to the European Union. MGMConsultants Ltd. 125 p.

Njumbi, S., Waithaka, J., Gachago, S., Sakwa, J., Mwathe,K., Mungai, P., Mulama, M., Mutinda, H., Omondi, P., andLitoroh, M. (1996) Translocation of elephants: the Kenyanexperience. Pachyderm 22, 61–65.

Osborn, F.V. (unpubl.) The ecology of crop raiding elephantsin Zimbabwe. PhD thesis, 1998, University of Cambridge, UK.

Sukumar, R. (1991) The management of large mammals inrelation to male strategies and conflict with people. Bio-logical Conservation 55, 93–102.

Sukumar, R., and Gadgil, M. (1988) Male-female differencesin foraging on crops by Asian elephants. Animal Behaviour36, 1233–1255.

[WWF] World Wide Fund for Nature (1997) ConservingAfrica’s elephants: current issues and priorities for ac-tion, Dublin, H.T, McShane, T.O., and Newby, J. eds.WWF International Report. World Wide Fund for Na-ture, Gland, Switzerland.


Dual-season crop damage by elephants in easternZambezi Valley, Zimbabwe

G.E. Parker and F.V. Osborn

Mid Zambezi Elephant Project, 37 Lewisam Avenue, Chisipite, Harare, Zimbabwetel: +263 4 49662; email: [email protected]

Additional key words: spatial patterns

Abstract

An elephant-focused crop-damage reporting scheme was developed and tested in Muzarabani District, Zim-babwe, for two consecutive years, to produce information that would improve elephant management. Thescheme assessed wet- and dry-season crop damage, identifying spatial and temporal patterns, and developinga measure of severity for each incident. Within Muzarabani the majority of elephant crop-raiding incidentsoccurred during the wet season. Dry-season crop damage, considered an unusual phenomenon, was found tobe common. Wet-season crop damage occurred primarily in farmland along the edge of a protected wildlifearea, and dry-season crop damage occurred along the major rivers of the district. Although fewer in number,dry-season incidents were generally more severe than wet-season incidents. Crop damage in the dry seasonmay have a greater impact on rural farmers as that is when food is scarce. The system of crop-damage report-ing developed in this study provided objective and practical management information for the local districtcouncil.

Résumé

On a mis au point un système pour rapporter les dommages causés aux cultures par les éléphants, et on l’atesté dans le District de Muzarabani, au Zimbabwe, pendant deux ans de suite, pour disposer d’informationsqui amélioreraient la gestion des éléphants. Ce système a évalué les dommages causés aux cultures en saisonsèche et en saison des pluies, en précisant les schémas spatiaux et temporels, et en mettant au point unemesure de la gravité pour chaque incident. A Muzarabani, la majorité des incidents survenaient pendant lasaison des pluies. Les dégâts aux cultures survenant en saison sèche, que l’on considérait comme un phénomèneinhabituel, se sont avérés communs. Les dommages en saison des pluies affectaient principalement les fermessituées le long d’une aire protégée pour la faune, et ceux qui avaient lieu en saison sèche survenaient le longdes principales rivières du district. Moins nombreux, les incidents de saison sèche étaient cependantgénéralement plus graves qu’en saison des pluies. Les dommages causés aux récoltes pendant la saison sèchepeuvent avoir un plus fort impact sur les fermiers parce que c’est alors que la nourriture est plus rare. Lesystème mis au point par cette étude pour rapporter les dommages aux récoltes a fourni au District councillocal des informations objectives et pratiques pour une bonne gestion.

Introduction

The destruction of crops by elephants is a major con-servation concern across Africa. Farmers and ele-phants are increasingly coming into conflict as ele-


phant habitat is converted to farmland. Crop damagecan have a serious impact on subsistence farmers’ live-lihoods. In some semi-arid rural farming areas of Zim-babwe and Kenya, elephant damage to food cropsaccounts for 75 to 90% of all incidents by large mam-

49

mal pest species (Hoare and Mackie 1993; Waithaka1993).

In the savanna, elephant crop raiding is usuallyconsidered a wet-season problem, with a defined peakof activity at the end of the season that coincides withcrop maturation. The majority of crop-raiding inci-dents involve elephants destroying mature food crops(Kangwana 1995; Tchamba 1995), as the crops aremost palatable when they are mature (Bell 1984).There is some evidence for elephant crop damageduring the dry season in Zimbabwe (Osborn unpubl.),but it is considered an unusual phenomenon.

Crop damage is a major problem in farmland adja-cent to wildlife areas. Bell (1984) described these bor-der farms as the ‘front line’, because he found crop-damage incidents were concentrated along the bound-ary and declined as the distance from the wildlife areaincreased. A study by Hawkes (1991) documented thatonly those villages at the boundary of a national parkwere affected by elephant crop raiding, and communi-ties farther away were unaffected. Elephants generallyrequire a large wilderness refuge for survival and tendto make only brief trips to settled areas to raid crops(Bell 1984).

The management of human–elephant conflict is acomplex and logistically challenging problem. In Zim-babwe the responsibility increasingly falls to rural dis-trict councils (RDCs), many of which have managedtheir wildlife since 1990 under a national programmecalled CAMPFIRE (Communal Areas ManagementProgramme For Indigenous Resources). Often admin-istering large areas of land, the RDCs struggle to ame-liorate the problem of widespread crop raiding with thelimited resources at their disposal. Muzarabani is aCAMPFIRE district in the eastern Zambezi Valley ofnorthern Zimbabwe. In 1997 Muzarabani RDC wantedmore information on its elephant population to improvemanagement strategies, with crop raiding being identi-fied as a high priority. In response, the Mid ZambeziElephant Project (MZEP) designed and established adistrict-wide crop-damage reporting system. The ma-jor objective was to identify spatial and temporal pat-terns of crop damage in the wet and the dry seasons.

General patterns of crop raiding have been docu-mented in a number of studies, but every site has itsunique characteristics. The development of a straight-forward and management-oriented data collectionsystem that describes site-specific characteristics, butthat may also contribute to the general understandingof human–elephant conflict, is considered important.

50

This scheme aimed to assess a large area rapidly, atlow cost to the management authority.

Frequency and distribution measurements are com-monly used in crop-damage assessment schemes(Hoare 1999), and they provide useful indicators ofthe geography of the crop-raiding problem. The se-verity of crop damage can vary considerably, particu-larly when considering incidents over a large area. Ameasure of severity was developed in this study, as itwas considered important when setting prioritiesabout human–elephant conflict at a macro scale.

Study area

Muzarabani District encompasses an area of 2774 km2

in the eastern Zambezi Valley, northern Zimbabwe(31o 05' E, 16o 25' S) (fig. 1a). The district is dividedinto three distinct geographical regions: the flatZambezi Valley to the north (altitude 350–500 m),the broken mountainous plateau of the highveld tothe south (800–1300 m), and a 10-km band of es-carpment mountains (900–1650 m), which runs east–west and separates the two.

Rainfall in the Zambezi Valley is low (650–850mm per year), falling between December and mid-March. The rainfall of the highveld is greater (1000mm) and falls in a longer wet season from Novemberto mid-March. There is a long dry season from Aprilto November. Most rivers within the district drainnorth from the escarpment towards Mozambique. Themajor rivers, which are a perennial source of waterfor humans and wildlife, are the Utete, the Musengeziand the Hoya (Cunliffe 1992) (fig. 1b). The ZambeziValley is dominated by mopane-terminalia woodland(Colophospermum mopane and Terminalia stuhlmaniiand mopane-combretum woodland (Colopho-spermum mopane and Combretum apiculatum), withdense riverine thickets of mixed species along themajor rivers. In the escarpment there is a mixture ofescarpment woodland and miombo (Brachystegiaspp. and Julbernardia spp.) woodland (Cunliffe1992).

Muzarabani District comprises communal farm-lands, large-scale commercial farmland, and theMavuradona Wilderness Area (MWA), a formally pro-tected wildlife area. It covers 650 km2 of the escarp-ment mountains and is bordered to the south by com-mercial farms on the highveld, to the east and westby communal farms in the mountains, and to the northby a near-continuous boundary of communal farms


Figure 1. Muzarabani District, showing major rivers, cultivation and the Mavuradona Wilderness Area. Wet-season crop-damage incidents are shown as black dots and dry-season incidents as circles. In areas withmany crop-damage incidents, the symbols are overlaid.

N

Harare

MavuradonaWilderness

Area

MuzarabaniDistrictGuruve

District

Mozambique

km

0 100

Zimbabwe

0 30

km

Hoya River

wards

wet-seasondamage

dry-seasondamage

rivers

cultivation

Musengezi River

Utete River

MavuradonaWilderness Area

N

a

b


in the Zambezi Valley. Cultivation in the communallands occurs mainly along watercourses and in areaswith fertile soils. In the escarpment these correspondto the flat terrain where deeper soils have developed.In the Zambezi Valley, cultivation occurs on the col-luvial soils along the base of the escarpment and thealluvial soils bordering the major rivers (Cunliffe1992). As a result, the district comprises a mosaic ofcultivation and bush. Most farming is small-scaledryland cultivation, and the main wet-season cropsinclude maize (Zea mays) and cotton (Gossypiumhirsutum). These rainfed crops are planted extensivelyin November and harvested between April and June.During the dry season small-scale bucket-irrigatedgardens are established along the rivers. Assortedvegetables and green maize are planted in small plotsin April and May and harvested up until October.

Agricultural activities are expanding rapidly, becauseof the profitability of cotton and the associated clear-ance of new land, and people from other parts of thecountry are being resettled here. The elephant popula-tion is centred around MWA, but elephants move ex-tensively through the communal farmlands, making useof dense thickets as temporary refuges. The elephantpopulation of Muzarabani District is contiguous withpopulations in the neighbouring Guruve District to thewest, and Magoe District in Mozambique to the north(MZEP and ZamSoc 2000) (fig. 1a).

Materials and methods

Crop-damage reports were collected across the en-tire district area by 10 local enumerators, each repre-senting an administrative area called a ward. The enu-merators were trained and supervised by MZEP torecord every incident of elephant crop damage withintheir area. An incident was defined as an occasionwhere an elephant or elephants caused damage tocommunal farmers’ crops. The format for the reportswas modified from those used by Osborn (unpubl.).

The probability of data error increased with the num-ber of people collecting data. MZEP conducted regularand intensive field supervision throughout the two-yearperiod to standardize data collection techniques and tominimize the risk of false or biased reporting.

Data covering two years were analysed, as largebetween-year variation is common in crop-damagestudies (Taylor 1999). The data were pooled, as simi-lar seasonal patterns were exhibited in both years ofresearch. We categorized the season of each incident

52

by the type of crop affected. Incidents affecting rainfedcrops (mainly maize and cotton) were considered wet-season crop damage, and those affecting bucket-irrigated crops (vegetables and green maize) wereconsidered dry-season crop damage. The separationof season by crop type was considered more accuratethan a time-based categorization, as some overlap inthe period of cultivation of these crops occurred.

The crop-damage incidents were plotted along a 12-month time series to study the temporal distribution (fig.2). Incidents were separated into those affecting wet-season crops and those affecting dry-season crops. Eachcrop-damage report detailed the life stage of the cropsaffected as seedling, intermediate or mature. The per-centage of incidents involving each life stage wascompared.

Crop-damage incidents were displayed first in mapform (fig. 1b). A seasonal trend of distribution wasfound among the incidents, which was explored fur-ther. The relationship between wet-season incidentsand MWA was examined first, with each incidentcategorized by its distance from the MWA borders.Distance was measured using 1-km bands up to a to-tal of 5 km from the borders. A graph of the numberof incidents in each distance class was plotted (fig.3). A non-linear negative regression was fitted to thedata as a tool to describe the shape of the graph. Thestrength of the fit reflected the similarity between thegraph (frequency of crop-damage incidents in eachdistance class) and the regression model. A distanceof 5 km was selected as it captured all incidents im-mediately associated with the MWA borders (fig. 1b).Beyond 5 km, crop damage may have been causedby elephants from other areas, so these incidents wereconsidered separately.

The same method was used to examine the rela-tionship between dry-season incidents and the majorrivers of the district. Each incident was allocated to a1-km band up to 5 km from the closest major river,and the number of incidents per distance class wasplotted (fig. 4). A negative non-linear regression wasfitted to the data to describe the shape of the graph. Itwas decided that any incidents occurring more than 5km from the major rivers might be unrelated to theriver systems in question, and these were consideredseparately.

The severity of each incident was measured usingtwo indicators. For the first, the ‘extent’ indicator, theproportion of the field damaged was measured by pac-ing both the total field and the damaged portion and


0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct

Month

wet-season crops dry-season crops

Figure 2. The number of crop-damage incidents per month in Muzarabani District.

r2 = 0.939

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Distance class (km from MWA)

wet-season incidents Regression curve

Figure 3. The number of wet-season crop-damage incidents per distance band from the MavuradonaWilderness Area. The solid black line represents the non-linear regression model for the wet-season data.


r2 = 0.982

0

10

20

30

40

50

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Distance class (km from rivers)

dry-season incidents regression curve

Figure 4. The number of dry-season incidents per distance band from the major perennial rivers. The solidblack line represents the non-linear regression model for the dry-season data.

54

Table 1. Severity matrix showing the level of severity assigned to eachcombination of ‘extent’ and ‘intensity’

Intensity Extent (%)

0–10 11–25 26–50 51–75 76–100

1 low low low med high2 low med med med high3 low med high high high

calculating the percentage of thedamaged area. Each incident wasplaced into one of five categories,based on percentage of damage: 0–10%; 11–25%; 26–50%; 51–75%and 76–100%. The second indica-tor, a subjective measure of the in-tensity of damage to the cropswithin the damaged area, was as-sessed visually. Grade 1 intensity
indicated that the damage was not critical to the sur-vival of the plants (some leaf and fruit damage), grade2 intensity involved some critically damaged plants(some fruit destroyed and stems broken), and inci-dents of grade 3 intensity were typified by seriousplant damage (fruit destroyed, stems broken and plantsuprooted). Both measures were used to construct amatrix (table 1). Each crop-damage incident wasplaced into a severity category based upon a combi-nation of its ‘extent’ and its ‘intensity’ scoring, usingthe matrix. The severity categories were low, mediumand high, and the percentage of incidents in each cat-egory was presented for each season.
Results

In Muzarabani District, elephant crop damage was adual-season phenomenon, affecting both wet- and dry-

season crops. Of the 312 crop-damage incidents in to-tal, 204 incidents affected wet-season crops and 108incidents affected dry-season crops. Damage to wet-season crops occurred over seven months, beginningin December, peaking in March and ending in July.Damage to dry-season crops lasted six months, startingin May, peaking in July and ending in October (fig. 2).

With wet-season crops, 2% of the incidents oc-curred at the seedling stage, 23% at the intermediatestage, and 75% when crops were mature. Dry-seasoncrops were affected similarly: no incidents occurredat the seedling stage, 7% occurred at the intermedi-ate and 93% when crops were mature.

Grouped around the northern and eastern borders ofMWA, 58% of the wet-season incidents occurred within5 km of the area. There was a strong negative non-lin-ear relationship between distance classes and frequencyof incidents (corrected r2 = 0.939), indicating that the


number of incidents decreased rapidly with increasingdistance from the border (fig. 3). Grouped mainly alongthe western boundary of the district with some inci-dents were scattered on the eastern side, 42% of wet-season incidents occurred outside the 5-km limit.

Occurring within 5 km of the major rivers were82% of the dry-season incidents, grouped mainlyalong the Musengezi River and the northern sectionof the Hoya River. There was a strong negative non-linear relationship between distance classes and fre-quency of incidents (corrected r2 = 0.982), indicatingthat the number of incidents rapidly decreased withincreasing distance from a river (fig. 4). Outside the5-km limit, only 18% of the incidents occurred, thesebeing scattered widely to the east of the river sys-tems and to the south of the district in the mountains.

Classified as low severity were 59% of wet-sea-son crop-damage incidents, 26% as medium, and only15% as high severity. In comparison, dry-season in-cidents exhibited greater severity: only 29% were low,40% were medium, and 30% were classed as high.

Discussion

In Muzarabani District the rapid expansion of agri-cultural activities and the existence of a stable andmobile population of elephants are conducive to theoccurrence of human–elephant conflict. During thisstudy, elephant crop damage was common and wide-spread, occurring in 11 months of the year and af-fecting both wet- and dry-season crops.

Wet-season patterns of crop damage agreed closelywith those documented in recent research. The peakof crop-raiding activity observed during March cor-responded to the maturing period of cotton and maizecrops. Elephants resident in MWA damaged cropsalong the boundary by raiding fields close by in shorttrips from the refuge. The rapid decrease in incidentswith distance from the refuge may reflect increasedrisks of venturing deeper into farming land.

Incidents occurring more than 5 km from MWAalong the western boundary of Muzarabani Districtmay be attributable to elephants moving from GuruveDistrict. Large-scale movements of elephants betweenthe two districts have been identified in the wet sea-son (MZEP and ZamSoc 2000), and elephants mayuse small thickets as refuges within the communallands at this time. The broad distribution of incidentsreflects widespread cultivation and large-scale ele-phant movements during the wet season.


Dry-season crop damage exhibited a peak of activ-ity that corresponded to the maturing period of veg-etables and green maize. Most crop-raiding incidentsoccurred along the major rivers, reflecting the fact thatdry-season agriculture is limited to the beds of the ma-jor rivers and their tributaries, where alluvial soils andwater are available. The rapid decrease of incidents at adistance from the major rivers may be linked to thedecreasing potential for agriculture as one moves far-ther away from the main riverbed, or it may reflect in-creasing risks associated with moving greater distancesfrom the main riverine refuges. Few incidents occurredmore than 5 km from the major rivers, indicating thatin the dry season the geographical extent of crop dam-age is more limited than during the wet season.

Elephants may use riverine areas in the dry seasonbecause water is available there at a time of year whenit is generally scarce. They may also be attracted byfruiting trees, specifically the masawu (Ziziphusmauritiana) tree, which grows extensively along theriver lines and produces a sweet fruit that elephantsfeed on during the months of June to September(Funkhauser unpubl.). Thick riparian vegetation pro-vides browse and also concealment and shade for ele-phants during daylight hours. A range of resourcesmay attract elephants, and once they are nearby theyopportunistically raid vegetable gardens. Alternativelythe vegetable gardens may attract elephants to river-ine areas in the first place. At this stage it is impos-sible to state the relative attractive values of each re-source, but this may be the subject of further research.However, dry-season crop damage may be more com-mon in Muzarabani District that other areas becauseof the abundance of fruiting masawu trees, which areuncommon elsewhere in Zimbabwe.

Incidents of crop damage in the wet season weregenerally less severe than those during the dry season.Farmers actively defended fields during the rains, andcrop-raiding elephants were frequently chased away.Dry-season vegetable plots in the riverbeds were notactively defended and so were often heavily damagedor destroyed. In addition, wet-season fields were large,and the proportion of damage in a single crop-raidingincident was generally low. Dry-season cultivationareas were small, and the proportion of damage in asingle incident was therefore generally higher.

Dry-season crop damage may affect communal farm-ers’ livelihoods to a greater degree than wet-season dam-age, as dry-season crops supplement the farmers’ dietat a time of year when food is scarce. Elephants may

55

also target food stores at homesteads, and these inci-dents affect food security for the farmer until the cropsare harvested the following year. To determine whetherdry-season crop damage has a greater effect upon thefarmer than wet-season damage, a detailed socio-eco-nomic study would be required.

The severity measure developed in this study addsa further dimension to the assessment of crop-dam-age incidents. It gives an indication of the actual im-pact of crop raiding upon the farmer, and when com-bined with ‘frequency’ and ‘distribution’ measures,it forms a useful tool for determining priorities ofcrop-damage incidents.

By studying crop damage over a large land area, itwas possible to identify the broad seasonal patterns thatexisted within Muzarabani District. The informationyielded was designed to assist the rural district councilwith macro-scale management issues, including plan-ning future land use, deploying problem animal con-trol units, distributing wildlife revenues according toconflict, and placing conflict amelioration projects. Thisstudy represents the first phase of ongoing researchwithin Muzarabani District. Crop-damage informationcontinues to be collected in the most heavily affectedwards of the district, to update management decisionsand to evaluate crop-damage intervention projects.

The methods developed in this study have beenadopted and used by the AfESG Human–Elephant Con-flict Task Force as a basis for its crop-damage data col-lection protocol across Africa (Hoare 2000). The datacollection system is practical and straightforward, andideal for large-scale assessments. It is also efficient, asit requires only a few trained enumerators to cover awide area. The major cost is associated with the timeand effort required to train and supervise the enumera-tors, to ensure that the information collected is of highquality and ultimately is comparable.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the Muzarabani Rural Dis-trict Council for permission to conduct the research.We are indebted to Mr K. Mariba and Mr I.Masarirevhu for their part in training and supervis-ing the enumerators, to Dr T. Lynam for his contribu-tions to the analysis, and to Dr R. Hoare for his com-ments during the writing of the paper.

56

References

Bell, R.H.V. (1984) The man–animal interface: an assess-ment of crop damage and wildlife control. In: Bell, R.H.V.,and McShane-Caluzi, eds., Conservation and wildlife man-agement in Africa: US Peace Corps Seminar, Malawi.

Cunliffe, R.N. (1992) An ecological resource survey of thecommunal lands of Centenary District. WWF MAPSProject Paper No. 26. World Wide Fund for NatureProgramme Office, Harare, Zimbabwe.

Funkhauser, S. (unpubl.) Local community tree manage-ment of Ziziphus mauritiana: an exploratory study fromthe mid-Zambezi Valley, Zimbabwe. MSc thesis, 1999,Michigan State University, USA.

Hawkes, R.K. (1991) Crop and livestock losses to wild ani-mals in the Bulilimangwe Natural Resources Manage-ment Area. CASS Research Paper 1-91, University ofZimbabwe.

Hoare, R.E. (1999) Determinants of human–elephant con-flict in a land-use mosaic. Journal of Applied Ecology36, 689–700.

Hoare, R.E. (2000) Project of the Human–Elephant Con-flict Task Force (HETF): results and recommendations.Pachyderm 28, 73–77.

Hoare, R.E., and Mackie, C.S. (1993) Problem animal as-sessment and the use of fences to manage wildlife in thecommunal lands of Zimbabwe. WWF MAPS ProjectPaper No. 39. World Wide Fund for Nature ProgrammeOffice, Harare, Zimbabwe.

Kangwana, K.F. (1995) Human–elephant conflict: the chal-lenge ahead. Pachyderm 19, 11–14.

MZEP and ZamSoc (2000) Elephant research and man-agement in Muzarabani District and the mid-ZambeziValley. Zambezi Society, PO Box HG 774, Highlands,Harare, Zimbabwe. 18 p.

Osborn, F.V. (unpubl.) The ecology of crop-raiding el-ephants in Zimbabwe. Ph.D. thesis, 1998, University ofCambridge, UK.

Taylor, R.D. (1999) A review of problem elephant policiesand management options in southern Africa. AfESG Hu-man–Elephant Conflict Task Force (HETF) Report. IUCN/SSC African Elephant Specialist Group, Nairobi, Kenya.

Tchamba, M. (1995) The problem elephants of Kaele: achallenge for elephant conservation in northernCameroon. Pachyderm 19, 23–27.

Waithaka, J. (1993) The elephant menace. Wildlife Con-servation 96, 14–17.


Elephant crop damage and electric fence construction in theMaputo Elephant Reserve, Mozambique

Fred de Boer and Cornelio Ntumi

Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, C.P. 257, Maputo, Mozambique

corresponding address:Fred de Boer, Bureau Buitenland, RuG, Postbus 72, 9700 AB Groningen, The Netherlandsfax: +31 50 363 7100; e-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

An electric fence is at present being constructed around the Maputo Elephant Reserve, Mozambique, toprotect farmers from elephant raids. Elephants cause crop damage estimated at 8800 yr –1, or USD 8800 ele-phant–1. Elephants preferred maize, melons and beans, and their raid frequency increased during harvestseasons. The proportion of elephant crop damage was higher on more productive fields than the less produc-tive ones. In the most affected areas, 90% of the farmers reported elephant crop damage and 26% of the cropswas lost to elephants. The total damaged area was estimated at 10% of 983 ha of cultivated fields. Thefarmers, who felt that traditional methods of frightening elephants were not effective, chose the option ofconstructing an electric fence. The construction and maintenance of the 38-km electric fence is estimated atUSD 41,100 per year. At present, annual fence construction costs are much higher than the costs of cropdamage. However, eventually the fence should not only lead to a decrease in crop damage by elephants butalso contribute to better control of poaching and of access by people to the park.

Résumé

On est en train de construire une clôture électrique tout autour de la Réserve à éléphants de Maputo, auMozambique, pour protéger les fermes contre les éléphants. Les éléphants causent chaque année aux récoltesdes dommages estimés à USD 8800, ce qui fait USD 50 par éléphant. Les éléphants préfèrent le maïs, lesmelons et les haricots, et la fréquence de leurs incursions augmentait quand venait la saison des récoltes. Laproportion des dommages dus aux éléphants était plus élevée dans les champs plus productifs que dans lesmoins productifs. Dans les zones les plus touchées, 90% des fermiers faisaient état de récoltes endommagéespar les éléphants, et 26% des récoltes étaient perdus à cause d’eux. La superficie endommagée totale étaitestimée à 10% des 983 hectares cultivés. Les fermiers, qui ont estimé que les méthodes traditionnelles poureffrayer les éléphants n’étaient plus efficaces, ont opté pour la construction d’une clôture électrique. La con-struction et l’entretien des 38 km de clôture électrique sont estimés à quelque USD 41 100 par an. Pour lemoment, la construction coûte beaucoup plus cher que les dommages causés aux récoltes. Toutefois, la clôturene devrait pas seulement entraîner une diminution des dommages dus aux éléphants, mais aussi contribuer àun meilleur contrôle du braconnage et des personnes qui pénètrent dans le parc.

Introduction

The fragmentation of habitats and escalating humanpopulation growth contribute to frequent elephant(Loxodonta africana Blumenbach) raids on cultivatedfields (Dey 1991; Hoare 1995; Tchamba et al. 1995;Campbell et al. 1996; Kiiru 1996; Lahm 1996). Thelocal authorities seek solutions such as shocking or


shooting the elephants, compensating the farmers mon-etarily, and constructing electric fences (Hoare 1995;Thouless and Sakwa 1995; Lahm 1996; Osbornunpubl.). These measures have not always been totallysuccessful. Shooting does not deter elephants from raid-ing fields (Bell 1986 cited in Mkanda 1994; Hoare 1995;Lahm 1996; Osborn unpubl.), people and animals breakdown the electric fences (Deodatus and Lipiya unpubl.;

57

Thouless and Sakwa 1995), and compensation does notdecrease the conflicts between humans and elephants.Local communities living around protected areas oftenbear the costs of living with wildlife (Sukumar 1990;Swanson and Barbier 1992; Skonhoft 1995; de Boerand Baquete 1998), sometimes without benefiting fromthis coexistence (Kiss 1990; Lewis et al. 1990; Happold1995; Rihoy 1995; Heinen 1996). People sometimesleave the area if elephant crop raids become severe(Ostrosky unpubl.; Lahm 1996; Naughton-Treves1997). This can lead to increased conflict between lo-cal people and park authorities.

Electric fencing is a possible long-term solution fordecreasing crop damage (Hoare 1995; Thouless andSakwa 1995). An electric fence constructed in theMaputo Elephant Reserve (MER), Mozambique, is pri-marily aimed at reducing the frequent elephant raids inthe surrounding agricultural area (de Boer and Baquete1998). In this paper we compare the cost of crop losseswith that of constructing an electric fence.


Study area

The MER is in south Mozambique (fig. 1). It was es-tablished in 1932, although its current boundaries wereredefined in 1960. It is not fenced. The average annualrainfall is 690–1000 mm; the average temperature 20–26° (DNFFB unpubl.). The soils are mainly sandy. Thesix vegetation types are dune, mangrove, riverine, for-est, woodland, and grass plains (Tello 1973; de Boer etal. 2000). A population of about 180 elephants (I.White,pers. comm. 1998) is found in the area. Other herbi-vores that live in the MER are hippos (Hippopotamusamphibius), red duiker (Cephalophus natalensis), com-mon duiker (Sylvicapra grimmia), reedbuck (Reduncaarundinum), and suni (Neotragus moschatus). Poach-ing in the last decades has reduced the animal popula-tion considerably. The elephants are distributed rela-tively close to the human settlements, and they hide inthe dense forest patches (de Boer et al. 2000). They aremainly responsible for crop damage in the area. Theseincidents influence the attitude of the local populationnegatively (de Boer and Baquete 1998). Elephants donot cross the Maputo River, where the majority of theagricultural fields are found. Therefore, crop damageis reported only between Salamanga and Massuane,on the eastern side of the Maputo River and the west-ern side of the Futi River (fig. 1).

58

The electric fence (fig. 1) was constructed byBlanchard Mozambique Enterprises, a private enter-prise that obtained a long-term lease for the MER.The Maputo River, acting as a natural boundary forthe park, forms part of a deflecting fence system(Hoare 1995). The agency intended to develop thearea for tourism, but its lease was not continued after2000. However, its plans are still valid and are beingused here as an example for similar initiatives.

Study method

Elephant crop raiding was studied using data sheetsthat were distributed to 12 informants living in dif-ferent villages: Bela Vista, Lagoa Piti, Chia, Zitundo,Mvukunza, Salamanga, Fábrica de Cal, Futi River(which was divided into four areas) and Massuane(fig.1). The study was carried out over 13 months,from January 1996 to January 1997. The informantsasked the villagers to report to them any incidents ofcrop raids by elephants in the area. The mean monthlyraid frequency was calculated from the monthly per-centage of days when crop raids occurred in each vil-lage. The average number of raids was calculatedusing data from all 12 villages.

In January 1996, just before the harvest, 100 peoplefrom each village were asked to attend a general meet-ing. They had no prior knowledge of the subject to bediscussed. At Lagoa Piti only 19 people were present.These people were asked once if they had experiencedelephant crop damage to their agricultural fields in thepast 30 days. We visited and accessed the crop damageon the fields that were accessible of all the people whoresponded positively to this question. Crop type wasdetermined, total field area measured, and the destroyedand non-affected areas in the fields assessed using themethod described in Mettrick (1993). Elephant dam-age was distinguished from hippo damage by identify-ing footprints. The people were asked about the meth-ods they used to deter elephants and the specific effec-tiveness of each method. They were also asked to men-tion alternative measures for reducing elephant raids. Itwas assumed that the total cultivated area of farmerswho suffered crop damage by elephants and those whodid not report crop damage was equal. Total crop dam-age was calculated from the combined results of ques-tionnaires, field measurements and data on the existingtotal number of families in the area and agriculturalfields. Crop losses (replacement costs) were estimatedin US dollars, using local market prices.


Figure 1. Location of the study area and occurrence of crop damage. The relative size of the pentagonsrepresents the relative size of the cultivated area, with percentage of area raided by elephants indicated bythe black section of the pentagon.

BelaVixta

Maputo Bay

Maxsuane

Legend

agriculture fields

river

road

reserve bounderies

lake

electric fence

cultivated area with 20%elephant crop damage

10 km

Zitundo LagoaSatine

IndianOcean

Gala

LagoaXinguti

LagoaNele

MainCamp

LagoaMaunde

MuvukuzaLagoaNhame

Salamanga

Fabrica decal

Chia

MachanguloPeninsula

LagoaPiti

N


Compensation records provided a second datasource on crop damage caused by elephants. The de-gree of damage to specific areas in March 1997 wasestimated visually in percentage by staff from theMinistry of Agriculture, who are experienced in hu-man–elephant conflict. The crop type was identified,and the potential expected production from each spe-cific field was estimated. Total crop damage in kilo-grams was calculated by multiplying area (ha) x dam-age (%) x potential production (kg ha–1). The fieldsof all farmers reporting crop damage were visited.

Fence construction

The fence is supposed to protect agricultural fields be-tween Salamanga and Massuane, along the Futi River(see fig. 1). It was made of three-strand electric wiremounted on a game fence 2.5 m high and poweredwith solar energy. The fence is 38 km long and costUSD 228,000, which is USD 6000 for each kilometreof construction (E. Gouws, pers. comm. 1998). We as-sumed that the investment was financed from a loan,and that the loan would be repaid by the investor at aninterest rate of 5% over 20 years of equal annualinstalments. The annual maintenance costs are estimatedat 10% of the initial investment. The annual costs of

60

fence construction cover the fixed annual repaymentof the loan including interest of USD 18,300 (calcu-lated following Emmanuel et al. 1990), and maintenancecosts of USD 22,800, totalling USD 41,100 per year.

Results

Crop damage assessment

Crop damage is not evenly distributed in the area (fig.1). In Massuane, 90% of the household were affected,which is the highest percentage of crop raiding (table1). The mean area of agricultural fields on which ele-phant damage was reported was 38% of the total fieldarea. Among the farmers who reported elephant dam-age, 17% lost more than half their cultivated area.Extrapolating the percentage of respondents with cropdamage and the average damaged area per field, weestimated 100 ha to have been destroyed by elephantsin the 30 days before the questionnaire was adminis-tered. This area represents 10% of the total area cul-tivated in Salamanga, Fábrica de Cal, Massuane andalongside Futi River. The area around the river wasmost affected, with a quarter of the total destroyedby elephants. Productivity of the fields was estimatedat 402 kg ha–1, of which 375 kg was maize and the

Table 1. Results of the crop-damage assessment carried out in January 1996 in four areas with elephantraids around the Maputo Elephant Reserve, Mozambique. Total field size and area destroyed by elephantsare given; total crop damage is estimated

Area Total

Salamanga Fábrica de Futi Massuane Cal

Questionnaire data

Total questionnaires 100 100 100 100 400People with crop damage (%) 8 2 70 90 43

Fields with crop damage

Mean field size (ha) 0.6 2.0 0.9 0.6 1.0Mean destroyed area (ha) 0.3 0.8 0.4 0.1 0.4Area destroyed (%) 50 38 41 22 38

Total area

Total cultivated area (ha) 410 256 213 104 983Total destroyed area (ha) 16 2 61 21 100Total area destroyed (%) 4 1 26 20 10Estimated average potentialproduction (kg ha–1) 402 402 402 402 402

Total production loss (kg) 6,430 800 24,520 8,440 40,200Total production loss (USD) 1,008 126 3,843 1,323 6,300


remaining 27 kg associated crops(cassava, bean, sweet potato andother vegetables). This productionwas equivalent to USD 63 ha–1, ofwhich 81% was maize. A total lossof production caused by elephantsof 40,190 kg was estimated duringthe previous 30 days, equivalent toUSD 6300 (table 1).

Figure 2 gives the mean monthlyelephant raid frequency over theyear and the development stage ofthe main crops.The raids show a bi-modal pattern corresponding to thetwo peak production periods ofmaize and cassava. Elephant cropraids are less frequent in periodswhen crops are still immature. Theelephants’ preference for certaincrop species was analysed by com-paring the crop species on an agri-
cultural field with the crop species that were actuallyeaten by elephants (fig. 3). The highest number ofraids was reported for fields with maize, melon andbean, but the elephants preferred maize and melon tobean. The elephants also consumed pumpkin, rice,banana and cucumber. However, the total area culti-vated with rice, banana or cucumber was very low.
The second data source of information on cropdamage incidents was the records used to compen-sate for crop damage in March 1997 (table 2). Dam-

50

40

30

20

10

0Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan

5

4

3

2

1

0

elephant crop raids maize crop development

cassava crop development

Figure 2. The frequency of elephant crop raids from January 1996 toJanuary 1997 in relation to crop development. Crop stage is classifiedin five categories from 1 (seedlings) to 5 (harvest).


80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

00 100 0

50

100

61 46 76

9147

86undamaged

damaged

75

Figure 3. Cumulative frequency of agricultural fields with and withoutelephant crop damage. The values given above the bars are thepercentages of agricultural fields in which the specific crop was raidedby elephants and are a relative measurement of preference.

01

age was less in 1997 than in 1996; the mean dam-aged area was 0.024 ha per field, on which 58% ofthe crops was estimated to have been damaged. Totaldamaged area was 4.5 ha, and total crop loss was es-timated at 12,530 kg, or 31% of the 1996 estimates.This crop damage is equivalent to USD 2500. Ele-phant damage was not evenly distributed over thefields (fig. 4). The more productive fields had a rela-tively higher percentage of elephant damage, whileon the less productive fields, elephant damage was40% or less. A positive significant correlation con-

firmed this relationship betweenfield production and elephantdamage (r = 0.341, t = 4.00, n =185, P < 0.0001).

Landowners (n = 79) wereasked what methods they used fordeterring elephants. All respon-dents (100%) replied that theydrummed on tins and pots tofrighten them off, but only 52%of the people affirmed that thismethod was effective. About halfof the people (55%) also usedclothes and rags tied to poles andtrees to frighten off elephants, butthis was generally found to be theleast efficient method, with only15% of the people confirmingsuccess. The only method consid-

61

Table 2. Crop damage caused by elephants in March 1997 aroundthe Maputo Elephant Reserve

Variable Value

Households with crop damage 185 no.Damaged fields with maize 97%Damaged fields with bean 73%Average destroyed area 0.024 haTotal destroyed area 4.5 haEstimated average potential production 201 kg ha–1

Average loss 58%Total production loss 12,530 kgTotal production loss USD 2490

Data as determined by the Blanchard Mozambique Enterprises and theMozambique Foundation

Figure 4. The percentage of elephant crop damage found on anagricultural field in relation to the estimated potential production ofthat field (data from Blanchard Mozambique Enterprises and theMozambique Foundation).

0 100 200 300 400 500

Production (kg ha–1)

100

80

60

40

20

0

62

ered 100% successful was for gamewardens to fire shots. However, only22% of the respondents said that thisway of frightening off elephants wasused on their fields. Farmers sug-gested the following as measures fordealing with elephant crop raids: in-stallation of an electric fence (81% ofrespondents), compensation payments(46%), regular patrols by game war-dens (23%), and the shooting of prob-lem elephants (9%).

Discussion

Elephants, although generalist feed-ers, prefer certain crops. The foodpreferences that both Deodatus andSefu (unpubl.) and Lahm (1996) havereported are similar. No relation couldbe found between the percentage ofcrop damage and the total area undercultivation, as documented bySukumar (1990) (see fig. 1). Instead,damage seems related to proximity tothe MER boundary and hence thepresence of forest patches that can beused for shelter. A similar situationwhere crop damage was higher nearpark bounderies and in the vicinity offorest patches was described forUganda (Naughton-Treves 1997,1998). Elephants raid the fields anddamage the growing crops mainly atnight (Sukumar 1990; Hoare 1995;Lahm 1996). Raids that occur outsidethe gowing season might be relatedto the browsing of trees in communalareas (Sukumar 1990; Naughton-Treves 1997; Osborn unpubl.).

Elephants clearly prefer the moreproductive fields to the less productiveones. Figure 4 shows that elephants staylonger and consume more from moreproductive fields. Equal amounts offorage could be left on the more pro-ductive as well as the less productivefields after a raid. This corresponds withthe marginal value theorem (Charnov1976), which assumes that an animal


will leave a patch when the grazing intake averagesthat overall mean of all patches combined. This meansthat animals stay longer in patches of higher quality(Jiang and Hudson 1993; Wildhaber et al. 1994). How-ever, more data are needed to test this hypothesis.

The crop damage estimates were USD 6300 for 1996and USD 2500 for 1997. Differences in these estimatescan be explained by the different methods used for theestimations as well as by the different years of study.The mean damage of the two estimates is USD 4400.However, this figure is certainly an underestimation, asit is based on two one-month field studies. The damagethat occurred outside the sampling period was not takeninto account in either study. Therefore, it needs to bemultiplied by a factor of two at least because of ongo-ing agricultural activities and crop raids by elephantsthroughout the year (see fig.2). The total annual cost,therefore, increases to USD 8800.

Paying compensation may, in the long run, encour-age farmers to cultivate in areas with a high record ofelephant crop damage, because compensation pay-ments exclude production risks. According to Hoare(1995) compensation schemes are not successful. Thetotal annual costs are not evenly spread among thehuman population, and some farmers experience con-siderably more loss from elephant raids than others(see also Naughton-Treves 1997).

Most people (81%) favoured construction of anelectric fence because traditional methods were noteffective.

The negative attitude of people towards the MERhas largely been influenced by loss from elephant cropdamage (de Boer and Baquete 1998). Although the fencemay also decrease the raid frequency of bush pigs(Potamochoerus porcus) and hippos from the Futi River,damage by antelopes and hippos coming from theMaputo River will continue. People complain aboutlarge, aggressive, nocturnal animals (Deodatus and Sefuunpubl.; Hill 1997; Naughton-Treves 1997). However,small rodents generally cause more crop damage thanthe large animals (Lahm 1996). The fence will prob-ably decrease crop damage, but fence-breaking ele-phants and other crop-raiding animals will still causeproblems (Thouless and Sakwa 1995).

The proposed fence will not entirely enclose theMER. A deflecting fence will be constructed in thefavoured crossing area of elephants on their way fromthe reserve to the agricultural area. The protected areais only a small section where crop damage is highest.The MER benefits from its natural boundaries formed


by the Futi River, Maputo Bay and the sea. These natu-ral boundaries minimize the amount of fencing required,thus making the project cheaper. Costs for the area arestill relatively high, however, when compared with theconstruction cost of fences in other countries (comparewith Hoare 1995; Thouless and Sakwa 1995).

Fence construction costs will be partly compensatedby the decreasing crop damage. The break-even pointdepends on the amount of crop damage. Presently esti-mated at USD 8800 per year, this figure is much lessthan the costs of constructing and maintaining the fence,estimated at USD 41,100 per year. Fence constructionis therefore not economically viable for the presentamount of crop damage. The fence, however, will alsoimprove the protection of other animal species pres-ently in the reserve and species that it is planned toreintroduce. The fence will also help control humanactivities such as cultivating and exploiting natural re-sources in the reserve (see de Boer and Baquete 1998).These extra benefits are not included in the calculation.The cost–benefit analysis could also be improved byincluding the cost of fence breaking by elephants(Thouless and Sakwa 1995) and the decrease in elephantpoaching. De Boer and Ntumi (unpubl.) analyse thefinancial costs and benefits of an electric fence wheresuch factors other than crop damage are taken into ac-count.

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the Direcção Nacional de Florestas eFauna Bravia, the staff of the Maputo Elephant Reserve,and Blanchard Mozambique Enterprises, who grantedus permission to work in the Maputo Elephant Reserve.We also thank the Mozambique Foundation, and BenNgwenya and Eugene Gouws, who let us use their cropdamage estimations. The manuscript was considerablyimproved by discussions with Herbert Prins and RudiDrent, and by the comments of Ian Whyte, John Hearne,Richard Hoare and Kyle Tomlinson, for which we sin-cerely thank them. The research was carried out withinthe framework of the Deibi Project.

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Mode de dissémination des espèces les plus appétées par leséléphants dans la zone cynégétique de la Djona, les forêtsclassées de Gounguon, de la Sota et des environs, Nord-Bénin

Aristide C. Tehou

Ingénieur des Eaux et Forêts, Chercheur au Laboratoire d’Ecologie AppliquéeFSA/UNB 02 BP 527, Cotonou, République Bénintél / fax : +229 303084; email : [email protected]

Mots clés supplémentaire: crotte, ligneuses, végétatif, interaction, zoochorie, anémochorie et hydrochorie

Résumé

Les formations végétales de la zone soudano-sèche du Bénin constituent un habitat et une réserve alimentaireimportante pour la faune sauvage. Les animaux sauvages ont l’avantage de tirer partie de tous les végétauxdisponibles à différents niveaux. L’éléphant a été l’animal de base pour le présent travail. Les éléphantss’adaptent extrêmement bien et occupent divers habitats allant du désert à la savane et les forêts galeries.

Abstract

The vegetation of the dry-Sudan zone of Benin is an important habitat and a significant food reserve for wildanimals. Wild animals benefit at different levels from the available plants. Elephants have adapted extremelywell and occupy various habitats: from the desert to the savanna to the forest reserves.

Introduction

La zone soudano-sèche du Nord-Bénin est l’une desrégions où se concentre la plus importante diversitébiologique de notre pays.

« La nature est si belle, si luxuriante et sigénéreuse, qu’elle nous recrée et nous entretient toutle long de notre vie ». Les éléphants s’adaptentextrêmement bien et occupent divers habitats allantdu désert à la savane et les forêts galeries (Lausenand Bekoff 1978).

En effet la nourriture de l’éléphant comprend lesdifférentes herbes, l’écorce, les fruits, et les feuillagesdes arbres. Les arbres représentent les 3/4 des espècesde leur régime alimentaire (White et al. 1993), et àl’encontre des éléphants de savane, les fruits sont unélément important du régime alimentaire de l’éléphantdes forêts (White et al. 1993 ; Alexandre 1977). Leséléphants ne digèrent que 40% des quantités


consommées (Laws et al.1975). Ils influencent lastructure de la végétation.

Les études écologiques ont toujours été programméeset exécutées en république du Bénin, mais elles sontrarement menées de manière continue et intensive surun même site à l’instar des stations de recherchesécologiques des pays anglophones d’Afrique.

Le manque de données écologiques de base desécosystèmes en Afrique de l’ouest constitue unegrande lacune qui oblige le plus souvent lesspécialistes à faire de l’extrapolation. La rechercheécologique est nécessaire pour une gestion durablede la diversité biologique, des écosystèmes des paysen voie de développement en général et de l’Afriquede l’ouest en particulier.

Afin de répondre à cette préoccupation, le présentarticle donne les résultats d’un programme de collectede données sur l’écologie et l’éthologie de la faunesauvage des aires protégées du Bénin. L’objectif prin-

65

cipal est d’avoir une bonne connaissance : del’interaction végétation–animaux sauvages (cas deséléphants).

Démarche méthodologique

Des observations directes et indirectes nous ontpermis d’étudier l’interaction végétation ligneuse–éléphants dans un milieu naturel (Zone Cynégétiquede Djona, forêts classées de Goungoun et de la Sota)et dans les villages limitrophes. Les éléments de tra-vail ont été la petite harde d’éléphants (99 individus)de la zone, les crottes et les espèces ligneuses.

Ces observations ont été effectuées à pieds, à moto,à partir des couloirs de passage des éléphants. Uneboussole de précision, une paire de jumelles, un mètreruban et un appareil photo, ont été utilisés, pour mieuxsaisir l’interaction végétation–éléphants et bienapprécier le degré de dissémination des espècesligneuses appétées ; des relevés de germinationsspontanées ont été faits.

Milieu d’étude

La zone d’étude est située au nord du Départementdu Borgou, République du Bénin et s’étend entre 11'20" et 11' 50" de latitude Nord ; à 2' 50"et 3' 20" delongitude Est.

Climat

La température moyenne annuelle gravite autour de28 °C, le pouvoir évaporant de l’air est élevé pendantla saison sèche avec une humidité relative moyenneinférieure à 50 %, l’insolation est de 2600 heures enmoyenne. Deux types de vents dominants sesuccèdent dans la zone au cours de l’année : l’alizémaritime et l’harmattan.

Les moyennes pluviométriques annuelles varientde 1000 à 900 mm du sud au nord. Deux saisons sesuccèdent dans la zones : une saison des pluies et unesaison sèche. La saison sèche, caractérisée par les feuxbrousse annuels s’étend d’octobre–novembre à mars–avril et la saison pluvieuse de mars–mi avril à octobreavec le maximum de précipitation en août–septembre.

Végétation

La zone d’étude est couverte par un ensemble de for-mations éco-floristiques variant des forêts claires à

66

Isoberlinia doka aux différents types de savanesgarnies par endroit de galeries forestières et de plagesde jachères arbustives. Les essences dominantes sont :Acacia sieberiana, Adansonia digitata, Afzeliaafricana, Anogeissus leiocarpus, Burkea africana,Cassia sieberiana, Daniellia oliveri, Detariummicrocarpum, Entada africana, Lannea acida,Lannea microcarpa, Piliostigma reticulatum,Piliostigma thonningii, Prosopis africana ,Pterocarpus erinaceus , Sclerocarya birrea,Tamarindus indica. Parkia biglobosa et Vitellariaparadoxa sont les deux espèces épargnées lors desdéfrichements.

Géomorphologie, réseau hydrographique etsols

La géomorphologie de la zone d’étude est celui quicouvre le centre et le Nord Bénin habituellementdénommée le plateau cristallin. C’est le domaine desroches grenues consolidées datant généralement duprécambrien.

Le réseau hydrographique est constitué dequelques grandes rivières temporaires et d’un tissutrès réticulé de petites rivières qui leur sont raccordéesen de maints points. La zone d’étude appartient aubassin versant du Fleuve Niger qui coule plus au nord.La Sota et l’Alibori sont les principales rivières quidrainent la zone, elles prennent leur source vers leNiger.

Les sommets des interfludes majeurs portent dessols profonds qui sont remplacés en aval par des solspeu profonds et beaucoup moins évolués. Du sud aunord, la proportion relative des sols peu profondsaugmente au détriment des sols profonds.

Résultats

Mode de dissémination

Le mode de vie apparemment destructeur deséléphants crée une végétation variée qui fait vivre biend’autres espèces animales (ongulés, primates,rongeurs et oiseaux). Nous avons observé et analyséles différentes formes de dissémination des espècesvégétales relevées dans les crottes des éléphants. Cesdifférentes formes de dissémination observées sont :la dissémination par la zoochorie, par l’anémochorieet par l’hydrochorie. Lorsque le nombre des éléphantsn’est pas excessif, ils apportent une contribution


essentielle au rajeunissement des peuplements et aumaintien d’une dynamique régulière des formationsvégétales naturelles.

Ils contribuent dans une large mesure à assurer ladispersion spatiale et la régénération naturelle desarbres qu’ils exploitent. En effet, leurs excrémentscontiennent des graines non digérées de certainsarbres.

La composition de ces excréments varie d’unesaison à l’autre. Pendant la saison sèche, nous avonsles résultats suivants : 75 % de graines et de gousses,15 % de feuilles et 10 % d’eau et de sable ; maisquant à la saison des pluies nous avons : 45 % degraines et de gousses, 20 % de feuilles et 35 % d’eauet de sable. Ce qui montre que pendant la saison despluies le taux de dissémination est faible (45 %) parrapport à la saison sèche où beaucoup d’espèces desavane soudanienne sont en fruit (75 %). Mais parcontre on observe un taux très élever de germination

Tableau 1. Liste des espèces et des différentes parties consommés par les éléphants de février à mai

Noms des espèces Feuille Fruit Grains Rameau Racine Ecorce

Acacia sieberiana ++ – – + – –Adansonia digitata + +++ – + – –Balanites aegyptiaca + +++ – – – –Burkea africana ++ – – ++ – +Combretum glutinosum ++ – – ++ – –Combretum molle + – – – +++ –Crossopteryx febrifuga – – – + – –Danielia olivera + – – + – +Detarium microcarpum – + – – – –Dichrostachys cinerea + – – + – –Entada africana + + – ++ – –Gardenia erubescens + ++ – – – –Isoberlinia doka – – – – – –Kigelia africana + +++ – + – –Lannea acida + – – + – ++Lannea microcarpa + – – + – ++Pericopsis laxiflora + – – + – –Prosopis africana + + – ++ – –Sclerocarya birrea ++ ++ – ++ – +++Strychnos spinosa + +++ – – – –Syzygium guineense + +++ – – – –Tamarindus indica + + – + – –Vitellaria paradoxa – – – + – +Vitex doniana + – – + – –Ziziphus mucronata + + – + – –

Source : Analyse des données de terrain l’auteur+ : consommation faible++ : consommation moyenne+++ : consommation élevée– : consommation négative


(100 % des graines dispersées et qui ont transité parl’organe digestif des éléphants).

Après leur transit dans le tube digestif, ces grainesenrobées dans le fumier, germent plus facilement làoù les éléphants ont déféqué et donnant naissance àun nouvel arbre (soit zoochore, soit anémochore ousoit hydrochore). En comparant nos résultats auxdifférentes études réalisées par divers auteurs (Whiteet al. 1993, Alexandre 1977, Laws 1975, Kortland1984, Western 1989), il est évident que le régimealimentaire d’un éléphant comprend une diversitéd’espèces. Pour White et al. (1993) nos pouvonscompter jusqu’à 230 espèces, dont plus de 90% sontconstituées par des feuilles, branches, écorces et fruits.Les observations faites nous montrent que denombreuses espèces végétales appétées par leséléphants dépendent pour leur régénération des typesde diffusion ci-dessus cités. Les espèces les plusobservées et relevées au cours de l’étude sont : Aca-

67

cia sieberiana, Adansonia digitata, Balanitesaegyptiaca, Burkea africana, Cassia sieberiana,Crossopteryx febrifuga, Danielia oliveri, Detariummicrocarpum, Dichrostachys cinerea, Diospyrosmespiliformis, Entada africana, Isoberlina doka,Kigelia africana, Lannea acida, Lannea microcarpa,Parkia biglobosa, Pericopsis laxiflora, Piliostigmathonningii, Piliostigma reticulatum, Prosopisafricana, Sclerocarya birrea, Strychnos spinosa,Tamarindus indica, Vitellaria paradoxa, Vitexdoniana, entre autres.

Cette diversité d’espèces dans le régimealimentaire des éléphants contribue en grande partiedans la diversité des espèces au cours de ladissémination.

Les tableaux 1 et 2 illustrent parfaitement lesdifférentes parties des espèces végétales apprécier parles éléphants selon la période de l’année.

Tableau 2. Liste des espèces et des différentes parties consommés par les éléphants de Juin à Janvier

Noms des espèces Feuille Fruit Grains Rameau Racine Ecorce

Acacia sieberiana ++ +++ ++ ++ – –Andansonia digitata +++ + – +++ – –Balanites aegyptiaca ++ +++ – + – –Burkea africana ++ + – +++ – +Combretum glutinosum ++ + – ++ – –Combretum molle + – – + +++ –Crossopteryx febrifuga + ++ + + – –Danielia olivera + – – + – –Detarium microcarpum – ++ – + – –Dichrostachys cinerea + + – ++ – –Entada africana ++ + – ++ – –Gardenia erubescens + + + + – –Isoberlinia doka + + – ++ – +Kigelia africana ++ + – ++ – –Lannea acida ++ +++ + ++ – ++Lannea microcarpa ++ +++ – ++ – ++Parkia biglobosa ++ +++ ++ ++ ++Pericopsis laxiflora ++ ++ – + – –Prosopis africana + ++ – + – +Sclerocarya birrea ++ +++ + ++ – +Strychnos spinosa + +++ – ++ – –Syzygium guineense ++ ++ – ++ – –Tamarindus indica + +++ + + – –Vitellaria paradoxa ++ +++ +++ ++ – –Vitex doniana + +++ – ++ – +Ziziphus mucronata + + – + – –

Source : Analyse des données de terrain l’auteur+ : consommation faible++ : consommation moyenne+++ : consommation élevée– : consommation négative

68

Conclusion

Une bonne connaissance des écosystèmes devient deplus en plus indispensable pour une gestioncommunautaire durable de nos aires protégées. Depuisla conférence de Rio de Janeiro, plusieurs conventionsont été élaborées, adoptées et signées par les NationsUnies ; il s’agit dans ce cadre : de la convention delutte contre la désertification, de la convention sur ladiversité biologique où un accent particulier a été missur la recherche et la formation. Malgré ces grands ef-forts, certains Etats africains ne veulent pas s’y investir,d’où l’éternel problème de ne mener de manière con-tinue et sur un même site des recherches écologiques.Le programme de suivi éco-éthologique des animauxsauvages qui a motivé la présente étude, dont lesrésultats offrent une opportunité pour mieux connaîtreet mieux gérer nos ressources naturelles est un exemple


d’initiative qu’il faut soutenir et encourager pour unemeilleure gestion du milieu-cadre dans lequel vit lafaune et du milieu-ressource dont elle se nourrit.

Nous saisissons cette occasion pour lancer unappel à tous les acteurs du développement rural, àtous les partisans de la conservation de la diversitébiologique tant au niveau national qu’international àsoutenir nos travaux qui constituent un atout pour unegestion durable des ressources naturelles.

Références bibliographiques

Alexandre, D.Y. (1977) Rôle disséminateur des éléphantsen forêt Tai (Côte d’Ivoire). Terre et la Vie 32, 47–72.

Kortlandt, A. (1984) Vegetation research and the ‘bulldozer’herbivores of tropical Africa. In: Chadwick, C., andSutton, S.L. eds., Tropical rain-forest: the Leeds Sympo-


sium. Special publication of the Leeds Philosophy andLiterature Society. p. 205–226.

Lausen, L., and Bekoff, M. (1978) Loxodonta africana:mammalia species. American Society of Mammalogists92, 1–8.

Laws, R.M., Parker, I.S.C., and Johnstone, R.C.B. (1975)Elephants and habitats: the ecology of elephants in northBunyoro, Uganda. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Western, D. (1989) The ecological value of elephants: akeystone role in Africa’s ecosystem. In: Ivory trade andthe future of the African elephant, vol.2a. Report by theIvory Trade Review Group to CITES.

White, L.J.T., Tutin, C.E.G., and Fernandez, M. (1993)Group composition and diet of forest elephants,Loxodonta africana cyclotis Matschie 1900, in the LopeReserve, Gabon. African Journal of Ecology 31, 181–199.

69

Elephants as seed dispersal agents in Aberdareand Tsavo National Parks, Kenya

John Waithaka

Biodiversity Conservation ProgrammeBox 62199, Nairobi, Kenyaemail: [email protected]

Additional key words: elephant dung

Abstract

Various studies on elephants show that they perform several functions: they increase habitat mosaics in for-ests, diversify mammalian communities, promote biodiversity, play a vital role in maintaining links in foodwebs, and support many ecosystem functions and processes. This study aims to show the role of the elephantas an agent of seed dispersal. The results indicate that many plant species are dispersed by elephants and forsome of these species elephants may be the obligate agents of dispersal. Removing elephants from theirnatural ranges or restricting their movements using electric fences may result in serious implications with far-reaching ecological impact on species diversity in the long term.

Résumé

Les différentes études réalisées sur les éléphants montrent qu’ils remplissent diverses fonctions : ils augmententla mosaïque des habitats dans les forêts, diversifient les communautés de mammifères, accentuent la biodiversité,jouent un rôle majeur en maintenant des liens entre les réseaux alimentaires et supportent de nombreux pro-cessus et fonctions de l’écosystème. Cette étude tend à montrer quel est le rôle de l’éléphant comme agent dedispersion des semences. Les résultats montrent que de nombreuses espèces végétales sont dispersées par leséléphants ; pour certaines de ces espèces, les éléphants sont même des agents de dispersion incontournables.Le fait d’enlever les éléphants de leurs aires de répartition naturelles ou de limiter leurs déplacements parl’usage de clôtures électriques pourrait avoir de graves implications dont l’impact écologique à long terme serépercuterait sérieusement sur la biodiversité.

Introduction

Poaching of elephants in Kenya reduced the elephantpopulation from 167,000 to about 20,000 between1969 and 1989 (Cumming et al. 1990; KWS 1991).The onslaught resulted in numerous elephants with-drawing from many of their traditional ranges. Inmany districts, all elephants outside protected areaswere exterminated (KWS 1991).

The absence of elephants from their natural eco-systems is likely to have far-reaching ecological con-sequences considering that they play a vital role inmaintaining links in food webs and in supportingmany ecosystem functions and processes. Variousstudies have shown that elephants increase habitat

70

mosaics in forests (Kortland 1984), diversify mam-malian communities (Western 1986) and promotebiodiversity in general (Western 1989; Waithakaunpubl.; Mwathe 1997).

This study investigated the role of elephants in seeddispersal in the high-rainfall forests of the AberdareMountains and the semi-arid savanna grasslands ofTsavo National Park.

The study areas

Aberdares National Park has a population of over4000 elephants and Tsavo has more than 8000. Theseparks are increasingly being isolated by the erectionof electric fences and other barriers that are effec-


tively keeping elephants away from dispersal areaswhere they have been the chief ecological architects.

Aberdares National Park

Aberdares National Park is located in central Kenya,between latitudes 0° 08' S and 0° 42' S and longitudes31° 31' E and 36° 55' E. The park is mountainous, withpeaks rising up to nearly 4000 m. The centre of thepark consists of high-altitude moorlands with deepgorges and magnificent waterfalls. Below the moorlandslie dense bamboo and montane forests. The park con-stitutes more than 10% of Kenya’s forests (Doute et al.1981) and holds a unique variety of wildlife andsubmontane to alpine vegetation (Schmidt unpubl.).

The boundaries of the 765.7-km2 Aberdares Na-tional Park follow approximately the 3048 m con-tour line. However, a fingerlike projection called theSalient (67 km2) stretches down to 1920 m. Rainfallranges from 1000 to 2200 mm per year, with theamount increasing with altitude.

Tsavo

The Tsavo ecosystem is located in south-eastern Kenyabetween 2° and 4° S and 37° 30' and 39° 30' E. It com-prises approximately 40,000 km2 of arid bushland at analtitude of 200 to 1000 m. About 21,000 km2 of theecosystem are contained in the Tsavo National Parks.The landscape consists of flat plains, lying on various
kinds of parent rock material. Theclimate is typically semi-arid withaverage annual rainfall of 200 to700 mm, falling in two short sea-sons.
The semi-arid climate is re-flected in the vegetation structure,which shows an open, woodycanopy with varying degrees ofcover. It consists mainly of decidu-ous species. The ground layer iscomposed mainly of some shortand medium-tall perennial grassesand several annual grasses andherbs (Wijngaarden 1985).

Methods

One hundred fresh dung pilesfrom each Aberdares and Tsavo


National Parks were collected in 1991 during the longrainy season (between April and July).

The samples from Aberdares were collected fromthe forests, glades and bushlands in the Salient whilethe Tsavo samples were collected from Ndara and Irimaareas. The samples were transported to a greenhouse atKenyatta University where the environmental condi-tions that favour seed germination were simulated. Theseeds in the dung germinated and the seedlings weremonitored for about 90 days. The species were identi-fied and categorized into herbs, shrubs or trees withassistance from the University of Nairobi Herbarium.Seedlings for each species from the dung collected fromAberdares National Park were counted.

Results

Tsavo

Eighteen plant species belonging to 12 families ger-minated from the samples obtained from Tsavo Na-tional Park (table 1). Three species were from the fam-ily Gramineae and two each from the familiesAcanthaceae, Amaranthaceae, Compositae andCucurbitaceae. Out of the 18 species, 2 were shrubsand 1 a tree; the other 15 were herbs.

Aberdares

The species that emerged from the Aberdares sampleswere twice as many as those found in the dung

Table 1. Species from Tsavo that germinated from seeds in elephant dung

Species name Family Growth form

Acanthospermum hispidum Compositae herbAmaranthus graecizana Amaranthaceae herbAmaranthus hibridus Amaranthaceae herbBarleria sp. Acanthaceae herbBidens pilosa Compositae herbBoerhavia erecta Nyctaginaceae herbChloris roxburghiana Gramineae herbCommiphora schimperi Burseraceae treeCucumis aculeatus Cucurbitaceae herbCucumis sp. Cucurbitaceae herbDigitaria sp. Gramineae herbEragrostis ciliata Gramineae herbEuphorbia inaequilatera Euphorbaceae shrubGrewia virosa Tiliaceae shrubIpomoea spaltulata Convolvulaceae herbTalinum sp. Portulacaceae herbTephrosia hildebrandtii Papilionaceae herbThunbergia guarkeana Acanthaceae herb

71

samples from Tsavo. They represented 19 families:seven Gramineae species, four Compositae and threeeach of Acanthaceae, Solanaceae and Urticaceae. Theother families each had one or two species. Out ofthe 36 species, 27 were herbs, 6 were trees and 3 wereshrubs (table 2). A total of 422 seedlings germinatedfrom 100 dung piles from the Aberdares, with an av-erage of about 4 species per dung pile.

It is notable that three families, Gramineae,Compositae and Acanthaceae, contributed the greaterproportion of species dispersed by elephants in both

Table 2. Plant species from Aberdares that germinated from seeds inelephant dung

Species name Family Growth Seedlingsform (no.)

Achyranthes aspera Amaranthaceae herb 11Allophylus abyssinicus Sapindaceae tree 1Barleria ventricosa Acanthaceae herb 7Bidens pilosa Compositae herb 2Cassipourea malosana Rhizophoraceae tree 1Cerastium afromontanum Caryophyllanceae herb 6Chloris virgata Gramineae herb 3Convolvulus kilimandschari Convolvulaceae herb 3Cynodon dactylon Gramineae herb 12Cyperus rigidifolius Gramineae herb 4Cyperus sp. Cyperaceae herb 1Digitaria velutina Gramineae herb 9Diospyros abyssinica Ebenaceae tree 2Dovyalis abyssinica Flacourtaceae tree 1Droguetia debilis Urticaceae herb 4Eleusine jaegeri Gramineae herb 12Eragrostis tenuifolia Gramineae herb 8Ficus thonningii Moraceae tree 15Galium spurium Rubiaceae herb 1Hibiscus vitifolius Malvaceae shrub 1Hypoestes verticillaris Acanthaceae herb 12Justicia striata Acanthaceae herb 10Lagunaria cylindrica Cucurbitaceae herb 8Laportea alatipes Urticaceae herb 3Microglossa pyrifolia Compositae herb 6Oxalis corniculata Oxilidaceae herb 24Pennisetum clandestenum Gramineae herb 4Schefflera sp. Araliaceae tree 4Senecio hadiensis Compositae herb 1Sida cuneifolia Malvaceae herb 1Solanum aceleastrum Solanaceae shrub 21Solanum nigrum Solanaceae herb 5Solanum schumannianum Solanaceae shrub 14Stipa dregeana Gramineae herb 3Tagetes minuta Compositae herb 2Urtica massaica Urticaceae herb 200

72

areas (58% in Tsavo and 74% in Aberdares).Graminoids of the genera Chrolis, Digitaria andEragrostis were the only grasses found in the dungsamples in Tsavo. All three were also found in theAberdares samples.

The results show that more plant species were dis-persed by elephants in the Aberdares than in Tsavo.This may be explained by the difference in the over-all species diversity between the two ecologicallydistinct areas (Waithaka 1994). Only one tree specieswas identified from Tsavo samples while the

Pa

Aberdares samples had six tree spe-cies. Ficus thonningii, for whichthe elephant is an obligate seed dis-persal agent (Brahmachary 1995),had the highest number of treeseedlings in the Aberdares samples.

Discussion

Although we attempted to collectsamples from the existing habitats,the location of dung piles was un-likely to bias the results becauseelephants are known to foragewidely within the study areas. Fur-thermore, considering that food inelephant gut is retained for an av-erage of 33 hours (Spinage 1994),the habitat from which the dungwas collected was not necessarilythe source of the foliage.

This study shows that elephantsare important agents of seed dis-persal for many plant species. Al-though the study did not go into ex-perimental detail to show whetherelephants are obligate dispersalagents for particular species, theresults highlight the importance ofelephants in seed dispersal, in bothhigh- and low-rainfall areas.

The potential for the elephantsto disperse seeds in the Aberdaresis high. A hundred dung piles pro-duced 422 seedlings, an indicationthat the number of seeds dispersedin this manner was quite large, con-sidering that there are over 4000elephants in the area (MGM Envi-

chyderm No 30 January–June 2001

ronmental Solutions 1999) and each defecates roughly17 times a day (Barnes and Jenzen 1987). By extrapo-lation, elephants in the Aberdares have the potentialof ‘planting’ 272,000 viable seeds daily in the park.Such dispersal at a much lower scale is true for Tsavoand may be the case for other intermediate rainfallareas.

Judging from this study, the loss of elephants inmany parts of Kenya (KWS 1991) can be expectedto have far-reaching consequences. The results indi-cate that many plant species that are dispersed byelephants—and for some of these species elephantsmay be the obligate agents of dispersal—are likely tobe affected if elephants are exterminated or excludedfrom their habitats. This implies that, among otherfactors, the absence of elephants may create a spe-cies-poor community, negatively affecting speciesassociations and other ecological processes.

The role of the elephant as an agent of seed dis-persal has been discussed by a few authors. Alexandre(1978) found 21 out of 71 species he sampled in TaiForest, Ivory Coast, were adapted to dispersal byelephants. Elephants have also been identified as im-portant dispersal agents of Balanites wilsoniana.When they are absent, fruits that are generally toxicto other animal species rot and fail to germinate (War-ing and Schlesinger (1985). Similarly, Jansen (1979)observed that Simaba cedron trees growing in tropi-cal forests of Central America share fruit characteris-tics with Balanites and concluded that the presentrestricted distribution of Simaba was related to theextinction of the mastodons in the last 10,000 years.

Jansen and Martin (1982) suggested thatmegafaunal extinction in the Pleistocene resulted inloss of dispersal agents for a number of tree speciesin the central African dry forests, resulting in habitatimpoverishment. Jansen (1981) made a similar casefor the drier rangelands of Central America, whereplants resilient to browsing by smaller ungulates haveproliferated since the extinction of the megafauna.Owen-Smith (1987) advanced a key hypothesis toaccount for the cascade of extinctions among thesmaller mammals during the Pleistocene, which sawthe disappearance of 50% of the mammalian species.He suggested that the extermination of themegamammals had a domino effect as the vegetationclosed up and eliminated the habitat for small mam-mals. He cited Hluhluwe Game Reserve in SouthAfrica as a modern analogue where, since the elimi-nation of the elephants a century ago, the local ex-


tinction of three grazers and a sharp reduction of sev-eral others to vulnerable levels coincided with theinvasion of woody vegetation.

Seen in a larger context, the implication of losingelephants from their natural ranges may have far-reaching ecological impact in the long term. Remov-ing elephants from areas where their interactions withecosystem components have evolved over thousandsof years may be extremely catastrophic. To avoid sucheventualities, elephants should be recognized as a bio-logical species that plays a key role in ecosystem func-tions, and every effort should be made to allow themto move freely. In many parts of Kenya where theirsurvival is threatened by incompatible land-use prac-tices, possibilities of initiating conservationprogrammes that promote coexistence between peopleand elephants should be explored. This would be moreappropriate than the current widespread effort to re-strict elephant movements using electric fences.

This paper does not explore several issues. Forexample, the rate of seed germination between fieldand experimental conditions could be different. Prob-ably some of the seeds that germinated under experi-mental conditions would not have done so in the wild.Similarly, it would have been interesting to comparegermination rates between the seeds of the same spe-cies that had gone through the digestive system withthose that had not. However, plans are under way toundertake these studies.

References

Alexandre, D.Y. (1978) Le rôle disseminateur des éléphantsen forêt de Tai, Cote d’Ivoire. La Terre et la vie 32, 47-72.

Barnes, R.F.W., and Jenzen, K.L. (1987) How to countelephants in forest. AERSG Technical Bulletin 1, 1–5.

Brahmachary, R.L. (1995) Seed dispersal through the ele-phant. In: Daniel, J.C., and Datye, H., eds., A week withelephants: proceedings of the International Seminar onAsian Elephants. Bombay Natural History Society,Bombay. p. 389–393.

Cumming, D.H.M, Du Toit, R.F., and Stuart, S.N. (1990)African elephant and rhinos: status survey and actionplan. IUCN/SSC AE&RSG, Gland, Switzerland.

Doute, R., Ochanda, N., and Epp, H. (1981) Forest covermapping in Kenya using remote sensing techniques.Kenya Rangeland Ecological Monitoring Unit, Nairobi.

Jansen, H.D. (1979) New horizons in the biology of plantdefences. In: Rosenthal, G.A., and Jansen H.D., eds.,Herbivores: their interaction with secondary plant me-

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tabolite. Academic Press, New York. p. 331–348.Jansen, H.D. (1981) Patterns of herbivores in a tropical

deciduous forest. Biotropical 13, 271–282.Jansen, H.D., and Martin, P.S. (1982) Neotropical anachron-

isms: the fruits the Gomphotheres ate. Science 215,19–27.

[KWS] Kenya Wildlife Service (1991) Elephant conserva-tion plan, 1991. KWS, Nairobi.

Kortland, A. (1984) Vegetation research and the ‘bulldozer’herbivores of tropical Africa. In: Chadwick, A.C., andSutton, C.L., eds., Tropical rainforest. Special Publica-tion of the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society,Leeds, England. p. 205–226.

MGM Environmental Solutions Consultants (1999). Evalu-ation of the Elephant Conservation and Community Wild-life Programme. Final report.

Mwathe, K. (1997). Elephant-habitat studies in ShimbaHills National Reserve. KWS-WWF Report.

Owen-Smith, N. (1987) Pleistocene extinctions: the piv-otal role of herbivores. Paleobiology 13, 351.

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Schmidt, K. (unpubl.) The vegetation of Aberdares NationalPark, Kenya. Ph.D. thesis, 199, Universitstsverlag,Innsbruck.

Spinage, C. (1994) Elephants. T. and A.D. Poyser NaturalHistory, London.

Waithaka, John (unpubl.) The ecological role of elephantsin restructuring wildlife habitats and their impact on landuse patterns. Ph.D. thesis, 1994, Kenyatta University,Nairobi.

Waring, R., and Schlesinger, W.H. (1985). Forest ecosys-tems: concepts and management. Academic Press, NewYork.

Western, D. (1986) An African odyssey to save the elephant.Discover, October, 56–70.

Western, D. (1989) The ecological role of elephants in Af-rica. Pachyderm 12, 42–45.

Winjgaarden, Willen van (1985) Elephants–trees–grass–grazers. ITC Publication, No. 4. International Institutefor Aerospace Survey and Earth Sciences, Wageningen,Netherlands.


Elephants as seed dispersal agents in Arabuko-Sokoke Forest,Kenya

Paul Kimata Muoria,1,3* I. Gordon2 and N. O. Oguge3

1 Institute of Primate Research, National Museums of KenyaP.O. Box 24481, Karen, Nairobi, Kenyatel: +254 2 882571; fax: +254 2 882546email: [email protected]; [email protected] National Museums of Kenya and Arabuko-Sokoke Forest Management TeamP.O. Box 302, Watamu, Kenya3 Department of Zoology; Kenyatta University, P.O. Box 43844, Nairobi, Kenya


Additional key words: Loxodonta africana, diet, fruits, germination, cultivated crops

Abstract

Seed dispersal by elephants (Loxodonta africana) in Arabuko-Sokoke Forest was studied by examining theirdung piles for seeds or fruit remains and from seedlings that germinated from dung. Seeds were recoveredfrom 64.5% of the elephant dung piles examined between August 1996 and October 1997. Seeds of 42 plantspecies were distinguishable in elephant dung. At least 52 plant species germinated naturally from elephantdung in Arabuko-Sokoke Forest. Seedlings of 84 plant species germinated from irrigated elephant dung. Ourstudy showed that elephants are important seed dispersal agents in this ecosystem. Since cultivated cropscomprise part of the elephant diet here, this constitutes a source of conflict with the local community.

Résumé

On a étudié la dispersion des graines par les éléphants (Loxodonta africana) dans la Forêt d’Arabuko-Sokoke,en examinant les restes de graines et de fruits dans les crottes et les jeunes plants qui y germaient. On a trouvédes graines dans 64,5% des crottes d’éléphants examinées entre août 1996 et octobre 1997. On a pu identifierdes semences de 47 espèces végétales dans les crottes. Au moins 52 espèces végétales ont germé dans lescrottes d’éléphants dans la forêt d’Arabuko-Sokoke. On a pu faire pousser des plants de 84 espèces en arrosantdes crottes d’éléphants. Notre étude montre que les éléphants sont des agents importants pour la dispersiondes semences dans cet écosystème. Etant donné que les plantes cultivées composent une partie du menu deséléphants, ceci constitue une source de conflit avec la communauté locale.

Introduction

Fruits form an important component of elephant(Loxodonta africana Blumenbach 1797) diet in for-est environments (Wing and Buss 1970; Short 1983;Tchamba and Seme 1993; White et al. 1993; White1994) and have a marked influence on their rangingpatterns (Short 1983). Consequently, seeds of manyplant species are found in elephant dung (Merz 1981;Tchamba and Seme 1993; White et al. 1993). Pas-


sage of seeds through an animal’s gut increases thespeed and probability of germination (Estrada andCoates-Estrada 1984; Idani 1986; Chapman et al.1992; Wrangham et al. 1994). The quantity of seedsin elephant dung can reveal the importance of culti-vated crops in elephants’ diet (Tchamba and Seme1993). Fruits are important in elephant diet inArabuko-Sokoke Forest, and elephants may be play-ing an important role as seed dispersal agents in theforest.

75


Study area

Arabuko-Sokoke Forest (fig. 1) is in Kilifi andMalindi Districts, Coast Province, Kenya at 3° 50' to3° 10' S and 39° 50' to 40° E. It lies along theMombasa–Malindi highway between Kilifi andMalindi towns and has an area of approximately 400km2 including forest plantations. The forest experi-ences two rainy seasons, the long rains (late Marchto June) and the short rains (October to December),with the annual mean rain-fall ranging from 900 mm
to 1100 mm. The driestperiod is between Januaryand March. Monthly aver-age temperatures rangefrom 27° C to 30° C(Fairclough et al. 1995).The vegetation of the for-est can be classified intothree broad categories:Brachystegia, Cynometraand mixed forests (fig. 1).In addition, forest planta-tions cover 800 hectares.The forest supports a di-verse fauna (Britton andZimmerman 1979; Dreves1992; Chira unpubl.;Fairclough et al. 1995).
Recovery of seedsfrom elephant dung

From August 1996 to Oc-tober 1997, 736 elephantdung piles were examinedfor seeds and fruit frag-ments. Samples rangedfrom 27 to 85 dung pilesper month.

Germination of seedsfrom elephant dung

Natural germination ofseedlings in elephantdung. Seedlings that natu-rally germinated in 176 ele-

76

phant dung piles were recorded in November 1996and May 1997.

Germination experiments. From November 1996to October 1997, 30 fresh elephant dung piles permonth (33 in January and February 1997) were takento the Kenya Forestry Research Institute tree nurseryat Gede Forest Station. They were sown on individualplots and watered daily. The sample plots were in-spected every week for about three months and theseedlings that germinated identified.

Figure 1. Map of Arabuko-Sokoke Forest showing vegetation types. Insetindicates the position of Arabuko-Sokoke Forest in Kenya.

N

mixed forest

brachystegia forest

cynometra forest

other

water pools

plantation

LEGEND

0 4 8 km

ARABUKO

Sabaki River

Gede ForestStation

Equator


Results

Prevalence and species diversity of seedsin elephant dung

Seeds were recovered from 64.5% (n = 736) of theelephant dung piles examined between August 1996and October 1997. Seeds of 42 plant species weredistinguishable in the dung (table 1). Plant specieswhose seeds occurred in dung frequently over themonths were those of Balanites wilsoniana (11months), Grewia holstii (7 months) and Landolphiakirkii (6 months). Fruit use was low from March toMay 1997. In May 1997, none of the dung piles hadfruit remains or seeds. Several cultivated crops con-stituted part of elephant diet in this period; these in-cluded maize (Zea mays), mango (Mangifera indica),cowpea (Vigna unguiculata ) and cashewnut(Anacardium occidentale).

Germination of seeds from elephant dung

At least 52 species germinated naturally from the ele-phant dung in Arabuko-Sokoke Forest (table 2). How-


ever, some of the seedlings could not be identified tospecies level because they were damaged before theywere big enough to be positively identified. Seeds ofKedrostis leloja germinated 22%, Grewia holstii 20%,Rytigynia spp. 19% and Carica papaya 11%. Culti-vated crops that germinated naturally from the el-ephant dung were papaya, watermelon and pigeonpea(Cajanus cajan); under improved nursery conditions,84 plant species germinated (table 3). The number ofspecies that germinated was lowest from February1997 to July 1997 and again in October 1997. Seed-lings of cultivated crops that germinated includedguava (Psidium guajava), papaya (Carica papaya),mango, cashewnut, maize, watermelon (Citrulluslanatus) and cowpea.

Table 1. Frequency at which seeds were recovered from elephant dung from August 1996 to October 1997in Arabuko-Sokoke Forest (n = 736 dung piles)

Plant species Dung piles Plant species Dung pileswith seeds with seeds

(%) (%)

Grewia holstii 19.6 Strychnos panganensis 0.7Balanites wilsoniana 13.7 Tephrosia pumila 0.5Mangifera indica* 13.7 Lecaniodiscus fraxinifolius 0.5Landolphia kirkii 7.1 Vitex ferruginea 0.3Psychotria amboniana 5.6 Salacia spp. 0.3Manilkara sulcata 4.3 Cajanus cajan* 0.3Zea mays* 3.9 Commelina spp. 0.3Croton pseudopulchellus 3.5 Crotalaria laburnifolia 0.1Uvaria acuminata 3.0 Dichrostachys cinerea 0.1Rytigynia spp. 3.0 Grewia stuhlmannii 0.1Strychnos spinosa 1.8 Carica papaya* 0.1Grewia plagiophylla 1.8 Strychnos madagascariensis 0.1Anacardium occidentale* 1.8 Heinsia crinata 0.1Monanthotaxis fornicata 1.6 Brachystegia spicaeformis 0.1Vigna unguiculata* 1.4 Kedrostis leloja 0.1Cissus spp. 1.0 Drypetes reticulata 0.1Tamarindus indica 0.8 Unidentified (7 species)Acacia brevispica 0.8

* cultivated crop. Unidentified species were distinguished as different species based on characteristics like morphology,colour and texture.

Discussion

In our study, seeds or fruit remains were recovered in64.5% (n = 736) of all the dung piles examined. Otherstudies show a similar situation. For example, 82%(n = 311) of the dung piles examined at Lopé Re-serve, Gabon, contained fruit remains (White et al.1993). In that study, elephants fed on fruits of 72 plant

77

Table 2. Seedlings that germinated naturally from elephant dung inArabuko-Sokoke Forest (n = 176 dung piles)

Plant Seeds Piles with seeds(no.) (%)

Acacia brevispica 1 0.6Anacardium occidentale* 1 0.6Balanites wilsoniana 4 0.6Boerhaavia spp. 2 0.6Cajanus cajan* 1 0.6Carica papaya* 38 10.8Cissus spp. 7 2.3Citrullus lanatus* 7 2.3Commelina spp. 55 9.1Croton pseudopulchellus 41 1.1Flueggea virrosa 7 4.0Grewia holstii 115 19.9Grewia sulcata 18 3.4Indigofera trita 3 1.1Kedrostis leloja 147 22.2Manilkara sulcata 1 0.6Phyllanthus reticulata 1 0.6Rytigynia spp. 552 18.8Solanum incanum 19 5.7Strychnos spinosa 6 3.4Tephrosia pumila 11 4.5Tremnus labialis 6 2.8Unidentified (30 species) 87

* cultivated crop. Unidentified species were distinguished as differentspecies based on characteristics like morphology, colour and texture.

species. Merz (1981) found that elephants at Tai Na-tional Park, Ivory Coast, fed on fruits of 44 plant spe-cies. Short (1983) documented large-scale migrationof elephants in response to seasonal fruiting patterns.At Santchou Reserve, Western Cameroon, 65% of alldung piles examined (n = 250) had some trace of fruitswith 22 plant species being recorded (Tchamba andSeme 1993).

The large number of plant species whose seedswere found in elephant dung and that germinatedimplies that elephants contribute to seed dispersal inArabuko-Sokoke Forest. However, germination suc-cess for Balanites wilsoniana was low. Its seeds wereencountered in 20% (n = 736) of all dung piles exam-ined but germinated naturally in only one (n = 176dung piles); even under improved conditions, its seedsgerminated in only five (n = 366). Chapman et al.(1992) demonstrated that passage of these large seedsthrough elephants greatly improved their germinationsuccess. Further research on the dispersal and germi-

78 Pachy

nation of this seed in the forest isneeded.

Other studies have shown thatmammals are important seed-dis-persal agents in tropical forests(Estrada and Coates-Estrada 1984;Chapman et al. 1992; White 1994;Feer 1995). Seed-dispersing mam-mals concentrate seeds of diverseplant species in their dung(Tchamba and Seme 1993; Whiteet al. 1993; Wrangham et al. 1994;Remis 1997). Passage of seeds inanimal gut increases their speedand probability of germination.This has been demonstrated inmany animals including howlermonkeys (Estrada and Coates-Estrada 1984), birds (Barnea et al.1990), elephants (Chapman et al.1992), pygmy chimpanzee (Idani1986), baboons (Lieberman et al.1979), chimpanzees (Wrangham etal. 1994) and gorillas (Voysey et al.1999 a,b). Some plant species relyalmost exclusively on one animaldisperser (Chapman et al. 1992;White 1994). It is important to findout whether there are plant species
in the forest that are exclusively
dispersed by elephants. This would help in designingconservation policies for the forest.

Seeds from maize, cowpea, cashewnut and mangowere recovered from elephant dung, and seedlings ofguava, papaya, mango, cashewnut, maize, water-melon, and cowpea were germinated. This substanti-ates community claims that elephants do invade theircultivated crops. Examination of elephant dung andgermination of seedlings from it can provide usefulinformation about the role of cultivated crops in ele-phant diet.

Acknowledgements

Many individuals and organizations were helpful invarious ways. Special thanks go to Dr. JeanneAltmann. We particularly appreciate the cooperationof Dr John Waithaka, Mr Patrick Omondi and MrMoses Litoroh, all of KWS Nairobi, during the studyperiod; Mrs Partricia Ngare of WWF Nairobi; and

derm No 30 January–June 2001

Table 3. Plants that germinated from irrigated elephant dung in Arabuko-Sokoke Forest from November1996 to October 1997 (n = 366)

Plant species T Pw Plant species T Pw(%) (%)

Landolphia kirkii 463 15.0 Hibiscus sp. 7 0.8Psidium guajava* 103 6.3 Indigofera hirsuta 7 1.4Tremnus labialis 97 1.9 Polysphaeria parviflora. 6 1.1Flueggea virosa 73 8.2 Garcinia livingstonei 5 1.4Hoslundia opposita 59 1.9 Ximenia americana 5 0.3Ficus sycomorus 57 12.6 Cajanus cajan* 5 0.3Solanum incanum 57 6.6 Anacardium occidentale* 4 0.8Strychnos spinosa 56 4.6 Haplocelum inopleum 4 0.8Trema orientalis 49 9.0 Chamaecrista sp. 4 0.8Rhynchosia spp. 44 4.9 Indigofera vohemarensis 3 0.6Kedrostis leloja 42 4.6 Ipomoea spp. 3 0.6Salacia spp. 42 0.8 Manilkara sulcata 3 0.6Commelina spp. 40 6.6 Asystasia gengetica 3 0.8Drypetes reticulata 40 3.4 Mundulea sericea 2 0.6Grewia holstii 33 5.7 Hibiscus micranthus 2 0.6Cissus spp. 24 6.0 Acacia adenocalyx 2 0.3Agathisanthemum bojeri 22 3.3 Maerrua tryphylla 2 0.3Carica papaya* 22 1.9 Zea mays* 2 0.6Indigofera trita 21 3.3 Vigna unguiculata* 2 0.6Bourreria petiolaris 20 4.1 Manilkara zansibarensis 2 0.6Citrullus lanatus* 20 2.5 Teclea trichocarpa 2 0.6Metaporana densifloria 19 1.6 Nesogordonia africana 1 0.3Phyllanthus reticulatus 15 2.5 Ficus tremula 1 0.3Celosia hursuta 15 1.9 Dichrostachys cinerea 1 0.3Acacia brevispica 13 1.1 Abutilon mauritianum 1 0.3Tephrosia pumila 13 2.7 Psychotria amboniana 1 0.3Balanites wilsoniana 13 1.4 Kitia spp. 1 0.3Monanthotaxis fornicata 12 2.2 Crotalaria laburnifolia 1 0.3Allophyllus alnifolius 8 0.8 Ruellia prostrata 1 0.3Mangifera indica* 8 1.4 Rytigynia sp. 1 0.3Guatenbergia pembensis 7 1.6 Unidentified species (23 species) 104

T – number of seedlings that germinated; Pw – percentage of dung piles in which seedlings germinated; * cultivated crop.Unidentified species were distinguished as different species based on characteristics like morphology, colour and texture.

Ms. Nyawira Muthiga (Regional Biodiversity Coor-dinator–KWS Coast Region). Mr Chengo Katana wasa dedicated assistant throughout the data collectionphase. We also appreciate the cooperation of theArabuko-Sokoke Forest Management Team. TheKenya Forest Research Institute Office at Gede For-est Station allowed us to use their tree nursery re-sources to conduct germination experiments. Mrs AnnRobertson and Mr Mathias Ngonyo assisted in iden-tifying plants. Financial backing for this project camefrom the Chicago Zoological Society and the USNational Science Foundation (NSF IBN 9422013 and9729586 (9996135 Princeton) to Dr Jeanne Altmann),


the Kenya Wildlife Service Elephant and Forest pro-grams, and the World Wide Fund for Nature.

References

Barnea, A., Yom-Tou, Y., and Fredman, J. (1990) Differ-ences in germination of two closely related species ofSolanum in relation to bird digestion. Oikos 57, 222–228.

Britton P.L., and Zimmerman, D.A. (1979) The avifaunaof Sokoke Forest, Kenya. Journal of the East AfricanNatural History Society and the National Museum 169,1–15.

79

Chapman L.J., Chapman, C.A.,, and Wrangham, R.W.(1992) Balanites wilsoniana, elephant dependent dis-persal? Journal of Tropical Ecology 8, 275–283.

Chira, R.M. (unpubl.) Ecological study of herpetofauna inArabuko-Sokoke and Gedi coastal forests of Kenya. MScthesis, 1993. University of Nairobi.

Dreves, R.C. (1992) Amphibian species of the Gedi andArabuko-Sokoke Forests, Kenya. Report. National Mu-seums of Kenya, Nairobi.

Estrada, A., and Coates-Estrada, R. (1984) Fruit eating andseed dispersal by howler monkeys (Alouatta alata) inthe tropical rain forest of Tuxtlas, Mexico. AmericanJournal of Primatology. 6, 77–91.

Fairclough, A., Fanshawe, J., Gathara, G., Oglethorpe, J.,Shepherd, M., and Wass, P. (1995) Arabuko-Sokoke For-est and Mida Creek: the official guide. KIFCON, KaruraForest Station, Nairobi, Kenya. 65 p.

Feer, F. (1995) Seed dispersal in African forest ruminants.Journal of Tropical Ecology 11, 683–689.

Idani, G. (1986) Seed dispersal by pygmy chimpanzees (Panpaniscus): a preliminary report. Primates 27, 411–447.

Lieberman, D., Hall, J.B., Swaine, M.D., and Lieberman,M. (1979) Seed dispersal by baboons in the Shai Hills,Ghana. Ecology 60, 65–75.

Merz, G. (1981) Recherches sur la biologie de nutrition etles habitats préférés de l’éléphant de forêt Loxodontaafricana cyclotis Matschie 1900. Mammalia 45, 299–312.

Remis, J. (1997) Western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorillagorilla) as seasonal frugivores: use of a variable resource.American Journal of Primatology 48, 87–109.

80

Erratum: In issue no. 29, p. 50, table 1elephants in Arabuko-Sokokfirst row of the last column

Short, J. (1983) Density and seasonal movements of forestelephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis Matschie) in BiaNational Park, Ghana. African Journal of Ecology 21,175–184.

Tchamba, M.N., and Seme, P.M. (1993) Diet and feedingbehaviour of forest elephants in the Santchou Reserve,Cameroon. African Journal of Ecology 31, 165–171.

Voysey, B.C., McDonald, L.E., Rogers, M.E., Tutin, C.E.,and Parnell, R.G. (1999a) Gorillas and seed dispersal inthe Lopé Reserve, Gabon: 1, Fruit acquisition by trees.Journal of Tropical Ecology 15, 23–38.

——— (1999b) Gorillas and seed dispersal in the LopéReserve, Gabon: 2, Survival and growth of seedlings.Journal of Tropical Ecology 15, 39–60.

White, L.J.T. (1994) Sacoglottis gabanensis fruiting andseasonal movement of elephants in the Lopé Reserve,Gabon. Journal of Tropical Ecology 10, 121–125.

White, L.J.T., Caroline, E., Tutin, G., and Fernandez, M.(1993) Group composition and diet of forest elephants,Loxodonta africana cyclotis Matschie 1900, in the LopéReserve, Gabon. African Journal of Ecology 31, 181–199.

Wing, L.D., and Buss, I.O. (1970) Elephants and forests.Wildlife Monographs 19. Wildlife Society, Washington,DC. 92 p.

Wrangham, R.W., Chapman, C.A., and Chapman, L.G.(1994). Seed dispersal by forest chimpanzees in Uganda.Journal of Tropical Ecology 10, 355–368.


of the field note ‘Population estimate ofe Forest’: the range for elephants in the

should read 111–144 (not 111–114).

A new method for implanting radio transmitters into the horns ofblack and white rhinoceroses

Adrian M. Shrader1* and Brian Beauchamp2

1 Centre for African Ecology, Department of Animal, Plant and Environmental SciencesUniversity of the Witwatersand, Private Bag 3, WITS 2050, South Africae-mail: [email protected]

2 Manager, Technical Development, Game Capture, Southern Parks, South African National ParksPO Box 110040, Hadison Park 8306, Kimberly, South Africae-mail: [email protected]


Abstract

The most successful method of attaching radio transmitters to both white and black rhinoceroses has been toimplant them into either the anterior or the posterior horn of the animals. This paper describes a procedure bywhich the transmitter plus the antenna is implanted inside the anterior horn, thereby protecting them frombeing damaged through horn rubbing. Transmitters placed following this procedure were still functioning 22months after being implanted.

Resumé

La méthode la plus efficace pour attacher un émetteur radio aux rhinocéros, tant blancs que noirs, consiste àl’implanter à l’intérieur de la corne antérieure ou postérieure de l’animal. Cet article décrit un procédé grâceauquel l’émetteur et l’antenne sont implantés dans la corne antérieure, ce qui les protège lorsque l’animal sefrotte les cornes. Les émetteurs placés de cette façon fonctionnaient encore 22 mois après leur implantation.

Introduction

The factors that influence the movements of subadultwhite rhinos (Ceratotherium simum simum) in theUmfolozi Game Reserve were the purpose of a studystarted in April 1999. To achieve the aims of the study,we found it necessary to use radio telemetry to lo-cate specific subadults at regular intervals.

Radio telemetry has been used previously in re-search projects on both black (Diceros bicornis)(Anderson 1971; Anderson and Hitchins 1971;Hitchins 1971; Pienaar and Hall-Martin 1991) andwhite rhinos (Owen-Smith 1971). Previously trans-mitters have been attached by using collars or eartags or through implanting the transmitter into eitherthe anterior or the posterior horn. The shape of theneck of both black and white rhinos, however, has


made attaching and using radio collars problematic(Hofmeyr 1998). A rhino’s head is smaller than itsneck, and thus the collar slips over the rhino’s headand falls off (Anderson and Hitchins 1971). If the col-lar is attached tightly, it may be prevented from slip-ping off, but it may cause lesions on the animal’s neck(Hofmeyr 1998). Eartag transmitters have also beentried, but they are suitable only in small reserves thatuse aerial telemetry (Hofmeyr 1998).

The method that has had the most success and ismost widely used with rhinos has been to implant thetransmitter into either the anterior or the posterior horn(Anderson 1971; Anderson and Hitchins 1971;Hitchins 1971; Owen-Smith 1971; Pienaar and Hall-Martin 1991). Early studies implanted transmitters intothe posterior horn as it was felt that the anterior hornshould not be damaged because it was the rhino’s main

81

weapon (Anderson and Hitchins 1971). However, re-cent implantations of transmitters into the anteriorhorn have not weakened the horn or compromisedthe rhino’s ability to use it (Pienaar and Hall-Martin1991).

The implantation method discussed in this paperadapts the method described by Pienaar and Hall-Martin (1991) but improves on it by addressing twoproblems: 1) damage to the transmitter antenna if therhino extensively rubs its horn, and 2) the difficultyassociated with routing grooves up the back of therhino’s anterior horn.

Methods

The equipment used consisted of a 750-watt drill, twodrill bits, a tungsten hinge-rebating bit 35 mm in di-ameter, and an 8-mm bit that was 300 mm long withthe flute along the whole bit (fig. 1), a portable petrolgenerator, a hacksaw with 18 or 24 teeth per 25 mmin the blades, dental acrylic, and the radio transmit-ters that were to be inserted (fig. 2).

For the white rhino movement study, MOD-125transmitters from Telonics1 were used. To insure thatthe antennae would fit into the short anterior horns ofthe subadults, we reduced the transmitter antennae to250 mm (10”). The shortened antennae, however, re-duced the range of the transmitters. To compensatefor this, the amperage of the transmitter was increased
to 18 mA. As the study was to be con-ducted over a two-year period, the bat-tery life of the MOD-125 transmitter,which is 9 to 18 months, had to be in-creased. This was achieved by duty cy-cling the transmitter so that it was on for15 hours (0400–1700) and off for 9 hours(1700–0400). This adjustment resulted ina projected battery life of 22.7 months.
We drilled a 35-mm hole (the trans-mitter chamber) horizontally into the sideof the anterior horn using the hinge-re-bating bit powered by the portable gen-erator (fig. 3). To prevent the drill bit frombecoming jammed inside the horn, weremoved it periodically when drilling.This removed any excess horn shavingsand thus kept the hole clear. The trans-

82

1 Telonics, 932 E. Impala Ave., Mesa, AZ, USA; tel: +1 480 89

mitter chamber was drilled so that it sat at approxi-mately 90 degrees in relation to the side of the horn(fig. 4a). We determined where to locate the chamberby measuring the diameter of the base of the horn,dividing this distance in half (thus obtaining the ra-dius), and then using the radius as the distance be-tween the bottom of the horn and the lowest point ofthe transmitter chamber (fig. 5). The minimum radialdistance must be 7 cm, even if the diameter of the hornis less than 14 cm. This is because 7 cm is the mini-mum safe distance, for both subadult and adult rhinos,to avoid drilling into the bone of the skull or into the

Figure 1. Hinge-rebating (top), 300 x 8-mm (centre)and 19-mm spade drill bits used in the implantationprocedure. A standard 19-mm bit similar to the 300x 8-mm bit is recommended over spade bits (aspictured), as the shaft on a spade bit can bend.

Figure 2. MOD-125 (above) and MOD-050 (below) radio trans-mitters, which are implanted into the horns of rhinos.


2 4444; www.telonics.com

germinal layer of tissue, which lies between the boneand the horn (Peter Morkel pers. comm. April 2001).

If the animal had a long horn, we used a distance alittle greater than the radius to prevent drilling intothe germinal layer of tissue for the transmitter cham-ber. The transmitter chamber was drilled so the trans-mitter, once inserted, would sit centrally with a mini-mum distance of 20 mm from the end of the trans-mitter to the edge of the horn (fig. 4a).

Once the transmitter chamber was drilled, we re-moved the tip of the horn using a hacksaw to providea flat surface from which to drill the antenna cham-ber (fig. 4a, b). Factors that influenced the amount ofhorn that needed to be removed were the length ofthe 8 x 300-mm drill bit and horn curvature. In hornsthat were relatively straight, only the length of the bitdetermined the amount of horn that was removed.However, with horns that had a high curvature, pre-cisely how to position the antenna chamber was themain factor that influenced the amount of horn to beremoved. The antenna chamber was drilled so that itwould run through the middle of the horn down intothe transmitter chamber (fig. 4a, b, fig. 6.).

Figure 3. Drilling the transmitter chamber into theanterior horn of a white rhino.


Figure 4 (a and b). Front (a) and side (b) views ofanterior horn showing how both the transmitter andthe antenna chambers are placed for MOD-125 andMOD-080 transmitters.

a

b

After blowing the dust out of both chambers, weplaced the transmitter into the horn by feeding theantenna through the transmitter chamber up into theantenna chamber and then pushing the transmitter intothe transmitter chamber. The transmitter was posi-tioned with the side where the antenna was attachedto the transmitter towards the centre of the horn.

83

Figure 5. Side view of a white rhino’s anterior andposterior horns showing how the transmitterchamber is placed in the anterior horn. The chamberis drilled so that the distance separating the bottomof the horn from the bottom of the chamber (theradius (r)) is a minimum distance of 7 cm. Thisminimum distance is used even if the diameter (d) ofthe horn is less than 14 cm.

Both chambers were then filled with dental acrylic,poured into both chambers while it was fluid. Theacrylic took approximately 30 to 45 minutes to so-lidify and harden. To prevent it from draining out be-fore then, we dammed up the transmitter chamber bywrapping masking tape around the horn. When bothchambers were filled, we completely covered bothholes with masking tape before reviving the animal.The entire implantation procedure took approximately20 minutes from the moment the unconscious rhinowas approached until it was revived.

The horns of black rhinos are smaller than thoseof white rhinos, so either the Telonics MOD-080 (33x 18 x 23 mm) or the MOD-050 (cylindrical, 17 mmdiameter x 56 mm; fig. 2) with a 213-mm (8.5”) an-tenna can be used. For the MOD-080 a smaller diam-eter tungsten hinge-rebating bit is used to drill thetransmitter chamber (as in fig. 4a, b). For the MOD-

84

050, however, we used a drill bit of 19 x 300 mm todrill a single chamber (transmitter and antenna com-bined) from the tip into the centre of the anterior horn(fig. 7a, b). The transmitter was then placed in thechamber and the chamber filled with dental acrylic.

When the MOD-050 transmitter is placed into thechamber it should not be placed so that the top of thetransmitter (where the antenna is attached) is towardthe centre of the horn with the antenna bent so that itruns back up the side of the transmitter. If the an-tenna touches the transmitter, it effectively shortensthe length of the antenna and thus reduces the signalrange.

Both the MOD-080 and the MOD-050 have ashorter battery life than the MOD-125 (MOD-080,6–8 months; MOD-050, 4–6 months) and thus which

Figure 6. Drilling the antenna chamber downthrough the middle of the anterior horn of a whiterhino.


Figure 7 (a and b). Front (a) and side (b) views ofanterior horn showing how the combined transmitterand antenna chamber for the MOD-050 transmitteris placed.

a

b


transmitter is used will depend on how long the ani-mal is to be monitored. However, like the MOD-125,the battery life of both transmitters can be extendedthrough duty cycling.

Discussion

All the rhinos used in the study had rubbed the mask-ing tape off their horns within two days of implanta-tion and the dental acrylic had dried. An added ad-vantage of wrapping the horn with masking tape wasthat animals that already had radio transmitters im-planted could easily be spotted from the helicopterand thus were not redarted.

Despite the shortened lengths of the transmitter an-tennae, rhinos were located easily from the groundwith signal ranges between 5 and 8 km, the longest atapproximately 12 km. This study, however, was con-ducted in open rolling savanna (Natal lowveldbushveld; Low and Rebelo 1996). In Addo ElephantPark, the range of implanted transmitters was lessbecause of thicker vegetation (xeric succulent thicket;Low and Rebelo 1996), with signal ranges of only 3to 4 km on foot and 6 to 8 km from the air (MichaelKnight, pers. comm. April 2001).

After 22 months all 10 transmitters that had beenimplanted were still functioning. Observations madeof each individual showed no noticeable signs of dam-age either to the dental acrylic covering the transmit-ters or to the horns. A problem with the Pienaar andHall-Martin (1991) method was that by placing thetransmitter’s antenna in a groove up the back of theanterior horn, the rhinos could rub through the dentalacrylic and damage the antenna. If, however, the an-tenna is placed up through the middle of the horn,rubbing cannot damage it. The second concern withthe Pienaar and Hall-Martin (1991) method was thatrouting up the back of a horn with large curvaturecould be extremely difficult and time consuming.Eliminating this aspect of the procedure and placingthe antenna up through the middle of the horn reducesthe time required to conduct the procedure and thusthe time required to keep the rhino sedated.

As with the Pienaar and Hall-Martin (1991) method,implanting a transmitter using this method is an irre-versible procedure. Once the dental acrylic has hard-ened, the transmitter cannot be replaced or removed.The only way a new transmitter can be placed in thesame animal is if the previous transmitter has grown

85

out of the horn. However, as the intrinsic anterior horngrowth of both white and black rhinos is only between36.5 and 59.9 mm annually (Pienaar et al. 1991), it isunlikely that implanting a second transmitter will be aviable option for most studies.

In this study, the MOD-125 proved to be too largefor subadult white rhinos that were five years of ageor younger. In future, a smaller transmitter, possiblyone of the ones used for black rhinos, will be used.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the KwaZulu-Natal NatureConservation Service for allowing us to conduct thestudy in the Umfolozi Game Reserve. Also we wouldlike to thank Mark Cooke and the Game Capture Unitof that service for covering both the financial and thephysical aspects of the rhino capture operation. Ourthanks to Zarius Marx at Nova Dental LaboratorySupplies for donating the dental acrylic, DebbieOsberg for the illustrations, Peter Morkel and MikeKnight for their input, and Norman Owen-Smith andother reviewers for their comments on this manuscript.

References

Anderson, F. (1971) Design of radio-tracking systems usedin South Africa and problems encountered in their appli-

86

cation. In: Proceedings of a Symposium on Biotelemetry.University of Pretoria, Pretoria.

Anderson, F., and Hitchins, P.M. (1971) A radio trackingsystem for the black rhinoceros. Journal of the SouthAfrican Wildlife Management Association 1, 26–35.

Hitchins, P.M. (1971) Preliminary findings in a radio tele-metric study on the black rhinoceros in Hluhluwe GameReserve, Zululand. In: Proceedings of a Symposium onBiotelemetry. CSIR, Pretoria.

Hofmeyr, M. (1998) Comparison of four different radiotransmitter attachments on black rhino in Madikwe GameReserve. Pachyderm 26, 14–24.

Low, A.B., and Rebelo, A.G. (1996) Vegetation of SouthAfrica, Lesotho and Swaziland. Department of Environ-mental Affairs and Tourism, Pretoria.

Owen-Smith, N. (1971) The contribution of radio telemetryto a study of the white rhinoceros. In: Proceedings of aSymposium on Biotelemetry. CSIR, Pretoria.

Pienaar, D.J., and Hall-Martin, A.J. (1991) Radio transmit-ter implants in the horns of both the white and the blackrhinoceros in the Kruger National Park. Koedoe 34, 89–96.

Pienaar, D.J., Hall-Martin, A.J., and Hitchins, P.M. (1991)Horn growth rates of free-ranging white and black rhi-noceros. Koedoe 34, 97–105.


Closing down the illegal trade in rhino horn in Yemen

Lucy Vigne and Esmond Bradley Martin

P.O. Box 15510, Nairobi, Kenyaemail: [email protected]

Abstract

This study of Yemen’s rhino horn trade showed that, for the first time since surveys started in 1978, no newrhino horns were being made into dagger (jambiya) handles in the Sanaa souk. This is a major conservationsuccess as Yemen until recently was a main end-market for African rhino horn. Rhino horn traders com-plained that the government ban on rhino horn imports had harshly affected their business. Despite the lack ofrhino horn on the Yemeni market, prices have not risen, strongly suggesting a sharp decline in demand. Thewholesale price for rhino horn in Djibouti (which acts as an entrepot for Yemen) remains the same since thelate 1990s at USD 700/kg, and the price offered for rhino horn by jambiya makers in the Sanaa souk is USD1300/kg, slightly less than in the previous year. This is because Yemenis are not prepared to pay more for ajambiya with a new rhino horn handle as the per capita income in the country has continued to fall and peoplehave become cautious about spending money. Furthermore, jambiyas with older rhino horn handles are stillavailable. If customers have money to spare, they prefer jambiyas with older rhino horn handles, as comparedwith those having new rhino horn, as they regard these as more prestigious and a better investment. At thecheaper end of the market, more jambiyas with handles made of horn from the Indian domestic water buffaloare being made and offered for sale in Sanaa compared with five years ago as the human population steadilyexpands. Efforts to provide information on the plight of the rhino were initiated in Sanaa with posters andother educational materials dispersed in schools and public places as a start towards improving public aware-ness to reduce the demand for new rhino horn further.

Résumé

Cette étude du commerce de corne de rhino au Yémen a montré que, pour la première fois depuis le début desenquêtes en 1978, aucune nouvelle corne de rhino n’avait été transformée en manche de poignard (jambiya)dans les souks de Sanaa. C’est un succès majeur pour la conservation étant donné que le Yémen était jusqu’ily a peu une importante destination finale pour les cornes de rhinos d’Afrique. Les marchands de cornes derhinos se sont plaints que le ban gouvernemental imposé sur les importations de cornes avait durement affectéleurs affaires. Malgré le manque de corne de rhino sur le marché yéménite, les prix n’ont pas augmenté, ce quilaisse supposer une diminution radicale de la demande. Le prix de gros des cornes de rhinos à Djibouti (quisert d’entrepôt pour le Yémen) est resté constant depuis la fin des années ’90, à US$ 700/kg, et le prixqu’offrent les fabricants de jambiyas dans les souks de Sanaa est de US$ 1300/kg, légèrement inférieur auprix de l’année dernière. La raison en est que les Yéménites ne sont pas disposés à payer davantage pour unejambiya avec un nouveau manche en corne de rhino étant donné que le revenu per capita a continué à baisserdans le pays et que les gens réfléchissent plus avant de dépenser leur argent. Qui plus est, il reste sur le marchédes jambiyas avec de vieux manches de corne. Si les clients ont un peu d’argent de côté, ils préfèrent acheterces derniers plutôt que ceux dont le manche est neuf parce qu’ils les considèrent comme plus prestigieux, etdonc comme un meilleur investissement. Meilleur marché, on trouve à Sanaa des jambiyas dont le manche estfait de corne des buffle d’eau domestiqués en Inde, mis en vente en plus grand nombre qu’il y a cinq ans parceque la population s’accroît rapidement. On a fait des efforts à Sanaa pour fournir des informations sur le sortdes rhinos, au moyen de posters et d’autres supports éducatifs distribués dans les écoles et les lieux publics,afin de commencer à améliorer la sensibilisation publique et de réduire ainsi davantage la demande pour desnouvelles cornes de rhinos.


Introduction

Since the early 1970s, Yemen has been the largestimporter of rhino horn in the world (Martin et al.1997), where the horn is used for the handles of tra-ditional curved daggers. Small quantities of the hornare still being smuggled into Yemen from eastern andcentral Africa. It is thus important to continue pres-sure against the illegal rhino horn trade, encouragethe use of alternative materials and monitor thejambiya (dagger) industry.

Methods

We collected information, sometimes with the helpof informers, on various issues. Trade routes for rhinohorn reaching Yemen from Africa were investigatedto ascertain whether any new routes or new mainbuyers are emerging. Data were collected on the priceof rhino horn, quantities coming into the country,numbers of jambiyas being made, numbers of work-ers and workshops, and the prices of jambiyas withdifferent handles, mainly in Sanaa, the centre of thejambiya industry. Certain towns in the north and southof the country were also surveyed.

Alternative materials to rhino horn for daggerhandles were promoted. A public awareness campaignwas initiated on the plight of the rhino; pictures, post-ers, slide packs, and videos were distributed to schoolsand institutions.

We held discussions with the prime minister ofYemen, Dr Abdul Karim al-Iryani, concerning legis-lation to discourage further rhino horn trade. Penal-ties with a fine or a prison sentence are needed forpeople still found to be importing rhino horn or usingnew rhino horn to make jambiya handles, and the mainSanaa souk where jambiyas are made and sold shouldbe inspected regularly to deter further use of new horn.

Results

Rhino horn trade investigations andmonitoring

From discussions with the main jambiya-trading fam-ily in Yemen, we learned that Djibouti remains themajor entrepot for rhino horn from eastern Africa toYemen. Traders say that rhino horn can be smuggledfrom Mombasa by boat or by train from Addis Ababato Djibouti. From there it is smuggled by boat across

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the Red Sea to the Yemen coast and then transportedby four-wheel-drive vehicle to Sanaa. Many goodsare smuggled from Djibouti to Yemen, and rhinohorn pieces can be easily concealed. Controls to pre-vent smuggling are weak, and the main trading fam-ily in Sanaa can buy rhino horn from Djibouti. Inearly 2001 the price the family offered was USD700/kg. This is the same price as in 1999 (Vigne andMartin 2000). If the horn was brought directly toSanaa, the family offered USD 1300/kg. From 1985to 1997 the price for rhino horn in Sanaa remainedbetween USD 1000 and USD 1200/kg but rose toUSD 1400/kg in 1999 (see table 1). The price hasstayed roughly the same despite the increasing scar-city of rhino horn on the market. Traders are unwill-ing to pay more than USD 1300/kg today in Sanaa,partly because of the poor economic climate of thecountry. According to Yemen government statistics,per capita income fell throughout the 1990s. In 1990it was USD 696, in 1993 it was USD 409, and by1999 it had fallen to USD 368 (Yemen 2000a). How-ever, the Yemeni rial has remained stable at 165 tothe US dollar since 1999.

No new main buyers of rhino horn have comeonto the jambiya market in Sanaa. The industry con-tinues to be dominated by one family based in Sanaa,

Table 1. Prices paid by the main jambiya merchantsin Sanaa for raw rhino horn, 1980–2001

Year Price per kilogram

Yemeni rials US dollars

1980 3,500 7661981 3,500 7661982 3,600 7881983 4,100 8971984 4,300 7821985 8,300 11221986 10,000 10311987 ca 12,000 ca 10391988 ca 12,400 ca 10351989 ca 13,000 ca 10401990 15,000 10421991 30,000 12201993 ca 60,960 ca 12001995 135,000 12001997 ca 152,400 ca 12001999 182,000 14002001 (Jan.) 214,500 1300

Source: surveys taken by the authors


A jambiya trader in Amran, north of Sanaa, holds up hisown dagger, which he offered to us at USD 12,000.

which laments the loss of the rhino horn trade, blam-ing wildlife conservationists. Handles made fromwater buffalo horn, the only alternative substance thisfamily claims it now uses, they say is far less profit-able. Imported from India, one cut piece of waterbuffalo horn the size of a cigarette pack and weigh-ing 150 to 250 g costs USD 0.25 to 0.50, and oncemade into a handle it is priced at only a dollar. Plasticpieces for handles imported from Taiwan, which afew craftsmen use, cost only USD 0.15 each beforebeing crafted into a handle, so these too provide littleprofit. Rhino horn handles, apart from being valu-able in themselves, were also used to provide extraprofits as the waste was sold. The traders still arewaiting for permission to sell their remaining largestocks of rhino horn chips and shavings, left over fromthe handle-making process, that they registered withthe government in 1993. We learned, however, thatan Indian businessman living in Hong Kong who alsohas enterprises in Oman and Dubai comes severaltimes a year to Yemen to buy the highest quality chipsfrom the main jambiya family in Sanaa for USD 600/kg. Powder is worth less than chips, because powdergets mixed with dirt during filing; the Indian trader buysit for USD 400/kg (table 2).

During our 14-day visit to Yemen in January 2001,we saw no new rhino horn being made into daggerhandles—for the first time in 14 survey visits toYemen since 1978. The production of new rhino hornhandles has decreased to its lowest level since 1970.However, the growing human population in Yemenmeans that jambiya- making in general continues un-


abated. Yemen’s population was 11.9 millionin 1991, and by 1999 it had reached 17.7 mil-lion with an annual population growth rate of3.5% (Yemen 2000b). The main trading fam-ily estimates that in the Sanaa old souk,300,000 water buffalo horn, 30,000 wood and4000 plastic handles are made each year. Halfthe 40 or so handle makers in the souk aremembers of this family or are employed bythe family, and they employ another 40 or soblade makers. In January 2001, we counted69 shops (half of which belong to this family)open at any one time in the Sanaa old soukand 101 workers making and repairingjambiyas (table 3). These figures have slightlyincreased in the last decade. This is because,although buffalo horn handles take far less time

Table 2. Wholesale prices of rhino horn shavings(chips and powder) in Sanaa, 1978–2001



1978 1,000 2001983 1,000 2191986 2,454 2531990 4,896 3401993 20,000–30,000 394–5901994 38,500 5001995 60,375 5251999 84,500 6502001 chips 99,000 6002001 powder 66,000 400


Table 3. Jambiya shops with craftsmen working onjambiya handles in the Sanaa old souk, 1971–2001

Year Workshops (no.) Craftsmen (no.)

1971 47 ?1983 41 611986 51 841989 57 871993 56 911994 65 921995 55 881999 59 1002001 (January) 69 101

Source: surveys taken by the authors; for 1971, Dostal(1983)

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to make than handles of rhino horn,the craftsmen are producing manymore for the growing population, sothey are kept employed, even if prof-its are not as great as when rhino hornwas readily available. As expected,prices of daggers with differenthandles have remained about thesame as two years ago (table 4).

In the main jambiya retail sectionof the Sanaa old souk, fewer shopswere selling daggers in 2001 than in1999. Several shops that previouslysold rhino horn daggers are now sell-ing men’s Arabic cotton clothing in-stead. The tables that used to line thecentral area of this market display-ing jambiyas with rhino horn handleshave gradually dwindled in numberover the last 10 years until there arenone today. Most of the remainingretail shops now sell a mixture ofrhino horn, water buffalo horn and afew plastic or camel nail daggers,whereas in the 1990s and before theysold predominantly rhino horn ones.Two shops are still selling jambiyaswith the paler cream-coloured newrhino horn handles. These are lesspopular than the older rhino hornhandles made in the 1980s or beforeand are thus harder to sell. Very fewrhino horn jambiyas are sold outsidethe old souk. The shops outside thesouk sell mostly jambiyas withhandles made of water buffalo horn.

Although most of the jambiyas inYemen are made in Sanaa, manytowns, especially in the north, haveretail outlets for them. Amran, whichis just north of Sanaa, has three re-
tail dagger shops in its souk selling almost entirelywater buffalo horn jambiyas made in Sanaa. In addi-tion, there are 19 rhino horn ones priced at 30,000rials (USD 182) to one million rials (USD 6060).Another rhino horn jambiya that is supposedly 400years old is priced at 2 million rials (USD 12,121).These shops in Amran are small and sell pistols andrifles as well. Most men in Amran wear jambiyas,and many carry guns also.
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Table 4. Retail price of various types of handles of jambiyas for salein Sanaa, 1978–2001



Plastic (newly made)1986 100–200 10.31–20.621990 70–100 4.86–6.941992 150 (average) 4 (average)1993 200–250 3.94–4.921999 500 (average) 3 (average)2001 range 500–1000 3.03–6.062001 average 860 5.21

Water buffalo horn (newly made)1984 100–400 18.18–72.531986 150 (average) 15.46 (average)1987 150 (average) 13.04 (average)1990 150–500 10.42–34.721992 150–450 4–121996 1125 (average) 9 (average)1999 2000 (average) 12 (average)2001 range 400–5500 2.42–33.332001 average 2219 13.45

Camel nail (newly made)1993 650–1000 12.80–19.691996 1875 (average) 15 (average)1999 2500 (average) 15 (average)2001 range 1500–2200 9.09–13.332001 average 1900 11.51

Rhino horn (newly made)1978 3000 (average) 656 (average)1983 2000–8000 438–1,7501990 5000–9000 347–6251992 9000–25,000 240–6671993 10,000–50,000 197–9841996 39,375 (average) 315 (average)1999 65,000 (average) 394 (average)2001 range 35,000–120,000 212–7272001 average 68,333 414


Sadah, a town in the far north near the Saudi Ara-bian border, has a relatively large number of outletsselling and repairing daggers (table 5). Sadah receivesfewer tourists than several years ago because of thetourist kidnappings that tribal men inflict to annoythe central government. We were escorted to and fromSadah by an army pickup truck carrying eight sol-diers with automatic weapons, and during our inves-tigations in the souk, we had an armed guard with us.


Table 5. Sadah jambiya shops and stalls, January 2001—surveydetails

Shops and pavement stalls No.

Shops selling jambiyas 33Pavement stalls selling jambiyas 5Of these 38 retail outlets:

Shops also making jambiyas 4Shops also repairing jambiyas 6Pavement stalls also repairing jambiyas 2Shops also polishing and shining blades 3Pavement stalls also polishing and shining blades 2Jambiyas for sale in the 33 shops 1352Jambiyas for sale in the five pavement stalls 210

Jambiya sale prices Average price


New buffalo horn jambiya 1,686 10Old buffalo horn jambiya 16,433 100New rhino horn jambiya 63,125 383

Source: survey taken by the authors

For much of the time, we were the only foreign visi-tors in the town. The jambiya business, which is notmuch affected by tourist fluctuations, increased un-til about five years ago and since then has remainedstable.

As well as supplying jambiyas to men in this farnorthern region of the country, traders take some ofthe jambiyas across the border into Saudi Arabia tothe town of Najran. This area was part of Yemen un-til 1934 when it was incorporated into Saudi Arabia

2a

A medieval mud wall surrounds the old town of Sadah where thejambiya shops are to be found.

after a war. In 1988 nearly 10% ofthe men in Najran, ethnicallyYemenis, were wearing jambiyas. Atthat time 15 of the 27 small jambiyashops in Najran were repairing dag-gers and belts as well as selling them(Martin 1990). Sadah used to be fa-mous for its Jewish silversmiths,some of whom decorated jambiyahandles and sheaths. Today only oneJewish craftsman remains who workson silver for jambiyas; he makes sil-ver bands for where the handle andblade meet. In and around the oldwalled souk, 38 shops and pavementstalls are selling jambiyas. Four ofthese shops also make jambiyas withwater buffalo horn handles frompieces obtained from Sanaa (table 5).


Three craftsmen said that until the early1990s, they also made handles from rhinohorn, and one claimed he had recently ob-tained rhino horn from the main tradingfamily in Sanaa.

Most of Sadah’s jambiyas are made inSanaa and Dhamar. The former havewider handles while the latter havesmaller handles that are often rounded atthe top. The Bedu or rural people wearjambiyas with smaller handles. Dhamarcraftsmen produce them not only forSadah but also for the Shabwa region insouthern Yemen.

In Shabwa, people prefer old jambiyas.The craftsmen refurbish the rhino hornhandles by coating them in sesame oil andthen polishing them for a long time to geta dark pinkish-brown colour and bring outthe contrast of the grain. This work is car-ried out in Bayhan and Ataq, the admin-istrative capital of Shabwa Province,

where there are several dagger shops. A lot of men inAtaq are wearing jambiyas today. It is a town that isquickly expanding, because many people in the Gulfare sending money back to their homes there, and oilcompanies in Yemen employ people from the area.Although wearing a jambiya was banned in 1967 inSouth Yemen, the ban was lifted when it joined NorthYemen in 1990, and more people are again wearingdaggers. This is also the case in Upper Yaffa where

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This ancient gateway is still the main route into the medievaltown of Sadah.

Only one Yemeni Jewish craftsman remainsworking as a silversmith in Sadah, making silverbands that cover the join of the handle to the blade.

there are shops that repair and polish blades (RenaudDetalle, long-term resident political scientist, pers.comm. 1999 and 2001).

We visited Shihr on the south coast of Yemen, oncea flourishing dhow port exporting dried and saltedfish to East Africa. The people in this area were origi-nally from the Hadramout farther north; some settledon the Kenya and Tanzania coast. The town today issmall with little development and a small workforce.Most people remaining are elderly, and a survey ofthe men in the town revealed no one wearing ajambiya.

The beautiful island of Socotra is one of the mostisolated and least visited places in the world. Theprime minister of Yemen wished us to visit the islandas external aid is coming in to develop the island’sinfrastructure. The government hopes to develop tour-ism, and this fascinating island would be an excel-lent site for eco-tourism and diving. Some conserva-tionists call it the Galapagos of Arabia as it is so richin endemic fauna and flora. The people are mainlytraditional pastoralists living in the mountains in stonehuts and caves, surviving on a diet mainly of dates,milk and imported rice. They are a peaceful peopleand know little of the outside world. They have neverworn jambiyas. However, they do carry knives withhandles made of goat horn for general use. As thedevelopment of the island progresses, such as thetarmacking of roads, not only may the fragile eco-system be damaged, but also Yemenis from the north,who come to work on the island, may encourage the

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Socotrans to emulate the power elite inSanaa. They may even open a jambiyashop as occurred in Aden after unity(Vigne and Martin 2000).

Policies to encourage alternativesand publicity against using rhinohorn

For the demand for new rhino horn to re-main low in Yemen and to avoid an in-crease in price (which would encouragemore poaching of rhinos in Africa) we ini-tiated a publicity campaign on the rhino’splight and on the importance of using al-ternative materials. We held press inter-views and gave photographs to journalistson rhino poaching and the rhino horn trade.Posters with Arabic captions covering as-


A Sadah jambiya craftsman drills holes into a water buffalo hornhandle, which has the curved top that is typical of the Sadahstyle.

A Sadah pavement stall displays an array of jambiyas of variousstyles and materials, showing mostly water buffalo horn andsome rhino horn handles.

pects of rhino conservation were framed and hung atsome of Sanaa’s museums and institutes. The Envi-ronment Protection Council (EPC) of the Yemen gov-ernment displayed posters in 10 large schools whereEPC has started environmental clubs. Exhibit boardswere made for EPC to use for posters at meetings andconferences. The display of these posters was orga-nized by Sadek Yahia al-Osaimi, the EPC managerfor public awareness. Among the pictures on these


posters was a copy of the photograph ofthe religious edict or fatwa written by thegrand mufti, which stated that killing rhi-nos was against the will of God. Enlargedphotographs were framed of a prestigiousjambiya with an expensive agate handlefor EPC to display in various ministriesto encourage the use of this valuable al-ternative to rhino horn. Slide packs onthe rhino horn trade with captions weregiven to EPC. These are to be shown atthe 10 schools and at various institutes.EPC also was given copies of a WWFvideo in Arabic on the rhino horn trade inYemen, and EPC agreed to organ-ize theshowing of this video on Yemeni televi-sion. Other ideas for posters and moreeducational materials were discussed forfuture visits. There are close to two mil-lion people in Sanaa alone, but few knowabout the effect of Yemen’s rhino horntrade on Africa’s rhino population be-cause they lack information.

During a meeting with us at his of-fice, the prime minister of Yemen tele-phoned the governor of Sanaa, Husseinal-Maswari, about our wish to hang post-ers at the zoo, one of the few public rec-reational places in the city. When we vis-ited the zoo with Mr al-Maswari, webrought him five posters, which heagreed to frame and hang near the maingate. These are the only posters so far tobe hung in the zoo. The zoo authoritiesalso asked for leaflets and brochures onrhinos and other animals, as at presentthey have none. The zoo attracts manyvisitors, who can now start to learn aboutthe plight of the rhino through informa-tion supplied at the zoo. The governor ofSanaa also agreed to build a lecture room

at the zoo, and we gave him slide packs and a videoto show to visitors when such an education centre isbuilt. The zoo is still being developed, and this yearthe government has allocated 40 million rials (USD242,424) to spend on expansion.

Postcards of rhinos were given to various crafts-men and traders in Sanaa’s old souk to increase theirawareness about the rhino. During discussions withthe main traders in the souk, they explained that they

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need a comparable alternative to rhino horn, one thatwould give them more profit. Although agate handlesare an expensive alternative, they can break if droppedso are less popular for daily wear. Craftsmen thusneed another material as a substitute for rhino hornpieces with a similar appearance and texture to meetthe demand for a substance that is durable as well asattractive. The material need not be horn shaped butshould have filaments similar to the keratin in rhinohorn. Craftsmen carve a handle out of a piece of hornno larger than a cigarette pack, and traders wouldwelcome any suitable substitute material in this shapenow that rhino horn is so scarce. The merchants also

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Because of the current risk of kidnappings in the far noYemen, an army escort accompanied us on the long jofrom Sanaa to Sadah and back.

Straight knives with handles made of goat horn are woisland of Socotra.

said they would like customs duty (tax) to be removedfrom their large imports of Indian domestic water buf-falo horn, to make this alternative material more prof-itable for them. EPC agreed to organize a workshopin Sanaa to discuss alternative materials.

Although Yemenis are a traditional people, theyare also adaptable. Changes have occurred in recentyears in men’s dress. For example, the jambiya sheathand belt for the two major northern tribes, the Bakiland the Hashid, were brown and green respectively,but now these are mixed, especially in town, as arethe black and red headscarves. Certain drivers work-ing for the main tour company in Sanaa recently sold

rth ofurney

rn on the

their inherited rhino horn jambiyas to buytheir tourist vehicles. They had beenhappy to purchase instead jambiyas ofgood quality old water buffalo horn withsilverwork, which they had seen whenvisiting the Hadramout.

Legislation and law enforcement

No rhino horn has been confiscated orintercepted by Yemeni officials in the lastfew years, partly because the Yemenis arestill waiting for the CITES authorities totrain them in law enforcement. Sadek al-Osaimi of EPC is responsible for CITESmanagement in Yemen and he inspects theSanaa old souk personally at every Idd.Idd is the time to buy new jambiyas forthe celebrations after Ramadan and afterthe Haj. He has seen no new rhino hornon the market.

After our discussions with the primeminister about introducing penalties forthe possession and use of new rhino hornand having inspections to enforce theregulations, the prime minister said hewould talk to the minister of Supply andTrade during a cabinet meeting while wewere in the country. Unfortunately, theprime minister developed a high fever andcould not attend the meeting. He agreedto follow up the issue as soon as possible.

As customs officials are not yet trainedto recognize rhino horn, Dr Yusuf Abdullaof the General Organization for Antiqui-ties, Museums and Manuscripts, whichhelps to protect Yemen’s antiquities from


illegal export, suggested he could help to train themto intercept the horn. He has six officers working forhim at the airport.

Conclusions and recommendations

The study shows that little rhino horn is now cominginto Yemen. Quantities have been dwindling over thepast few years. Yet prices for rhino horn have not risenbecause of the decline in demand. Jambiyas with newrhino horn handles are not as popular because peopleprefer the older ones, but they are not so readily avail-able now.

This research trip is the first in which we found nonew rhino horn being made into jambiya handles inYemen. This is very encouraging for the future of east-ern African rhinos. Although water buffalo hornhandles take far less time to produce than rhino hornhandles, the numbers of craftsmen working in theSanaa old souk have slightly increased because morehandles are now being produced for the expandingpopulation. Thus, few craftsmen have lost their jobsas a result of the extreme shortage of rhino horn.

The demand for jambiyas, mainly with water buf-falo horn handles, continues elsewhere in the coun-try such as in the far north, especially in Sadah, andin some regions of the south where development ismost prevalent, such as Ataq. Most of the jambiyasare made in Sanaa, Dhamar and Taiz with craftsmenin other towns mainly carrying out repair work.

The plan to implement a new public awarenesscampaign to bring information to Yemenis about theplight of the rhino because of the rhino horn tradewas willingly accepted by all concerned. Yemenis arekeen for educational materials. Awareness is lacking,and all the posters, slide packs, videos, postcards andframed photographs were widely distributed in Sanaa.To do a fuller and more effective campaign, manymore posters and other materials are required in Sanaaand other main towns, along with regular showingsof the video on television.

Efforts to introduce new legislation on penaltiesand inspections for the possession and use of newrhino horn were unsuccessful and follow up is neededwith the prime minister and the minister of Supply


and Trade. The government has been agreeing to bringin this new legislation since the early 1990s. The de-lay indicates the difficulties in passing legislation, letalone enforcing it. It took many years to encouragethe government to join CITES, which Yemen finallydid on condition that international support and train-ing were forthcoming. But this has still not happened.The government is aware of its limitations, and withno international wildlife conservation body based inYemen to give assistance, the issue of the rhino horntrade falls near the bottom of the government’s prior-ity list. Constant reminders and assistance to the gov-ernment on laws and their enforcement are necessaryif they are to be effective.

Acknowledgements

Thanks are due to the prime minister of Yemen, DrAbdul al Karim al-Iryani; political scientist RenaudDetalle; the governor of Sanaa, Hussein al-Maswari;Sadek al-Osaimi of EPC; and professor of Antiqui-ties, Dr Yusuf Abdulla, among others, for their ideasand advice during our visit to Yemen in January 2001.

We would like to thank an anonymous NGO forfinancially supporting the project.

References

Dostal, Walter (1983) Analysis of the Sana market today.,InSerjeant, R.B., and Lewcock, R., eds., Sana, an ArabianIslamic city. World of Islam Festival Trust, London. p.257.

Martin, E.B. (1990) Survey of wildlife products for sale inSaudi Arabia. TRAFFIC Bulletin 1(4), 66–68.

Martin, E.B., Vigne, L, and Allen, C. (1997) On a knife’sedge: the rhinoceros horn trade in Yemen. TRAFFICInternational, Cambridge.

Vigne, L., and Martin, E. (2000) Price for rhino horn in-creases in Yemen. Pachyderm 28, 91–100.

Yemen, Republic of, Ministry of Planning and Develop-ment, Central Statistical Organization (2000a) Statisti-cal yearbook 1999. Government of Yemen, Sanaa, p. 382.

——— (2000b) Yemen in figures. Government of Yemen,Sanaa. p. 7.

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NOTES FROM THE AFRICAN RHINOSPECIALIST GROUP

Deaths in Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania

Matthew Maige

National Rhino Conservation Coordinator, Tanzania Wildlife DivisionPO Box 1994, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

The Ngorongoro Crater black rhino population(Diceros bicornis michaeli) has lost five animals sincemid-2000. Lions preyed upon one calf in May 2000,and the mother of the ill-fated calf died in September2000. The mother might have died of serious inju-ries, possibly following an encounter with an elephantor sustaining injuries in a fall off the crater rim, ac-cording to information the Ngorongoro ConservationArea Authority has received.

Perhaps more dramatically during the last year, un-confirmed babesiosis (a tickborne protozoan disease)is suspected to have claimed the lives of a one-year-old female calf in August 2000 and two cows, both inJanuary 2001. The permanent secretary and the di-rector of wildlife have visited Ngorongoro to inspect

the situation. A prolonged drought that claimed thelives of many herbivores, including some 300 buffa-los on the crater floor, is suspected to have greatlycontributed towards poor animal health, and conse-quently the animals in poor condition were more sus-ceptible to tickborne attack.

Measures have been taken to safeguard the craterpopulation. Between 23 and 29 January 2001, Dr PeteMorkel with Tanzanian veterinarians embarked onprophylactic treatment of the remaining crater popu-lation, darting the rhinos with a dose of Berenil.

Fortunately, the crater has since received goodrains, and it is hoped the population will soon againbegin to increase.

In 1992, Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) developed adatabase to improve knowledge of Kenyan rhino num-bers and to address the needs of rhino security. Thoughthe database met its initial objectives, it did not ad-equately incorporate the biological considerations thathave recently become paramount for managing andconserving Kenya’s growing black rhino populations.In 1998, KWS, in collaboration with private and com-munity sectors, assessed how the existing database ad-dressed key conservation needs. This review resulted

Kenya implementing a new black rhino informationmanagement system

Rajan Amin,1 Benson Okita2 and Martin Mulama2

1 Zoological Society of London, Regents Park, London, UK

2 Kenya Wildlife Service, PO Box 40241, Nairobi, Kenya

in a detailed specification being drawn up for a newinformation management system that would significantlyassist in the daily and longer-term conservation man-agement of Kenya’s various black rhino populations.

It was decided that such a system should operate atboth the sanctuary level and KWS headquarters. Itshould enable rhino staff at headquarters to effectivelymonitor progress and coordinate conservation effortsacross all rhino sanctuaries and parks (public and pri-vate) by collating and analysing up-to-date field data.

96 Pachyderm No 30 January–June 2001

To make informed management decisions, compara-tive data were needed for the different populations onkey performance indicators such as age structure, ageat first calving, average intercalving intervals, mortal-ity rates and rhino body condition. Mark-recaptureanalysis of both ID and clean animal sighting data wasalso needed to produce accurate estimates of true rhinopopulation sizes and densities. All these data could thenbe used to help manage populations for maximumgrowth so that rhino numbers will increase rapidly to-wards the overall metapopulation target, as well as tomaximize genetic diversity and enhance Kenya’s fu-ture ability to withstand any limited poaching outbreaks.It was decided that the system should also assist sanc-tuaries in rhino security and improve overall knowl-edge of their population. For example, information ob-tained on patrol routes, rhino sightings, movement andhome ranges could be used to deploy patrols.

Effective operation of such a system requires high-quality field data, which in turn can be achieved onlyby improving rhino monitoring. It was recognized thatby obtaining items of equipment such as GPS receiv-ers and digital cameras, and by training rangers inthe use of standardized AfRSG-recommended moni-toring techniques, the quality and conservation valueof monitoring data obtained could be improved.

While KWS developed the initial version of thesystem, financial support of USD 100,000 from theUnited States Agency for International Development(USAID) has enabled KWS to further enhance thesystem and then to implement it in the 12 Kenyanrhino sanctuaries and parks.

Development commenced early in 1999, and by theend of that year the first version of the database was


completed. A nine-month pilot study of the informa-tion system followed in Nairobi National Park, whichalso included use of GPSs and a digital camera. Thistrial was very successful, and good quality biologicaldata on the population were gathered. Rhino managersat Nairobi are now effectively planning patrols usingthe system and scouts are confidently using the GPSreceivers and digital cameras in their daily monitoring.Further enhancements to the system have been madebased on the experience gained from the pilot study, afive-day rhino monitoring and management workshop,and the output of the Kenya rhino conservation strat-egy development workshop held in September 2000.AfRSG has also contributed vitally to the development.Its contribution included a visit to South Africa by KWSrhino staff in November 2000 where they exchangedexpertise with counterparts in southern Africa to makethe Kenyan system complementary with those of thesouthern African range states. A one-day rhino data-base symposium was organized at KwaZulu-NatalWildlife headquarters, where the system was demon-strated and necessary amendments incorporated, whichincluded standardized performance indicators and au-tomated queries to facilitate annual status reporting.

The required information system and monitoringequipment have now been acquired for all the parksand the system was fully implemented following atraining workshop in May 2001. Other partners inrhino conservation have also provided additionalproject support.

KWS would like to sincerely thank USAID for thefinancial support, and the Zoological Society of Lon-don and AfRSG for their important contributions to-wards developing the system.

Black rhino dung DNA analysis

Thomas J. Foose

Program Director, International Rhino Foundation20 Pen Mar Street, Waynesboro, PA, 17268, USAemail: [email protected]

The International Rhino Foundation (IRF) on behalfof the Selous Rhino Trust and in collaboration withthe Smithsonian Conservation and Research Centeris processing proposals submitted to support devel-oping and applying a faecal DNA methodology thatwill be generally applicable in assessing and manag-

ing black rhino populations and that specifically willbe applied to analysing the Selous black rhino popu-lation. Proposals are under review. Updates on thisproject will appear in future editions of Pachyderm.

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Rhino database workshop

Richard H. Emslie

IUCN SSC AfRSG, PO Box 13053, Cascades, KZN, 3202, South Africaemail: [email protected]

A one-day rhino database workshop organized byAfRSG was held at KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife head-quarters to coincide with the visit of a Kenyan del-egation on a knowledge-exchange visit in October2000. Delegates were exposed to the new Kenyanrhino data management system (a variant of PeterErb’s Namibian rhino database system), the rhinocomponents of KZN Wildlife’s corporate wildlifedatabase, the new SADC-funded WILDb database,and an HTML-based system for storing and manag-

ing rhino photographs and sighting data. A presenta-tion on KZN Wildlife’s intelligence database systemwas also given. The meeting enabled database devel-opers to see what their colleagues had been doing aswell as give each other ideas of good features thatcould be added to improve their systems. Seeing thebasic structure of the databases was also useful forthe developers of RHINO software, who can now usethis knowledge to help create data files and importthem into RHINO from these Access-based databases.

Rhino security matters

Richard H. Emslie

IUCN SSC AfRSG, PO Box 13053, Cascades, KZN, 3202, South Africaemail: [email protected]

During the Kenyan knowledge-exchange visit toSouth Africa, discussions were held regarding thepossibility of Rod Potter of KwaZulu-Natal Wildlifeholding a scene-of-the-crime workshop in Kenya totrain local KWS staff in techniques to use, and somaximize the chance of successful arrest and pros-ecution in rhino poaching cases. Mr Potter briefedthe meeting of the southern African Rhino and El-ephant Security Group (RESG) on these techniques.As part of the SADC rhino program, he will producea manual on crime-scene techniques and hold hands-on training courses on them in the region. SimonMilledge of TRAFFIC and Mr Potter gave presenta-tions at the RESG meeting on horn stockpile control,registration and microchippping. Richard Emslie alsogave a presentation on rhino horn fingerprinting, giv-ing results to date and outlining current work.

Since the AfRSG’s one-day rhino database work-shop, the WWF-funded KZN Wildlife intelligence da-tabase system has been completely rewritten in Access,enhancing the program’s capability to answer queries.Potentially this intelligence database system could beused with minor modifications in other range states.Representatives from Namibia visited KwaZulu-Natalto examine the system, and Samantha Watts gave a pre-sentation on the database at the RESG meeting.

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Resuscitating RESG also creates opportunities forgreater cooperation between range states on securityissues such as transponder capacity, intelligence da-tabases, forensic investigative techniques and scene-of-the-crime training. It is a forum for learning whatapproaches have resulted in successful convictionsand sentencing of those involved in rhino poachingor illegal horn dealing.

As part of the process of developing horn finger-printing analysis techniques, Richard Emslie presenteda paper at the South African Statistical AssociationConference in November 2000. Progress to date andsuggested approaches for dealing with outstanding sta-tistical problems were discussed. Useful discussionswere also held with professional statisticians and hornfingerprinting staff at Anglo American Research Labs.Potential ways to simplify and reduce the cost of labanalyses are being investigated with AARL, and fur-ther expert statistical help is being sought to deal withanalytical problems. Novelty detectors will be exam-ined to see if they can successfully identify if samplescome from areas not yet covered in the horn fingerprintdatabase. At recent rhino workshops in both Kenya andZimbabwe, appeals were made to collect horn samplesto fill in the gaps in the continental horn database.


Announcing the RMG Carrying Capacity Model version 1.0 forblack rhinos

Keryn Adcock

Wild Solutions, Box 1212, Hilton 3245, South Africaemail: [email protected]

Estimating the ecological carrying capacity (CC) ofan area for black rhino is important. It allows the rhinopopulation to be managed at around 75% of the CClevel. This minimizes density-dependent effects suchas reduced calving success and increased mortalities,and it allows rhino population productivity to be maxi-mized. With knowledge of an area’s CC, introduc-tions to new areas can be planned at well below CCdensities, to minimize rhino social problems andmaximize their future breeding potentials. AssessingCC is therefore central to biological management ofthe black rhino, but its estimation has not beenstraightforward. Estimates of CC have differed widelybetween different people, and in particular non-ex-perts have tended to grossly overestimate CC.

Based on the need to improve CC estimation to fa-cilitate biological management of black rhino, KerynAdcock has been investigating the broad-scale deter-
minants of black rhino carrying capac-ity and performance. The focus to datehas been on 13 South African and 2Namibian baseline areas, which rangein rainfall and habitat from deserts tomoist coastal forests and cover a vari-ety of soil types. The research has takenplace through the Rhino ManagementGroup in collaboration with relevantnational, provincial and private blackrhino conservation authorities. Initialwork was funded by Wild Solutionsand WWF-SA. Building on these in-vestigations, the SADC RegionalProgramme for Rhino Conservationhas funded the production of an RMGCarrying Capacity Model (version1.0).
The model provides software and apractical and theoretical framework forunderstanding and roughly determin-ing the carrying capacity of an area forblack rhino. Six variables—annual


rainfall, rainfall concentration, minimum July tempera-ture, soil fertility, browse availability, and browse suit-ability—are used in the model to predict a black rhinoCC density that would be similar to what experts in thefield would predict (fig. 1). Predicted CCs can also thenbe used to estimate the likely average home range sizeof an adult male black rhino and the likely numbers ofdominant bulls that can reside in the area (fig. 2).

The software and accompanying manual indicatehow to gather raw field data for CC assessment andguide how to enter data into the computer program.Substantial guidelines are provided on how to evalu-ate southern African soil fertility and geology, whatare the known black rhino dietary profiles and pref-erences in different kinds of habitats, and the theo-retical background behind the CC concept and CCdeterminants as used in the model. Sound ecologicalknowledge is, however, still required to use the model.

0.7

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00 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6

Model-predicted carrying capacity

ADD

HLUUMF

NDU

MKUWEE

ESH

PILLAP

VAAWPP

AUGK-W

AVS

0.2ITA

prior estimated CC model predicted CC

Figure 1. Regression line of 15 areas as computed by the RMGCarrying Capacity Model version 1 compared with prior carrying-capacity estimates made by experts in the field. The regression ishighly significant, with an adjusted r-square of 0.879.

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1

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WEE

ADD

NDUAVS HLU

MKU

UMF

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ITAPIL

LAP

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Correlations with log range sizeto Ln prior est CC: –0.92to Ln model-predicted CC: –0.91

Observed male range size (log-scale)

prior estimated CC model-predicted CC

1 10 100 1000

Figure 2. Relationship between CC estimates made by experts andmodel-predicted CC, and estimates of average male home rangesizes. This strong relationship acts as independent confirmation of thegeneral appropriateness of the carrying-capacity model.

100 P

As this is the first comprehensiveCC estimation model for black rhino,several prominent workers in black rhinoecology and conservation or browser ecol-ogy are to evaluate the model and makesuggested improvements. Additionalwork to refine the model is beingfunded by the SADC Regional RhinoProgramme. This will include improve-ment of the browse-availability indexused in the model, and it will incorpo-rate better data from several of thebenchmark sites where other workershave recently completed more detailedstudies of black rhino. Zimbabweanand Kenyan rhino conservation work-ers have also indicated they plan to un-dertake similar research and modelbuilding, to cover CC predictions forblack rhinos in their areas. In future,we hope to expand the model to coveran even wider range of habitat types.

WILDb rhino database

Rob Brett

Coordinator, SADC Regional Programme for Rhino ConservationIUCN ROSA, PO Box 745, Harare, Zimbabweemail: [email protected]

A new rhino database, WILDb, has been producedby the SADC programme and is currently being fieldtested in several rhino areas in Zimbabwe, includingpopulations in government IPZs and conservancies.The database comprises components for use in moni-toring and tracking the performance of individual

rhino populations both locally and nationally. It isdesigned so that it can be readily customized for usein different rhino population areas in SADC rhinorange states. Anyone interested in obtaining a copyshould contact Dr Rob Brett at the above address.

RHINO rewrite: an update

Richard H. Emslie1 and Rajan Amin2

1 IUCN SSC AfRSG, PO Box 13053, Cascades, KZN, 3202, South Africa email: [email protected]

2 Zoological Society of London, Regents Park, London, UK

Since 1991, RHINO Bayesian Mark-Recapture soft-ware has been used in an increasing number of popu-

lations, to produce annual rhino population estimates(with confidence levels) by analysing sighting data

achyderm No 30 January–June 2001

of both identifiable and clean rhino. RHINO is de-signed to deal with various violations of classicalmark-recapture assumptions (such as births, deaths,ear-notching, removals, introductions, sighting-happyrhinos, non-independence of calves and calves becom-ing independent). Over the years, RHINO has workedwell in practice. However, the software was last re-vised in 1993 (version 1.21) and is written in the nowfossilized DOS-based PAL language. While RHINO1.21 was still usable on Windows NT and older ver-sions of Windows 95, it no longer ran on Windows98 machines. This is a problem, given that the soft-ware is used annually to produce population estimatesfor a number of annual status reports to the RhinoManagement Group. The need was therefore urgentto produce a revised version of the software that canrun on Windows 98 machines. Over the years therehave also been a number of suggestions from fieldusers on how the software could be improved andmade more useful. The time was therefore opportunefor a major revision of the software.

(Recently KZN Wildlife’s Owen Howison did whatmany in the IT world had failed to do—figure outhow to get RHINO 1.21 to run under Windows 98.Thus in the interim until RHINO ver 2.0 is released,RHINO 1.21 can continue to be used. Windows 98users should contact the AfRSG Scientific Officer,Richard Emslie, for details of how to configure Win-dows 98 to enable RHINO 1.21 to run.)

The original developer of RHINO, Richard Emslieof Ecoscot Consultancy Services, has teamed up witha statistician and programmer at the Zoological Soci-ety of London, Raj Amin, to completely rewrite andproduce a major revision of RHINO. This work, cur-rently under way, is being funded by the SADC re-gional rhino conservation programme. RHINO 2.0 isscheduled for release by the end of September 2001.As with previous versions, the software will be avail-able free of charge to all rhino managers and scien-tists who want it, both inside and outside of SADC.

RHINO 2.0 is being recoded in MATLAB 6 andwill be computationally much more efficient thanearlier versions. Documentation will also now bebundled with the software on CD-Rom. In develop-ing design specifications for the new version, all themain users of RHINO through the years were can-vassed for suggestions as to how they would like tosee the software improved.

The new version is being designed to accept datain Access or Excel formats. The plan is to add en-


hanced automated identification routines for trap-happy animals. The simulation capabilities of thepackage will be significantly enhanced to help usersassess the costs and benefits of notching more ani-mals as compared with hiring a dedicated observer toincrease the number of sightings. These simulationoptions should also help improve the guidelines onthe minimum percentage of animals that should beidentifiable in populations of different sizes. As ameasure to reduce bias, automated routines are to beincluded to identify cross-boundary movers and toallocate all their sightings to the section of a park inwhich they spend most of their time. Additionalplanned options include testing for differences inpopulation size over time and making it easier to com-bine population estimates for different sections intoa combined park population estimate.

In 1991, RHINO 1.0 became the first mark-recap-ture population estimator to account for clean rhinosand so provide a total population estimate. Later thatsame year Gareth Stead produced an alternative Baye-sian Mark-Recapture estimator, which also dealt withclean rhino, and many, but not all, of the major viola-tions of classical mark-recapture assumptions. TheStead estimator was written for a mainframe only andthus has not been suitable for field use on PCs. RHINOand the Stead estimator use different algorithms toestimate both independent and dependent (calf) popu-lation segments. To determine 1) whether it would beworth developing the Stead estimator further to en-able it to deal with more major violations of classicalmark-recapture assumptions (like RHINO), and 2)whether or not the Stead estimator should be offeredas an analysis option, and perhaps be made the rec-ommended analysis option, it was first necessary toassess the relative performance of the two estima-tors. The Stead estimator and some of the mainRHINO routines have been coded in MATLAB. Pro-visional modelling has revealed that RHINO (by vir-tue of its narrower confidence levels) appears to out-perform the Stead estimator. RHINO 2.0 will there-fore continue to be built using the RHINO rather theStead algorithms.

Training courses in the use of the new version ofRHINO will be held when it is has been completed.

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10

IMPORTANT NOTICE

Information needed on elephant sightings

The African Elephant Specialist Group(AfESG) is continually seeking more infor-mation on the status of elephant populationsacross range states. This information is usedto update the African Elephant Database, acomputerized information system that storespopulation estimates and other geographic in-formation on the African elephant, Loxodontaafricana.

Owing to political strife, lack of resourcesor other constraints to collecting data, defini-tive information on elephant populations iscompletely lacking from a number of rangestates. Therefore, AfESG is appealing to thereadership for georeferenced information onsightings of elephants or their signs from thefollowing countries:

AngolaLiberiaSierra LeoneSomaliaSudan

The AfESG Data Review Task Force(DRTF) monitors the quality of data enteredinto the database. For DRTF to be able to usethe data, any information on sightings mustinclude the following details:

1) Reporter contact details (name, address,phone, fax, email)

2) Observer details (if different from 1)

3) Date of observation

4) Location name, including country

2

5) GPS location, preferably in digitaldegrees, or the most accurate descrip-tion possible

6) Map of the area, if possible

7) Type of sightinga) from airb) from ground

8) Description of sightinga) direct observationb) dungc) footprintsd) crop-raiding reportse) vegetation damagef) carcassg) other observation

9) Group size and structure, if known

10) Habitat where sighting was madea) grasslandb) savanna woodlandc) swampd) broadleaf woodlande) forestf) forest clearing

Please report all sightings that meet thesecriteria to

African Elephant Database ManagerIUCN/SSC/African Elephant SpecialistGroupP.O. Box 62440, Nairobi, KenyaTel: +254 2 572630/1 or 577355Fax: +254 2 577389E-mail: [email protected]


PachydermGuidelines to contributors

Aim and scope

Pachyderm publishes papers and notes concerningall aspects of the African elephant, the African rhinoand the Asian rhino with a focus on the conservationand management of these species in the wild. At thesame time, the journal is a platform for dissemina-tion of information concerning the activities of theAfrican Elephant, the African Rhino, and the AsianRhino Specialist Groups of the IUCN Species Sur-vival Commission (SSC).

Submission of manuscripts

Where possible, manuscripts should be submitted bothin hard copy and on floppy disk. Alternatively, thetext can be submitted by email. Whatever media areused, the hard copy of the script must be identical tofloppy or email version.

Contributions should be sent to:The Editor, PachydermIUCN/SSC AfESGPO Box 62440Nairobi, Kenyatel: +254 2 577355, 561597, 572630, 572631fax: +254 2 577389e-mail: [email protected]

Preparation of manuscripts

Manuscripts are accepted in both English and Frenchlanguages. Where possible, the abstract should beprovided in both languages.

Title page: The title page should contain the follow-ing: 1. title, 2. name(s) of author(s), 3. full postaladdress(es), 4. name of corresponding author to whomproofs and editorial comments will be sent; give post,fax and email addresses for the corresponding author.Give additional key words, if any, that are not includedin the title.


Research papers: Should be not more than 5000words and be structured as follows: 1) Title page (asabove), 2) Abstract of not more than 200 words (in-formative type, outlining information from the Intro-duction, Materials and methods, Results, Discussion,but not detailed results), 3) Introduction, 4) Materi-als and methods, 5) Results, 6) Discussion, 7) Con-clusions if appropriate, 8) Acknowledgements (op-tional, brief), 9) References, 10) tables, 11) figure andphoto captions, 12) figures and photos. Papers maybe reports of original biological research or they mayfocus more on the socio-economic aspects of conser-vation, including market surveys.

Preferably provide figures and maps in their originalform, for example, Excel files, maps as eps or tif files(17 x 15 cm, 600 dpi), when submitting in electronicform. Indicate clearly the author or source of figuresand maps and the credit for photographs.

Review papers: Should be not more than 5000 words.A review paper is usually heavily referenced to givea historical basis for the review and to compare orcontrast previous research findings. We encouragenarrative style using the first person.

Notes from the field: The journal welcomes notesfrom the field. They may contain figures and tablesbut should be brief, 1000 words or less.

Book reviews: Pachyderm invites reviews of newlypublished books, which should be no more than 1500words long.

Letters to the editor: Letters are welcome that com-ment on articles published in Pachyderm or on anyother issue relating to elephant and rhino conserva-tion in the wild.

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Journal conventions

Nomenclature

Use common names of animals and plants, givingscientific names in italics on first mention. Includethe authority if the paper subject is taxonomic; other-wise, it is optional.

Use an ‘s’ for the plural form for animals: rhinos,elephants.

Spelling

Use British spelling, following the latest (10th) edi-tion of the Concise Oxford Dictionary, using ‘z’ in-stead of ‘s’ in words like ‘recognize’, ‘organization’,

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‘immobilized’, but ‘s’ for words ending in –yse, suchas ‘analyse’, ‘paralyse’.

Numbers

Use SI units for measurement (m, km, g, ha, h) with aspace between the numeral and the unit of measure-ment; use the same unit for singular and plural (donot add ‘s’) and place no full stop after the unit. Givemeasurements in figures, for example 12 mm, 1 kg, 3ha, except at the beginning of a sentence.

Spell out numbers under 10 if not a unit of measure-ment unless the number is part of a series containingnumbers 10 or over, for example: 14 adult males, 23adult females and 3 juveniles.


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