NUMBER 46 2017 GAJAHJournal of the Asian Elephant Specialist Group GAJAH Journal of the Asian Elephant Specialist Group Number 46 (2017) The journal is intended as a medium of communication on issues that concern the management and conservation of Asian elephants both in the wild and in captivity. It is a means by which everyone concerned with the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), whether members of the Asian Elephant Specialist Group or not, can communicate their research results, experiences, ideas and perceptions freely, so that the conservation of Asian elephants can benefit. All articles published in Gajah reflect the individual views of the authors and not necessarily that of the editorial board or the Asian Elephant Specialist Group. Editor Dr. Jennifer Pastorini Centre for Conservation and Research 26/7 C2 Road, Kodigahawewa Julpallama, Tissamaharama Sri Lanka e-mail: [email protected] Editorial Board Dr. Ahimsa Campos-Arceiz Dr. Prithiviraj Fernando School of Geography Centre for Conservation and Research University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus 26/7 C2 Road, Kodigahawewa Jalan Broga, 43500 Semenyih, Kajang, Selangor Julpallama, Tissamaharama Malaysia Sri Lanka e-mail: [email protected] e-mail: [email protected] Dr. Varun R. Goswami Heidi Riddle Wildlife Conservation Society Riddles Elephant & Wildlife Sanctuary 551, 7th Main Road P.O. Box 715 Rajiv Gandhi Nagar, 2nd Phase, Kodigehall Greenbrier, Arkansas 72058 Bengaluru - 560 097 USA India e-mail: [email protected] e-mail: [email protected] Dr. T. N. C. Vidya Dr. Alex Rübel Evolutionary and Organismal Biology Unit Direktor Zoo Zürich Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Zürichbergstrasse 221 Advanced Scientific Research CH - 8044 Zürich Bengaluru - 560 064 Switzerland India e-mail: [email protected] e-mail: [email protected] GAJAH Journal of the Asian Elephant Specialist Group Number 46 (2017) This publication was proudly funded by Wildlife Reserves Singapore Editorial Note Gajah will be published as both a hard copy and an on-line version accessible from the AsESG web site (www.asesg.org/ gajah.htm). If you would like to be informed when a new issue comes out, please provide your e-mail address. If you need to have a hardcopy, please send a request with your name and postal address by e-mail to <[email protected]>. Copyright Notice Gajah is an open access journal distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unre- stricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, pro- vided the original author and source are credited. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Cover Elephant herd at Wasgamuwa (Sri Lanka) Photo by Chandima Fernando (See article on page 14) Layout and formatting by Dr. Jennifer Pastorini Printed at P & G Printers, Colombo 10, Sri Lanka Gajah 46 (2017) 1 Editorial Jennifer Pastorini (Editor) E-mail: [email protected] Gajah 46 presents three research articles and Myanmar” was held, where different stakeholders three short communications. Four papers are discussed the national human-elephant conflict about elephants in Sri Lanka and the other two strategy under the national Myanmar Elephant publications are from India. We also have four Conservation Action Plan. The “Conservation reports on meetings held in Indonesia, Myanmar, Network of Asian Mahouts” keeps expanding India and Thailand. with Indian mahouts from Karnataka joining force with mahouts from Indonesia. Awareness In Research Articles, A.M.D.B. Alahakoon and programs and exchange visits were held for co-authors studied the feeding pattern of elephants mahouts to learn from each other. The “Elephant in the Udawalawe National Park. They identified Conservation Group” held its fifth workshop 63 elephant fodder plants in different habitats at in Kuiburi, Thailand. From nine countries 23 different times of the year. Chandima Fernando participants exchanged ideas and experiences et al. report on butterflies using elephant dung in and discussed collaboration on various projects. Wasgamuwa. They found 26 different butterfly species puddling on dung piles with up to 15 A total of 63 abstracts of “Recent Publications species on the same dung pile. Kasun Abeysinghe on Asian Elephants” are provided in the abstract and colleagues assessed gastrointestinal strongyle section and “News Briefs” presents 24 news infections in 141 captive and wild elephants. All clippings featuring elephants from across the wild elephants had high numbers of strongyle range. larvae while captive elephants, being dewormed regularly, had less parasites. Vivek Menon, the chair of the Asian Elephant Specialist Group, provides information about his In Short Communications, Sangita Mitra studied visits to Sabah and Sumatra and reports from the possible factors influencing elephant mortalities elephant range country meeting held in Jakarta. on railway tracks of northern West Bengal. In He further informs us about the 11 new working 40 years 82 elephants were killed in 56 train groups that have recently been set up and accidents. T.M.S.K. Piyadasa and co-authors used announces the next AsESG meeting to be held in a GnRH vaccine on six captive elephant bulls to April 2018 in Thailand. postpone musth. In the three elephants, which received all doses, the vaccine postponed musth A big thank you to all the authors who contributed by a few months. Arindam Kishore Pachoni et articles about their work to this issue of Gajah. al. report on the treatment of a chronic abscess I would also like to thank the editorial team in a juvenile captive elephant. Two weeks after for their help with paper editing and working surgery the animal recovered fully. with the authors to improve their manuscripts. I would like to welcome Varun Goswami as a new In the News and Briefs section we hear from the editorial board member. “2nd Asian Elephant Range States Meeting”, held in Indonesia this year. The meeting We are most grateful for the financial support concluded with the “Jakarta Declaration for the from the Wildlife Reserves Singapore Group, Asian Elephant Conservation” agreed upon by enabling us to print this Gajah and mail it out all 13 range states. In June 2016 a “Workshop free to its readers. on Addressing Human-Elephant Conflict in 1 Gajah 46 (2017) 2-3 Notes from the Chair IUCN SSC Asian Elephant Specialist Group Vivek Menon Chair’s e-mail: [email protected] Dear members I was fortunate to meet most of the members of Indonesia and Malaysia (this included meetings This has been a particularly exciting few in Jakarta as well as in Kuala Lumpur) and also months for me and the AsESG. First, I have in Thailand on the way back home. I must thank had the opportunity of representing all of you all the members including Sen Nathan, Benoit at the Asian Elephant Range States Meeting at Goossens, Marc Ancrenaz, Heidi Riddle, Wahidi Jakarta, Indonesia coordinated by the Indonesian Azmi, Salman Sabaan, Chatchote Thitaram, government and our very active members Dr. Mattana Srikrachang and Wayuphong Jitvijak Wahdi Azmi and Ms. Heidi Riddle. Mr. Ajay “Aek” for making the meetings a grand success. Desai and Dr. Simon Hedges also attended from Special thanks to non-members Rudi Putra the membership. We had very fruitful discussions (Sumatra), Nurzhafarina Othman (Sabah) and and the Jakarta Declaration that you will see in John Edwards (Thailand) for local hospitality. this issue is the product of this conference. If there is one thing I was wiser to after the tour When range countries come together and make was that Bornean elephants are not dwarfs by unanimous statements, the future of the elephant any means and not that safe either as people have is at least to that measure safer, one would postulated. Farina, Sandeep and I were mock presume. I followed that up by going with our new charged at rather close distance by a makhna that Programme Manager Dr. Sandeep Kr Tiwari to demolished that hypothesis rather effectively! two ranges of the elephant in Sumatra and Sabah, Borneo. While I saw some very fine forests left in I am happy that since my last writing to you Gunung Leuser and Way Kambas in Sumatra and some progress is there also in the formation of Kinabatangan in Sabah, the elephant itself seems working groups as well as in the appointment of to be on the decline and alarmingly so in Sumatra. a Red List Coordinator. Dr. Christy Williams is Coupled with my previous visit to Vietnam I now our Red List Coordinator for the group. I can only surmise that Sumatra and Vietnam are wish him all the best in that important task. possibly two of our more endangered elephant populations. Elephant Range States Meeting in Jakarata, April 18-20, 2017 (Photo by REGAIN -KLHK). 2 Elephants in Sabah (Photo by Sandeep Kr Tiwari). Following working groups have also been set up meeting of the Standing Committee from 27th during this period: Nov to 1st December 2017 and held a consultation 1. Sumatra Elephant Conservation Action meeting for MIKE South Asia in India on 25th Plan September 2017. 2. Arresting the decline of elephant population of Vietnam Finally while the Sri Lanka meeting is still not 3. Sabah Elephant Conservation Action Plan confirmed, I am pleased to announce that we will 4. Developing guidelines for rehabilitation of meet from 25th to 27th April 2018 followed by captive elephants in the wild as a possible a two day field visit in Bangkok, Thailand and I restocking option would request all of you to keep your calendars 5. Developing manual for the management free for this important second meet of the and care of captive elephant in musth membership in this triennium. 6. Developing guideline for the welfare and use of elephants in Tourism Vivek Menon 7. Developing guidelines for creating Chair AsESG, IUCN SSC artificial water holes in elephant habitats 8.