July – December 2006 Number 41 ISSN 1026 2881 IUCN journal of the African Elephant, African Rhino The World Conservation Union and Asian Rhino Specialist Groups July – December 2006 No. 41 1 Chair reports / Rapports des Présidents 1 African Elephant Specialist Group report / S P E C I E S Rapport du Groupe Spécialiste des Eléphants S U R V I V A L d’Afrique C O M M I S S I O N Holly T. Dublin Editor 12 African Rhino Specialist Group report / Rapport Helen van Houten du Groupe Spécialiste des Rhinos d’Afrique Assistant Editor Martin Brooks Dali Mwagore Editorial Board 16 Asian Rhino Specialist Group report / Rapport du Holly Dublin Groupe Spécialiste des Rhinos d’Asie Esmond Martin Nico van Strien Leo Niskanen Robert Olivier 20 Research Nico van Strien Lucy Vigne 20 Recensement d’éléphants dans la Réserve Communautaire du Lac Télé, République du Design and layout Damary Odanga Congo Fortuné C. Iyenguet, Guy-Aimé F. Malanda, Bola Graphics Madzoke, Hugo J. Rainey, Catherine A. Phillip Miyare Schloeder, Michael J. Jacobs Address all correspondence, including enquiries about 30 Human–wildlife conflict in Mochongoi Forest, subscription, to Baringo, Kenya: a case study of elephants The Editor, Pachyderm Dorothy A. Amwata, Patrick Omondi, PO Box 68200 – 00200 Elphas Bitok Nairobi, Kenya tel: +254 20 3876461 37 The survival of elephant dung piles in relation to fax: +254 20 3870385 forest canopy and slope in southern Ghana email: [email protected] Website: www.iucn.org/afesg Richard F.W. Barnes, John Naada Majam, Bernard Asamoah-Boateng, James Agyei- Ohemeng Reproduction of this publicaton for educational or other non-commercial 44 Première estimation de la densité d’éléphants purposes is authorized without written dans le Parc National de Monte Alen, Guinée permission from the copyright holder provided the source is fully Equatoriale acknowledged. Marielle Puit, Andrea Ghiurghi Reproduction of this publication for resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without written permission of Cover: Sumatran rhinos Bina (left) and Torgamba in the the copyright holder. Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary, Way Kambas National Park, Sumatra. Torgamba, the male, is at upper left and Bina, the female, at lower right. Photos: Nico van Strien journal of the African Elephant, African Rhino and July – December 2006 No. 41 Asian Rhino Specialist Groups 53 Human–elephant conflict outlook in the Tsavo–Amboseli ecosystem, Kenya John Kioko, John Kiringe, Patrick Omondi 61 Insurgency and poverty: recipe for rhino poaching in Nepal Esmond Bradley Martin, Chryssee Martin 74 Policies that work for rhino conservation in West Bengal Esmond Bradley Martin 85 Assam leads in conserving the greater one-horned rhinoceros in the new millennium Bibhab Kumar Talukdar 90 Discussion 90 Elephants, woodlands and ecosystems: some perspectives Norman Owen-Smith 95 Field note 95 Mitigating human–elephant conflict in Africa: a lesson-learning and network development meeting Matt Walpole, Noah Sitati, Belinda Stewart-Cox, Leo Niskanen, P.J. Stephenson 100 Rhino notes 100 Rhino population sizes and trends Richard Emslie 105 Black Rhino Range Expansion Project Pam Sherriffs 107 Tributes 107 A jungle in mourning: Nepal loses its leading defenders of large mammals Eric Dinerstein 109 Andries Marthinus (Clem) Coetsee Russell Taylor 111 Guidelines to contributors Views expressed in Pachyderm are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect those of IUCN, the Species Survival Commission or any of the three Specialist Groups responsible for producing Pachyderm (the African Elephant Specialist Group, the African Rhino Specialist Group and the Asian Rhino Specialist Group). Acknowledgements The production of this issue of Pachyderm was only possible through contributions from a number of organizations and individuals. In particular, we would like to thank the following: The views expressed herein are those of the authors and can therefore in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the individual donors, donor agencies, the World Conservation Union (IUCN) or any of the three IUCN/SSC Specialist Groups. CHAIR REPORTS RAPPORTS DES PRESIDENTS African Elephant Specialist Group report Rapport du Groupe Spécialiste des Eléphants d’Afrique Holly T. Dublin, Chair/Président IUCN/SSC African Elephant Specialist Group, PO Box 68200, Nairobi 00200, Kenya email: [email protected] I am pleased to start this report with some good news, J’ai le plaisir de pouvoir commencer ce rapport par for a change, on the funding front. In addition to the quelques bonnes nouvelles, pour changer, sur le front very generous support from the UK Department for du financement. En plus du soutien très généreux que Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which I re- nous a accordé le Département britannique pour ported on in the last issue of Pachyderm, the United l’Environnement, l’Alimentation et les Affaires States Fish and Wildlife Service has recently agreed rurales, dont j’ai parlé dans le dernier Pachyderm, le to provide support to several of our core activities Fish and Wildlife Service américain a accepté from their 2006–2007 funding appropriation. Com- dernièrement de supporter plusieurs de nos activités bined, funds from these two sources will cover the de base dans le cadre de l’attribution de ses fonds operating costs of our Nairobi Secretariat for another 2006–2007. Mis ensemble, les fonds provenant de year. I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to ces deux sources pourront couvrir les frais de fonc- both donors for this wonderful support! tionnement de notre Secrétariat de Nairobi pour un I would also like to take this opportunity to wel- an. Je voudrais exprimer toute ma gratitude à ces deux come Dr Silvester Nyakaana from Uganda to the donateurs pour ce merveilleux soutien. African Elephant Specialist Group. Dr Nyakaana has Je voudrais aussi profiter de cette occasion pour done extensive work on elephant genetics through- souhaiter la bienvenue au Dr Silvester Nyakaana, out the continent. His expertise will be welcomed, d’Ouganda, au sein du Groupe Spécialiste des especially in light of the many ongoing studies into Eléphants d’Afrique. Il a énormément travaillé sur la the taxonomic status of Africa’s elephants and asso- génétique des éléphants dans tout le continent. Son ciated conservation implications. expertise sera la bienvenue, spécialement à la lumière But on a sad note and further to the situation re- des nombreuses études en cours sur le statut port I provided you some time ago, Julian Blanc, taxonomique des éléphants africains et des implica- manager of the African Elephant Database for the past tions qu’elles ont pour la conservation. five years, will be leaving us to join the CITES MIKE Dans un registre plus triste, pour compléter le rap- programme as their new data analyst, from 1 March port que je vous faisais il y a quelque temps, Julian 2007. I do not think I need to tell any of you that Blanc, qui est le gestionnaire de la Base de Données Julian has been a wonderful friend and colleague, not de l’Eléphant Africain depuis cinq ans, va nous quit- only to the staff and members of the AfESG but to ter pour rejoindre le programme MIKE de la CITES countless numbers of partners and collaborators as dont il sera le nouvel analyste des données à partir du well. Our upcomingAfrican Elephant Status Report 1er mars 2007. Je ne crois pas qu’il est nécessaire de will be Julian’s second but his contributions go so vous dire combien Julian a été un ami et un collègue much further than this. We will all miss his genuine merveilleux, non seulement pour les membres du Pachyderm No. 41 July–December 2006 1 Dublin collaborative spirit, his creative and probing mind, GSEAf mais aussi pour d’innombrables partenaires and his gentle ways. On top of this,his unique techni- et collaborateurs. Le nouveau rapport sur le statut de cal competence and his unstinting commitment to task l’éléphant africain sera le second de Julian, mais sa will be difficult, if not impossible, to replace. On be- contribution va bien plus loin que cela. Son sens inné half of IUCN, the SSC, the African Elephant Spe- de la collaboration, son esprit créatif et pénétrant et cialist Group and all our members, I want to thank sa si aimable façon d’être vont beaucoup nous Julian for being one of our ‘dream team’ for the past manquer. Ajoutez-y ses compétences techniques five and a half years and to wish him good luck in his uniques et son engagement sans réserve dans le tra- new position. We shall look forward to continuing vail qui seront difficiles, voire impossibles à our work together in new and different ways. remplacer. Au nom de l’UICN, de la CSE, du Groupe Spécialiste des Eléphants d’Afrique et de tous nos The African Elephant Database membres, je veux remercier Julian qui fut un des nos « dream team » des cinq dernières années et demi et The AfESG’s Data Review Working Group met in lui souhaiter bonne chance à son nouveau poste. Nous Nairobi in July to review the draft African Elephant espérons pouvoir continuer à travailler ensemble dans Status Report 2007 (AESR 2007), and to discuss the d’autres nouvelles circonstances. future of the African Elephant Database. At the time of writing this report, the AESR 2007 was in its final La Base de Données de l’Eléphant draft stage and will be made available on the website Africain http://iucn.org/afesg/aed early in the New Year. In a bid to improve the quality of range data in Le Groupe de travail du GSEAf chargé de la révision the AED, data from the Landscan 2002 human ambi- des données s’est réuni à Nairobi en juillet pour ent population density dataset have been used to cor- réviser le projet du African Elephant Status Report rect possible anomalies in the AED’s range coverage.