1A. EVOLUTION AND BEHAVIOUR ........................................................................................................................... III 1B: NATURAL AGENTS INFLUENCING ELEPHANT POPULATIONS .............................................................XVI 2. VEGETATION .........................................................................................................................................................XXIII The Traditional Model .................................................................................................................................................... xxv Elephant impact on five important woody vegetation types........................................................................................... xxv Acacia spp. .....................................................................................................................................................................xxvi Combretum ssp. .............................................................................................................................................................xxvi Marula (Sderocaryea birrea) ..........................................................................................................................................xxvi Mopane ( Colophospermum mopane).............................................................................................................................xxvi Other factors influencing vegetation dynamics.............................................................................................................xxvii Elephant and vegetation dynamics................................................................................................................................xxvii 3. BIODIVERSITY .......................................................................................................................................................XXXI 3.3.1 œ Direct Impacts of Elephants on Biodiversity ...................................................................................................xxxiii 3.3.1.1 - Vegetation......................................................................................................................................................xxxiii 3.4 - Discussion:.........................................................................................................................................................xxxviii 3.5 œ Appendix 1: Figures.................................................................................................................................................xli CHAPTER 5. FIRE ............................................................................................................................................................. L The effects of fire on savanna vegetation ...........................................................................................................................li Environmental determinants of fire frequency and intensity.............................................................................................lii 4. ELEPHANTS AND SURFACE WATER................................................................................................................... LX 5.1 Elephant water needs .................................................................................................................................................lxii Surface water in Kruger National Park ...........................................................................................................................lxiii Effect of surface water on elephant distribution .............................................................................................................lxiii APPENDIX:................................................................................................................................................................... LXVI (Drawn by Sandra MacFadyen) ....................................................................................................................................lxviii CHAPTER 6. MANAGEMENT.................................................................................................................................. LXXI Policy : Matthew Klasen and Jessica Winans Translocation : Emily Morrison Contraception : A. Rachel Roemer ........lxxi Culling : William Bell Ethics and Values : Janie Hauser and Hilary Langer ...................................................................lxxi 7.1 Policy .............................................................................................................................................................................i 7.11b IUCN and AfESG .....................................................................................................................................................ii 7.11c KNP..........................................................................................................................................................................iii 7.11d SAN Parks................................................................................................................................................................iii 7.11e Biodiversity Bill .......................................................................................................................................................iii 7.12 External Policy Influences .........................................................................................................................................iv 7.13 Specific Management Issues.....................................................................................................................................vii 7.14 Indirect Management Techniques............................................................................................................................viii 7.2 Translocation...............................................................................................................................................................xii 7.26 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................................ xv ii 1A. EVOLUTION AND BEHAVIOUR Summary Table Theme Brief Description 1. Social Behavior 1a. Cooperation - advantages and examples of herd member assistance. 1b. Allomothering - reasons females take care of calves other than their own. 1c. Communication - behavior to call recognition (matriarch), with a brief list of elephant cues. 2. Reproductive Behavior 2a. Female Reproduction - facts surrounding offspring. 2b. Musth - a state of heightened sexual and aggressive activity. 2.b.i. Identification of - the main ways to distinguish musth. 2.b.ii. Adaptive Strategy - younger males can drop out of musth voluntarily. 2.b.iii. Calls - studies done with playback calls. 3. Diet 3a. General - what they eat. 3b. Isotope Studies - focusing on browse:grass ratios to determine grass and browse consumed over time by elephants. 3c. Tree felling/bark stripping - hypotheses as to why. 3d. Geophagy - consumption of soil thought to be due to a low sodium level available in vegetation. 4. Ranging 4a. General with Definitions 4b. Home Range Extent - variance in extent. 4.b.i. Seasonal - there are changes in wet vs. dry. 4.b.ii. Sexual Segregation - related with season, the observed variation between family groups and males. 4c. Park Size - specific example of Addo Elephant Park. 4d. Implications for Kruger‘s New Management - concerns with zoning and true elephant home ranges. iii Theme Brief Description 5. Human Interaction 5a. Pressures of Humans on Elephants - example of colonization of elephants before and after the Ruaha became a National Park around water sources. 5b. Encroachment of Elephant on Humans - effects of elephants entering human villages. 5.b.i. Crops - the percent of loss and cost due to mainly male perpetration. 5.b.ii. Cattle - one study comparing the effects of zebra, elephants and cattle on vegetation and one another. 5c. Poaching 6. Anomalies 6a. Delinquents - young male elephants responsible for much havoc on people and rhinos. 6b. Solution to Delinquents - introduction of older male bulls. iv Introduction Our paper focuses on research done in the field of elephant behavior dealing with a general overview of social, reproductive, and ranging behavior of elephants describing social structure and seasonal changes in interactions. We then also elaborate on feeding behavior over different time scales, and the reasons behind this foraging behavior. On a different level we take a look at how humans interfere with the relationship between elephants and their environment by limiting the amount of water the elephants have access to. Inversely, consequences of close quarters with humans has lead to such complications as crop raiding by elephants, juvenile delinquents, and the changes in elephant movements. Methods We used free databases and those provided by our universities (Emory, UCT, NCSU) online, the library at Skukuza, and the OTS provided library. Our search was limited by availability of papers due to age, for example most papers prior to 1990 had limited online accessibility, limited access to symposiums, veterinarian journals, and books. Literature review Social Behavior Female elephants live in herds of 8 to 12 individuals, which revolve around a matriarch and consist of several generations of female calves.