History Issues Tracking Surveys HEC
 
History
 

In 2001, Dr Michael Chase started a research project to study the ecology, home ranges and transboundary movements of elephants in northern Botswana. During the course of this study, Elephants Without Borders (EWB) was established. Founded in 2004, EWB is dedicated to conserving African elephants and wildlife while striving to improve the quality of life for Africa’s people through long-term elephant research and education. EWB is based in Kazungula, Botswana’s border town where the boundaries of Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe meet along the Zambezi River. EWB’s elephant research activities are conducted with the support and collaboration of the countries Wildlife and Tourism Departments.
 
With an estimated 151,000 elephants, northern Botswana is home to the largest elephant population in Africa. For this reason alone it is worthy of study. While there were dramatic decreases in the elephant populations in East and Central Africa, the regional populations in southern Africa have been increasing. Human populations are also growing, and increasingly compete with elephants for the same resources. The massive elephant population is largely the result of successful conservation measures in Botswana, the development of permanent water supplies during the dry season, the species' inherent growth rate and elephants emigrating from inhospitable areas seeking refuge.

But with this density of megaherbivores come the problems of overabundance and a complex series of effects on the natural environment, such as damage to large old trees and possible negative effects on biodiversity.

Increasing human populations and activities, particularly subsistence farming, have amplified human-elephant conflict. As elephant populations become more and more constrained, the need for ‘safe corridors’ between protected areas becomes even more important.
Tracking

One of our aims is to create conditions for elephants to maintain their ancient migration paths by identifying conservation corridors. To help us achieve this goal we fit satellite and data-logging collars on elephants. These collars provide us with GPS location data on the elephant movements. Using a small, single-engine plane, our team locates and identifies the elephant for collaring. The elephant is darted by a veterinarian, either from the ground or from a helicopter, and then fitted with the collar.

EWB has deployed state-of-the-art satellite collars on elephants along Botswana’s international boundaries with Namibia, Zimbabwe and Zambia and along the Angolan border with Namibia. This is the very first attempt to record and map elephant movements across these international boundaries. Mapping large-scale movements across four African countries provides a strong visual catalyst for conservation and land use planning.

Plotting the precise locations of elephants every hour helps us create detailed movement maps of elephants, which in turn helps people, from local villagers to distant government officials, appreciate the intricate lives elephants lead in order to survive and move across complex landscapes. This information helps reconcile the often conflicting needs of both humans and elephants.
 

Findings:
One of the most important revelations we have made is that these newly discovered corridors are unsettled by humans. In an area of increasing human-elephant conflict, EWB can strongly advocate that key dispersal areas remain undisturbed.

The conservation of these natural corridors, in combination with effective land use planning and efforts to clear southeast Angola of land mines, will continue to facilitate transboundary wildlife movements and help promote the creation of the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA).

This ambitious TFCA has the potential to become the largest contiguous wilderness area in the world and one of the Africa’s leading tourism destinations. The elephants of northern Botswana have the largest home ranges (24,828 km2) recorded for African elephants. For the first time, we know that the elephants of northern Botswana are part of a larger contiguous elephant population encompassing western Zimbabwe, the Caprivi Strip in Namibia, southeast Angola and southwest Zambia.
 
 
Surveys

In addition to using satellite telemetry studies to better understand the movement of elephants, the project has undertaken several extensive aerial surveys to help determine elephant numbers, their habitat needs and seasonal distributions.

As we crisscross the skies over four southern African countries, cramped in a tiny single-engine plane, flying 100 meters above the ground, our aerial surveys provide new information on the population status of elephants and other threatened wildlife species.


Two observers call out the numbers of wildlife seen between two wands attached to the strut of the plane. High- quality digital cameras which are mounted on the plane provide high-resolution images so that animals can be more accurately counted during subsequent analyses.

 


Mike and Thanda prepare the plane for surveys

Findings:    Aerial surveys have indicated that elephants are returning in ever-growing numbers to the vast southeast Angolan landscape in which thousands were persecuted during the country’s conflict.

Based upon our dry season aerial survey of the Caprivi Strip in November 2005, elephant numbers (5,242) increased by only 15% since 1998. The recent dispersal of elephants into Angola from the Caprivi Strip may account for this small increase. In contrast, our three aerial surveys of Luiana Partial Reserve, Angola indicate that elephant numbers are increasing rapidly and expanding their range in the Reserve, from 329 in January 2004 to 1,827 in November 2005. The end of 25 years of civil conflict in Angola probably provided the requisite security for elephants to return to southeast Angola despite being plagued with landmines.
 
HEC (Human-Elephant Conflict)

With growing numbers of elephants, and the explicit intention of the study to promote wildlife growth, both in numbers and in area, it became imperative to address and reduce HEC. As elephant populations grow, so does the human population. This increases the competition for the same resources. The scarcity of water during dry seasons, results in very high densities of elephants, wildlife and people along the rivers, creating an ecological pressure and conflict.

EWB aims to mitigate the impacts of conflict through the development of effective crop protection systems. It is our intention to experiment with methods, such as the use of Chili Peppers (as a repellant), but also implement other techniques currently not used within Botswana but are known to be effective in other southern African countries, such as, guarding, fires, sisal, shade netting, corrugated sheeting and reeds.

In northern Botswana elephants are able to roam over 115,000km2 (~ 65,000 km2 set aside for wildlife conservation), and are extending their ranges into Angola, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Our study, on the movements of elephants in Botswana determined that elephants spend 65% of their time outside protected areas. The conservation and management of elephants that are able to move over long distances outside protected areas are particularly problematic, especially with increasing human populations and declines in large, contiguous elephant habitats. Elephants are expanding their range in northern Botswana (25% in the last ten years), re-occupying areas where they formerly occurred. Such movements together with the expansion of human activities are intensifying HEC.