Tracking

Why collar and track elephants?

Political boundaries, rapidly expanding human settlements, veterinary fences, farming, poaching and civil conflict have contributed to blocking century’s old elephant migration routes which are essential to access food and water. Blocking elephant movements has contributed to local overpopulation or overabundance of elephants which is today regarded as a major conservation and management challenge in southern Africa.

The simple reality is that elephant densities have risen so much in Botswana that there is concern about their impacts on the landscape, the viability of other species and the livelihoods and safety of people living within the elephant range. Management measures to control elephant numbers by culling have been discussed and proposed. But are there other solutions to release this bottle neck?
We believe there is. Satellite collars on elephant are the best way to locate migration paths, identifying wildlife corridors and vacant habitats which could consequently alleviate the factors that increase elephant numbers and their negative impact. The collars do the long distance detective work, mapping a detailed GPS track of elephant movements.

Studying the spatial ecology of elephants provides us with information about their habitat needs. To date EWB has deployed state-of-the-art satellite collars on more than 60 elephants in Botswana’s, Namibia and Zambia, as well as along the Angolan border with Namibia. This project has made 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 management.
Our study is unique in that it monitors elephant ranging patterns both in and out of National Parks, across international boundaries, and in habitats ranging from nearly desert to lush riverine environments. The research program has been designed to monitor the movements of multiple elephant herds in Southern Africa. The study area covers close to 50,000 square miles. No other study in Africa covers such a wide area.

Elephant home ranges

EWB has shown that the elephants of northern Botswana have the largest home ranges (24,828 km2) recorded for African elephants and for the first time, have conclusively confirmed that the elephants of northern Botswana are part of a large contiguous elephant population encompassing western Zimbabwe, the Caprivi Strip in Namibia, southeast Angola and southwest Zambia. These research findings have complimented and contributed to delineating the area encompassing the largest wilderness area, the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA.)

EWB is now recording the most variable home ranges ever reported for African elephants, recording elephant home range sizes according to age, sex, access to water, types of water sources, vegetation, fences, and human disturbances.

Elephant Range Expansion Study
The elephant range in Botswana is not a static feature. As the elephant population continues to grow, the northern Botswana elephant range is expanding rapidly. Elephants are re-occupying areas from which they have been absent for many years. During the past 15 years the elephant range in Botswana has expanded by 53%, causing increasing concern about the impact of elephants on biodiversity, the viability of other species and the livelihoods and safety of people living within the elephant range The most striking expansion of elephant range has occurred south towards the Makgadikgadi, and west of the Okavango Delta. Elephants are now being seen as far south as the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. The movements of elephants, their social dynamics and impacts on people around these periphery regions are currently limited. We aim to assess human-elephant conflict cases that are occurring on the periphery of the elephant range and suggest appropriate counter-measures.