Asian elephants choose habitats near boundaries of protected areas

According to recent research, which provides the most thorough investigation of Asian elephant mobility and habitat preference to the date, elephants prefer environments outside of protected areas rather than inside them. The results are presented in the Journal of Applied Ecology of the British Ecological Society.

An international team of researchers tracked more than 600,000 GPS locations while analysing the movement and habitat preferences of 102 Asian elephants in Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo. They discovered that most elephants spend more than half of their time outdoors, favouring minimally damaged forests and regrowth regions.

Protected areas continued to play a significant influence, with the elephants' top preference for locations being those that were three kilometres or less from protected area boundaries.

The predilection for damaged forests is assumed to be connected to dietary preferences. Elephants enjoy eating grasses, bamboo, palms and quickly-growing trees, all of which are rather scarce in old-growth forests but are widespread in disturbed areas.

One of the study's primary authors, Dr Ahimsa Campos-Arceiz, from Malaysia's Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden and the University of Nottingham, said, "Our results demonstrate that protected areas are very essential, but not sufficient as an overall approach for Asian elephant conservation.

"Given their preference for habitats outside the protected areas, elephants will inevitably come into conflict with people. This highlights the importance of promoting human-elephant coexistence around protected areas."

The authors explicitly state that their findings do not lessen the significance of protected areas, which are a vital component of international conservation policies. The other lead author, Dr Benoit Goossens from Cardiff University and the Danau Girang Field Centre added: "We think protected areas are the best instrument for biodiversity protection overall. Protected areas serve as the main locations for the long-term protection and conservation of Asian elephants.

"Our results show that elephant conservation strategies need to be realistic and acknowledge the nuances of elephant habitat needs and preferences, integrating holistic human-elephant coexistence approaches outside protected areas."

The authors offer three important suggestions for Asian elephant conservation in light of their findings:

1.Be sure to include sizable protected areas as well as key sites where elephants can find refuge.

2.Utilize ecological arteries to join protected area networks

3.Reduce human-elephant conflict by focusing on protecting people's safety and way of life while also encouraging tolerance for elephant presence, especially in and around protected areas.

The study was conducted in the Sundaic region, which is a biodiversity hotspot on a worldwide scale. However, about 50% of the original forest in the area is thought to be left, and only 10% of it is technically protected. Asian elephants inhabit these extremely fragmented environments and are considered to be endangered.

Due to their large home ranges, Asian elephants frequently encounter human-dominated areas, which eventually results in conflict between humans and elephants.

Over 60,000 GPS coordinates were logged while conducting the study, which examined the movement of 102 Asian elephants across Borneo and the Malay peninsula. The information was gathered over more than ten years of fieldwork by three research teams.

The amount of time that elephants spent in these places and the areas nearby was then determined by comparing this data with the locations of formally protected areas.

The degree of protection received by protected places might vary greatly. In this study, the authors limited their analysis to protected places that are recognised in the World Database of Protected Areas. They did not consist of logged-in, overused forest reserves.

Dr. Antonio de la Torre, the study's first author, discussed the next steps for research in this field and Asian elephant conservation. He said: "Human-elephant conflict is currently the main threat for Asian elephants, yet we know surprisingly little about the efficacy of various mitigation strategies and how to promote long-term and sustainable human-elephant coexistence.

"Understanding how we can reduce the costs of this conflict for both people and elephants, and how to increase people's tolerance towards elephant presence, should be the top research priority in the area."