African elephants manifest movements that vary according to ecological changes

The wild African elephants, known for their intelligence, show very different movements and reactions to the same risks and resources. A new study by Colorado State University and Save the Elephants reveals the scale and complexity of this variation in behavior and how it occurs in space and time, as well as in individual animals.

The results, published in the September issue of Letters of ecology, indicate how elephants use a variety of strategies that they adjust according to ecological changes. In particular, poaching causes elephants to change their movements. The results of the study indicate that landscape conservation efforts should take into account the needs of different tactics displayed by elephants.

The research team used GPS tracking data from more than 150 individual elephants followed for 17 years in the Samburu and Buffalo Springs National Reserve in northern Kenya as part of Save's long-term monitoring project. the Elephants. Scientists assessed the individual behavior of elephants to determine how each animal used various food and water resources. They then developed new analytical approaches to understand what causes variations in individual elephant behavior.

The authors found that many elephants were targeting a specific resource, while others avoided this same resource – an unintuitive result, since most species' movements are motivated by the same factors. food, safety and social interactions. The variation in elephant behavior was stronger during the resource – limited dry season, compared with the resource – rich wet season, suggesting that one of the main causes of the different displacement strategies was to be found in the area. avoid competition with other elephants.

"The extent and complexity of the variation between individuals was greater than expected and demonstrated a much greater diversity than that of other species," said Guillaume Bastille-Rousseau, CSU Postdoctoral Fellow and author Main of the study.

George Wittemyer, associate professor of fish, wildlife and conservation biology at CSU and co-author of the study, said that elephants are hyper social, social interactions structuring everything in their lives, including their movements and their use of space.

"The results of this study shed new light on the individuality of elephants.Even if they use the same location and face the same constraints, elephants do not conform to a single behavior," he said. Wittemyer, president of the scientific council. to save the elephants. "We found that this individuality was clearer in the way elephants interact with humans, some being more willing to take risks than others."

Bastille-Rousseau said the team was surprised to see that elephants have changed tactics over time, apparently adjusting their strategies to changing landscape.

"The next step in our research will be to try to understand if individuals displaying a given tactic are doing better than those using different tactics," he said.