Namibian Desert-Dwelling Elephants Project

WCS researchers studying the desert-dwelling elephants of northwest Namibia aim to improve the understanding of elephant behavior and biology in this area. The information collected will be incorporated into long-term Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) and conservancy elephant monitoring programs.

The Human Aspect

Conservation efforts in northwestern Namibia are well established, and local communities have joined together to establish conservancies by which they can benefit from wildlife. The community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) projects are still developing and have difficulty reconciling property rights with the nomadic nature of elephants. There are 14 established and emerging conservancies in the area and the project has discovered that some elephants may traverse as many as 7 conservancies and 2 concession areas. The conservancies all want to "own" these elephants, to be responsible for the management and control of the revenues generated by consumptive and non-consumptive tourism. The sustainable use of elephants has been suggested as a way of providing much-needed revenue for conservancies.

Threats

The groups of elephants that the project has been working with for the last 7 years face many pressures that are threatening their survival. The elephants are expanding their range, bringing them into increasing contact and conflict with local communities. Yet the greatest threat to elephants in northwest Namibia is the environment itself and its periodic droughts that may affect up to 30% of the elephants.

WSC Activities

Main activities are centered on collecting data on behavior, seasonal movement, and home range of the elephant groups in northwest Namibia.Through GPS-collaring we have been able to gain valuable information on the ranging behavior of the desert-adapted elephants in Namibia. Additional studies on the genetics and social structure of the herds are also underway. In close collaboration with the Elephant & Giraffe Trust, a giraffe project has also been conducted. The giraffe research is currently being written up by Mr. Fennessy,giraffe researcher at theUniversity of Sydney, Australia. This research focuses on population dynamics, ecology, and foraging behavior. Data collected during this study will be implemented at a practical management level, helping conservancies to sustainably manage increasing wildlife populations, in partnership with the MET.

Important Next Steps

Based on this research, we hope to collaborate with the local conservancies, the MET, and other interested parties on an appropriate management plan for the desert-dwelling elephants.

Future research will be undertaken in the following areas:

• Social structure of the herds
• Ovulation and musth periods in males and females
• Genetic relationships between the family units
• Matriarchal structure of the herds
• Home and seasonal range of the male and family units
• Behavioral information