This presentation showcased a research article that was published in 2024 on the “Movement patterns of two reintegrated African elephant (Loxodonta africana) herds”

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The post Presentation: Rewilding Captive Elephants – Restoring Autonomy and Reintegrating them into Wild Ecosystems. appeared first on Elephant Reintegration Trust.

The terms ‘reintegration’ or ‘rewilding’ are not novel concepts in South Africa, where a total of 24 previously captive African elephants (Loxodonta africana), have been successfully released onto fenced reserves. Some researchers argue that elephant rewilding could serve as a practical solution for the mitigation of elephant welfare challenges, related to captivity, however, other researchers question the ability of previously captive animals to adapt to novel environments.

For animal reintegration to be deemed successful, various indicators have been formulated and utilised, to aid in the evaluation of such an operation. It has been postulated that reproductive success, prey/ predator response, movement patterns, and social interactions, are all valuable indicators of a successful reintegration.

Limited studies are available on the movement patterns of previously captive African elephants. Particularly, studies that have monitored released elephants for more than four years, which are necessary for elephants to adapt. Therefore, our study aims to investigate the change in movement patterns of previously captive African elephants by comparing it to when they were released from the boma, to five years post-release.

We hypothesised that when previously captive elephants are reintegrated back into the wild, they will have similar movement patterns to wild elephants. The movement of previously captive elephants will be affected by rainfall season, be less active during the middle of the day, utilize the reserve uniformly and, exploratory behaviour during the first four months post-release will differ between sexes. We also hypothesised that released elephants will spend more time close to the areas they are familiar with.

The post Presentation: Investigating the movement patterns of previously captive African elephants after successful reintegration onto a fenced game reserve in South Africa. appeared first on Elephant Reintegration Trust.

Managing elephants (Loxodonta africana) requires understanding of the importance of their social dynamics. Most small to medium reserves in South Africa contain elephants from Kruger National Park (KNP) or other southern African countries. These founder populations represent disturbed populations where age and sex structures differ from the natal population. The founder population of Pilanesberg National Park were predominantly juvenile orphans from KNP culling operations. Consequences of this unbalanced population structure emerged in the form of very early onset of musth in bulls resulting in increased aggression and conflict between these bulls and other species, leading to the introduction of four more mature bulls. Studying the social dynamics of this population of elephants allows an understanding of the possible long-term effects of a disrupted population. Additionally, this study considers if strategic correctional interventions to improve social dynamics reduces unnatural/negative behaviours. Findings showed bulls were coming into musth earlier than expected and bulls were associating with herds at older ages than expected even though not in musth. Solitary non-musth bulls were found associating with herds more than solitary musth bulls. Unexpectedly, bulls between 20-40 years were observed with herds more than bulls older than 45. These results indicate likely consequences of an incomplete bull social structure which has compromised the bull hierarchy as there were very few bulls in the oldest age class. As no more interspecies aggression is occurring, it appears ‘intactness’ as well as proportions of age group represented in bull hierarchies are both contributing factors in ‘correcting’ behavioural abnormalities.

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South Africa has many reserves with small to medium sized elephant (Loxodonta africana) populations, most of which have been translocated (some with unknown histories). Limited research has been conducted on the impact of various management actions and different tourist protocols on the welfare status of elephants. Bad welfare may lead to serious consequences such as increased aggression towards heterospecifics. Therefore, the aim of the study was to define behavioural welfare parameters for free ranging elephants. The eight study sites incorporated reserves with different combinations of social structures, histories, reserve sizes, management, and tourist intensities. To accurately represent trends in each reserve, focal samples (10-minute focused observation sessions) as well as faecal samples were collected of all subsets of each reserve’s elephant population. The study focused on the ambivalent behavioural category (some of which are often overlooked as relevant) to indicate possible factors influencing the welfare of the elephants. One of the reserves (83% of population is ex-captive) had relatively higher mean frequencies of ambivalent behaviour (5.91 ± 7.45) than the other reserves. The study also showed differences between selected detailed behaviours of the eight reserves, indicating that these behaviours are useful to focus on when assessing welfare of elephants. Higher faecal glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations reported for ex-captive elephants and/or populations with incomplete age structures, supported the behavioural data/findings. Future research is needed to assess which particular environmental and life history factors affect elephants most. This will enable reserve managers to implement appropriate strategies to ensure improved welfare of their elephants.

The post Presentation: Using elephant behaviour as a welfare assessment tool: Understanding the role management interventions and population structure play. appeared first on Elephant Reintegration Trust.

Keeping elephants in captivity is increasingly perceived negatively in some parts of the world due to the potential of negative welfare implications. When such facilities eventually close, those elephants will need to be either translocated or rehabilitated and reintegrated into the wild, with the latter being a complex process and for correct implementation, sound methods for reintegrations and their monitoring are needed to ensure that welfare remains a priority. The objective of this study was to test whether behavioural and physiological parameters, generally associated with stress in elephants, are indicative for different phases within a herd that are reintegrated from captivity into the wild. Stress related parameters used for comparisons included temporal gland secretion (TGS) and faecal glucocorticoid metabolite (fGCM) levels as well as stereotype and stress related behaviours. TGS were significantly higher during the initial release of the elephants compared to when in captivity. Frequency of stress related behaviours however, were significantly higher in captivity in comparison to the release phase. Stereotypic behaviours were only recorded in captivity and immediately ceased after release. In the first year after release, fGCM levels spiked before decreasing to pre-reintegration levels during the third year. These findings indicate the chosen stress parameters all proved effective in explaining the changes in stress experienced by elephants when being reintegrated from captivity into the wild. Moreover, the study showed that successful reintegration of elephants that have been raised in or spent over 20 years in captivity is possible without compromising welfare in the context of stress.

The post Presentation: Identifying potential measures of stress during a captive to wild elephant reintegration. appeared first on Elephant Reintegration Trust.

Abstract

To manage elephants (Loxodonta africana) we need to understand the importance of their social
dynamics. The majority of existing small to medium reserves in South Africa contain elephants
selectively translocated from Kruger National Park (KNP) or other southern African countries. Often
elephants are introduced into conservation areas and are managed primarily based on total numbers
and carrying capacity. However, we are finding that it is increasingly important that social structure
and dynamics are equally considered when carrying out management actions. Such examples include
considering population structure and social dynamics during elephant introductions, translocations
and the effective implementation of conceptive regimes. Social networking analysis reveals that
elephants are selective in their social grouping choices and can respond differently to environmental
factors based on their group composition. Without complete population structures and consideration
of social bonds, the welfare of these elephants comes into question as this leads to increased stress
levels and abnormal movement and social behaviours. Stressed elephants can often become very
aggressive and thus pose a threat to themselves, other animal species, people and infrastructure.
This project aims to develop parameters for measuring welfare under the various conditions based on
rigorous monitoring on several reserves across South Africa. This will be done primarily by looking at
the different intensities of management of elephant, measuring stress hormone levels from dung while
also quantifying and comparing both large and fine scale behavioural tendencies of the elephants in
these reserves. This will create a framework better guiding sustainable elephant management
directives.

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