Scars of human–elephant conflict: patterns inferred from field observations of Asian elephants in Sri Lanka
Chase A. LaDue A E , Rajnish P. G. Vandercone B , Wendy K. Kiso C and Elizabeth W. Freeman DA Department of Environmental Science and Policy, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, MS 5F2, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA.
B Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka, Mihintale 50300, Sri Lanka.
C White Oak Conservation Foundation, 581705 White Oak Road, Yulee, FL 32097, USA.
D School of Integrative Studies, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, MS 5D3, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA.
E Corresponding author. Email: cladue@gmu.edu
Wildlife Research - https://doi.org/10.1071/WR20175
Submitted: 13 October 2020 Accepted: 14 February 2021 Published online: 11 May 2021
Abstract
Context: Human–elephant conflict (HEC) is a major threat to Asian elephants as humans and elephants are forced to share common resources. In Sri Lanka, human-dominated landscapes adjacent to protected areas promote high rates of HEC, especially in the form of crop-foraging by elephants. Crop-foraging can be dangerous to both elephants and humans involved in the conflict. Gunfire is a common way for human communities to deter crop-foraging elephants, and gunshot wounds are commonly described in this elephant population on necropsy.
Aims: We sought to quantify and describe unique scar patterns among Asian elephants in a protected area, Wasgamuwa National Park, attributed to HEC.
Methods: We identified 38 adult female and 64 adult male elephants and recorded the age class and body condition of each with established standards. Using photographs, we counted the number, position, and relative size of all scars on each animal.
Key results: Male elephants had significantly more scars than did females, and for males, the number of scars increased progressively with age. Additionally, male elephants with higher body conditions had more scars. Finally, males tended to have more scars towards the head, especially at older ages.
Conclusions: Differences in total scar counts between the sexes in this population imply that male elephants in this area more frequently engage in HEC than do females, following observations previously described in the literature. Furthermore, the fact that male elephants acquired progressively more scars as they aged, and that fatter elephants had more scars, indicates that previous exposure to HEC may not have been a deterrent for future events among these males, and potentially, crops served as valuable food sources for these animals. Finally, the changing body locations of these scars with age in males possibly shows plastic behavioural responses during crop-foraging or lower tolerance by farmers towards habitual crop foragers.
Implications: These results emphasise the need for animal-based approaches to HEC mitigation. Similarly, conservation managers in Sri Lanka and other elephant range countries should investigate similar methods that estimate patterns of HEC to develop effective management strategies directly targeting animals most likely to engage in conflict.
Keywords: Asian elephant, body condition, crop-foraging, gunshot, human–elephant conflict, Sri Lanka.
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