Tracking Elephants in Central Africa

Principal Investigators:

Diane Davies, Minnie Wong, Steve Blake (WCS)

This project tracks Forest Elephants in Central Africa using telemetry data, provided by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). In a partnership with WCS, the Department of Geography tracks, and displays elephant movements in a WebGIS environment, across conservation areas in central Africa.

The goal of the Forest Elephant GPS Telemetry Program is to promote an understanding of the ranging and seasonal migration patterns of forest elephants (Loxodonta africana cyclotis) in critical conservation areas of central Africa. This information is required if effective conservation plans are to be developed, for this poorly known, yet wide ranging species. The elephant tracking website, CARPE Mapper, displays GPS telemetry data collected from forest elephants fitted with GPS collars in some of the most important conservation areas in Africa. The purpose of the work is two-fold:

1. develop a region-wide database of forest elephant telemetry data and associated geographic data to facilitate analysis at the local and regional level

2. disseminate this information to promote interest and understanding of forest elephant ecology and conservation.

The picture above shows the movements of a bull elephant named Sue. Over the course of two weeks his daily foraging loops gradually circled a bai (a mineral rich clearing in the forest – usually along water courses), presumably to find fresh forage each day.

The program began in 1998 when a Kenyan-based charity, Save the Elephants, supported WCS field staff to deploy 2 collars in Dzanga-Ndoki National Park in Central African Republic. Since then the program has expanded into the Republics of Congo and Gabon, with the deployment of 30 GPS collars in 6 national parks. To find out more about this work visit http://maps.geog.umd.edu/carpemapper