Working with mahouts to explore the diet of work elephants in Myanmar (Burma)

At an elephant camp in central Myanmar (Burma), we interviewed mahouts and veterinarians to describe the diet of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) in a mixed-deciduous forest. Elephants showed a broad dietary breadth (103 plant species from 42 families); consumed mostly browse (94% of plant species); and were very selective about plant parts [e.g., many trees were eaten exclusively for their bark (22%) or fruits (14%)]. The fruits from 29 plant species were recorded to be eaten by elephants. Several of these were found as fruit remains, seeds, or seedlings in elephant dung, suggesting a role of Asian elephants in seed dispersal. Work elephants and their mahouts prove to be a rich source of information to understand wild elephant ecology.     

The Asian elephants-driver partnership: the drivers' perspective

Elephant drivers, sometimes termed mahouts, are known to share a relationship with their elephants rarely matched in other human-animal interactions with regard to time invested, extent of cooperative activity, and everpresent risk to the driver. An investigation of this relationship was pursued at two tourist lodges in Nepal where elephants are used to transport tourists into a nearby jungle to view wildlife. The study sought to investigate the drivers' perceptions regarding the individual and social behavior of the elephants, the perceptions of the elephants, and the elephants' interactions with drivers. Standardized open-ended questions were administered with translator assistance to 17 head drivers of elephants. Drivers attributed their management success to the time and care they invested in caring for and becoming familiar with the elephant. Drivers worked in partnership with elephants to gather and prepare the elephants' food. Elephants responded to vocal commands of drivers for saddling. Drivers also took responsibility for elephants in their varied interactions with tourists. Although drivers varied in specifying the most desirable elephant at their lodge, they highly agreed on the identity of the worst elephant because of its aggressivity. In general, drivers believed that their elephants loved and trusted them. Most drivers reported that their elephants did not get angry with them. Yet, they knew that elephants would most like to be free in the jungle. Drivers presented consistent information as to the elephants' social preferences for and dislikes of one another.     

Elephants in Ancient Egypt and Nubia

ABSTRACT

This article examines the presence of elephants in civilizations of the ancient Nile valley, where they were hunted and distributed to Egypt and to the Classical Greco-Roman world for ivory, amusement, and military purposes. The full study of elephants requires diverse multidisciplinary research on their evolution, taxonomy, extinction, climate change, the history of human—elephant interactions, and modern issues relating to elephant and ivory policy. This regional view of the past illuminates some of the deep roots of these modern issues in human—elephant relations.     

Elephants in Thailand: determinants of health and welfare in working populations

The Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) has played a prominent role in Thai history and society. However, in the face of modernization, elephant handlers have been struggling to justify their continued ownership. As a result, working elephants may still encounter situations in which their health and welfare are jeopardized. This study developed both a survey instrument and a visual assessment to describe and evaluate the health and living conditions of elephants encountered in a variety of work and living situations. These situations were found to be significantly associated with whether or not an elephant received proper husbandry or was in good body condition. These results may prove valuable in predicting the welfare of elephants according to work and living situations.     

Religion,ethnicity and politics: Hindu and Muslim Indian immigrants in the United States

This article focuses on the political struggles between Hindu and Muslim Indian immigrant groups in the United States over the definition of "Indianness". Hindu Indian American organizations define India as a Hindu society and are strong supporters of the Hindu nationalist movement in India. Muslim Indian American organizations, on the other hand, view India as a multi-religious and multicultural society. They are striving to safeguard India's secularism and towards this end, have entered into coalitional relationships with lower caste groups. Both types of organizations are working to influence American and Indian politics in line with their respective interests, leading to an exacerbation of the conflict between the two immigrant groups. This article examines the reasons for this development and its implications, both for the development of an Indian American community in the United States and for religion and politics in India.     

An elephantine challenge: human–elephant conflict distribution in the largest Asian elephant population,southern India

Wildlife conservation is a complex issue especially when it involves large carnivores or mega-herbivores that are conflict-prone. Karnataka state in southern India is known to harbor high density of wild elephants. This conservation success story also has opportunity costs for communities living in close proximity to elephants. Despite the fact that human–elephant conflict is a serious conservation and social issue, there is little quantitative understanding of conflict especially over large areas. Here we conduct the first analysis of human–elephant conflict distribution, severity and explanatory factors over the entire state of Karnataka. We use data from the state forest department records on villages that experience conflict, compensation payments made by the government, elephant densities, forest cover and perimeter, and presence of physical barriers to mitigate elephant conflict. In total, 60,939 incidences of crop loss were reported and US$ 2.99 m paid in compensation during April 2008–March 2011. A total of 91 people were killed by elephants and 101 elephants died in retaliatory killings during the study period. A total of 9.4 % of the state’s geographic area covering 25 of the 42 forest administrative divisions were affected. There was no significant difference in conflict incidences or compensation given between protected areas and non-protected areas. There was no correlation between conflict incidences/unit area and elephant density, forest cover, forest perimeter of protected areas and presence of physical barriers. The results depict the importance of efficient management of physical barriers, conserving key habitat linkages, and acts as baseline data for future work.     

Elefantenhaltung in Europa und Indien – ein Vergleich

In none of the countries of origin Asian elephants are taken any more from the wild. Instead breeding stations arise. In India the methods of keeping elephants have become subject of scientific investigations. As a result elephants in the long run will be allowed to be held only in forest camps. The concepts of elephant husbandry are discussed and developed also outside the countries of origin. Under consideration of their biological, ecological and social requirements elephants have to be managed in groups. It is the author's opinion that protected contact will be the method of the future.     

普洱市亚洲象栖息地适宜度评价

亚洲象(Elephas maximus)属于我国Ⅰ级保护动物,在中国仅分布于云南省西双版纳国家级自然保护区、普洱市的思茅区、澜沧县和江城县,以及临沧南滚河国家级自然保护区。将普洱全境作为研究区域,利用野外调查数据,结合遥感与地理信息系统技术,运用生态位因子分析(ENFA)模型对普洱市亚洲象的栖息地适宜度进行了评价,并预测了适宜栖息地的分布。发现:普洱市亚洲象栖息地的边际值为0.991,表明亚洲象在普洱市境内对环境变量的选择不是随机的;耐受值为0.315,表明亚洲象在普洱市境内生态位较窄,受环境条件的制约。根据模型计算得到的栖息地适宜度指数,将普洱市的亚洲象栖息地分为最适栖息地,较适栖息地,边际栖息地和非栖息地4个等级,面积分别为409.32、574.32、2909.48、38722.32 km2。最适栖息地仅占全市面积的0.96%,而非栖息地占90.86%。利用GIS和Biomapper 4.0生成亚洲象栖息地分布图,发现普洱境内最适栖息地和较适栖息地面积狭小。对最适栖息地、较适栖息地和边际栖息地进行景观格局分析的结果表明,3种类型的栖息地破碎化均十分严重,连通度较低,栖息地内受到较大程度的人类活动的干扰。因此建议在普洱和西双版纳间尽快建立野生动物生态廊道,以加强亚洲象各种群间的交流。     

A shared Y-chromosomal heritage between Muslims and Hindus in India

Arab forces conquered the Indus Delta region in 711 AD and, although a Muslim state was established there, their influence was barely felt in the rest of South Asia at that time. By the end of the tenth century, Central Asian Muslims moved into India from the northwest and expanded throughout the subcontinent. Muslim communities are now the largest minority religion in India, comprising more than 138 million people in a predominantly Hindu population of over one billion. It is unclear whether the Muslim expansion in India was a purely cultural phenomenon or had a genetic impact on the local population. To address this question from a male perspective, we typed eight microsatellite loci and 16 binary markers from the Y chromosome in 246 Muslims from Andhra Pradesh, and compared them to published data on 4,204 males from East Asia, Central Asia, other parts of India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Iran, the Middle East, Turkey, Egypt and Morocco. We find that the Muslim populations in general are genetically closer to their non-Muslim geographical neighbors than to other Muslims in India, and that there is a highly significant correlation between genetics and geography (but not religion). Our findings indicate that, despite the documented practice of marriage between Muslim men and Hindu women, Islamization in India did not involve large-scale replacement of Hindu Y chromosomes. The Muslim expansion in India was predominantly a cultural change and was not accompanied by significant gene flow, as seen in other places, such as China and Central Asia.Electronic supplementary material Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at and is accessible for authorized users.Ramana Gutala and Denise R. Carvalho-Silva contributed equally to the article.     

Dermatoglyphic studies among the two breeding isolates of Gujjars of northwestern India

Dermatoglyphic studies among two breeding isolates of Gujjars (200 individuals from each population) from northwestern India have been carried out. The distribution of phenotypic frequencies of dermatoglyphic features among the Hindu and Muslim Gujjars provides strong evidence that these populations have become distinct in the course of their history. This could have occurred due to the inflow of genes from Muslim invaders and surrounding populations or from the effects of inbreeding and biosocial and geographical isolation of the Muslim Gujjars from their counterpart, the Hindu Gujjars. However, the frequency distribution of dermatoglyphics of the Hindu Gujjars resembles those of the Rajputs, Jats, and Ahirs, suggesting an infrequent inflow of genes from neighboring populations and probably their recent isolation. Sexual dimorphism for dermatoglyphics has also been observed in both Hindu and Muslim Gujjar populations.     

Changes in Elephant Abundance Affect Forest Composition or Regeneration?

While overall numbers of African elephant have declined dramatically in recent times, some populations are now confined to protected areas and are locally overabundant—an undesirable situation for both biodiversity conservation and elephants. In forested protected areas, options to manage elephants are limited because it is difficult to safely approach animals, yet it is vital that these populations are managed because browsing by elephants can dramatically alter forest ecosystems. Using data collected over 50 yr in Kibale National Park, Uganda, we examine the prediction that increasing elephant numbers and associated changes in their foraging behavior have caused a shift in tree community composition. Although the relative abundance of elephants increased significantly between 1996 and 2010, the population structure of their preferred tree food species did not change, nor did tree community composition change in favor of species able to re‐sprout after elephant damage. Furthermore, over the last 50 yr Kibale elephants have not become more selective foragers, as would be expected if more nutritious tree species were declining. However, elephants are more abundant in disturbed areas dominated by shrubs and grasses and appear to have arrested forest succession in these areas. At their current abundance, elephants have not selectively altered the composition of intact old growth forest, but they do inhibit the regeneration of disturbed areas.     

PHYLOGEOGRAPHY OF THE ASIAN ELEPHANT (ELEPHAS MAXIMUS) BASED ON MITOCHONDRIAL DNA

Abstract Populations of the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) have been reduced in size and become highly fragmented during the past 3000 to 4000 years. Historical records reveal elephant dispersal by humans via trade and war. How have these anthropogenic impacts affected genetic variation and structure of Asian elephant populations? We sequenced mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to assay genetic variation and phylogeography across much of the Asian elephant's range. Initially we compare cytochrome b sequences (cyt b) between nine Asian and five African elephants and use the fossil‐based age of their separation (～5 million years ago) to obtain a rate of about 0.013 (95% CI = 0.011–0.018) corrected sequence divergence per million years. We also assess variation in part of the mtDNA control region (CR) and adjacent tRNA genes in 57 Asian elephants from seven countries (Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia). Asian elephants have typical levels of mtDNA variation, and coalescence analyses suggest their populations were growing in the late Pleistocene. Reconstructed phylogenies reveal two major clades (A and B) differing on average by HKY85/Γ‐corrected distances of 0.020 for cyt b and 0.050 for the CR segment (corresponding to a coalescence time based on our cyt b rate of ～1.2 million years). Individuals of both major clades exist in all locations but Indonesia and Malaysia. Most elephants from Malaysia and all from Indonesia are in well‐supported, basal clades within clade A, thus supporting their status as evolutionarily significant units (ESUs). The proportion of clade A individuals decreases to the north, which could result from retention and subsequent loss of ancient lineages in long‐term stable populations or, perhaps more likely, via recent mixing of two expanding populations that were isolated in the mid‐Pleistocene. The distribution of clade A individuals appears to have been impacted by human trade in elephants among Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and India, and the subspecies and ESU statuses of Sri Lankan elephants are not supported by molecular data.     

Social life of captive Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) in Southern India: implications for elephant welfare

Asian elephants in the wild live in complex social societies; in captivity, however, management often occurs in solitary conditions, especially at the temples and private places of India. To investigate the effect of social isolation, this study assessed the social group sizes and the presence of stereotypies among 140 captive Asian elephants managed in 3 captive systems (private, temple, and forest department) in Tamil Nadu, India, between 2003 and 2005. The majority of the facilities in the private (82%) and temple (95%) systems held a single elephant without opportunity for social interaction. The forest department managed the elephants in significantly larger groups than the private and temple systems. Among the 3 systems, the proportion of elephants with stereotypies was the highest in temple (49%) followed by private system (26%) and the forest department facility (6%); this correlates with the social isolation trend observed in the 3 systems and suggests a possible link between social isolation and abnormal elephant behavior separate from other environmental factors. The results of this study indicate it would be of greater benefit to elephant well being to keep the patchily distributed solitary temple and private elephants who are socially compatible and free from contagious diseases in small social groups at "common elephant houses" for socialization.     

HLA antigens in three populations of India

In blood samples from a Hindu population of Uttar Pradesh (North India) and from two Muslim groups, one from Andhra Pradesh (South India) and the other from Gujurat (West India), frequencies of 38 HLA-A, -B and -C antigens were investigated. Eight antigens - A23, A25, A29, A32, Bw45, B21, Bw22 and Bw53 - were absent in the Hindu population, four different antigens - A29, Bw52, B14 and Bw42 - were absent in Hyderabad Muslims, two antigens - A31 and Bw45 - were lacking in Surat Muslims. The three populations showed considerable genetic heterogeneity. The genetic difference between the two Muslim groups was small, but the Hindu population showed pronounced differences from each of the Muslim groups.     

How selective are elephants as agents of forest tree damage in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park,Uganda?

Elephants are locally concentrated in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Vegetation damage attributable to elephants appears to be increasing and may result in the modification of the forest. We examined the implied selectivity of stem damage due to elephants. We followed 26.84 km of recent elephant trails and used 122 plots to document tree damage in relation to species, stem sizes and locations. Of 897 trees (DBH ≥2 cm), 542 (60.4%) were intact, 22 (2.5%) debarked, 274 (30.5%) toppled and 172 (19.2%) had broken branches. Small trees were more likely to be pushed over or have their branches broken, whereas large trees were more commonly debarked. The species most frequently selected for damage included mid‐successional species such as Newtonia buchananii, Myrianthus holstii and Chrysophyllum albidum. These species may be vulnerable to increasing elephant numbers. Our analyses using general linear models indicate that elephants are selective concerning where, how and what tree stems they damage. We found a higher incidence of elephant damage per‐tree stem in open areas than in more closed areas, suggesting feedback in which elephants maintain open habitats that may be conducive for other species such as mountain gorillas. More work is needed to better determine how changing elephant numbers may influence Bwindi's conservation values.     

Genetic markers in the Hindu and Muslim Gujjars of Northwestern India

A comparative study of serogenetic markers was carried out among the Hindu and Muslim Gujjars from Northwestern India. From each isolate of Gujjars, 200 adult couples were examined for the A1A2BO and Rhesus blood groups, ABH secretion, the serum proteins haptoglobins, transferrins, and albumins, and 200 male subjects were examined for glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase enzyme deficiency. The study showed that the Muslim Gujjars differ significantly from their counterpart, the Hindu Gujjars. The differentiation that has occurred among the Muslim Gujjars may be attributed to their geographical dispersal in diverse habitats, the inflow of genes from Islamic invaders as well as non-Islamic surrounding populations, the inbreeding effect, and the comparative breeding isolation. The genetic affinities of the Hindu Gujjars with the Jats and Rajputs provide strong evidence for their common ethnic origin and probably their recent fissioning owing to biosocial practices and occupational patterns. The computed genetic distance matrix shows diversity of Ahirs from all the concerned population groups.     

元江-李仙江流域亚洲象生境适宜性评价——基于荟萃分析和遥感大数据分析

生境适宜性评价是物种保护和生境管理与规划的基础。近几十年来,云南境内野生亚洲象数量剧增,外扩迁移事件频发,而新迁入区域生境适宜状况因物种出现点数据缺乏而难以评价,掣肘迁移亚洲象保护与风险防范应急。以亚洲象新近迁入的元江-李仙江流域为案例区,采用荟萃分析统计亚洲象生境评价因子,结合相关性分析和方差膨胀因子独立性检验,筛选出生境评价因子;基于开源遥感数据产品量化生境因子,综合主成分分析和层次分析计算生境评价因子权重,采用生境适宜性指数(Habitat Suitability Index, HSI)模型评价元江-李仙江流域亚洲象生境适宜性,并分析其景观格局。结果表明：(1)元江-李仙江流域亚洲象生境适宜性空间格局主要表现为由下游至上游呈递减趋势,最适生境主要分布于流域下游段,而流域上游段适宜生境少;(2)元江流域生境适宜性低于李仙江流域,且其生境斑块连接度更低、破碎化更严重;(3)2021年“北移象群”北迁沿程生境适宜性由西南向东北呈下降趋势。基于亚洲象生境适宜性评价结果,科学引导野生亚洲象迁入适宜生境区,以规避人象冲突,保障外迁亚洲象群及其活动区居民生命财产安全,服务于区域生物多样性保护与...     

Quantity and Configuration of Available Elephant Habitat and Related Conservation Concerns in the Lower Kinabatangan Floodplain of Sabah,Malaysia

The approximately 300 (298, 95% CI: 152–581) elephants in the Lower Kinabatangan Managed Elephant Range in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo are a priority sub-population for Borneo''s total elephant population (2,040, 95% CI: 1,184–3,652). Habitat loss and human-elephant conflict are recognized as the major threats to Bornean elephant survival. In the Kinabatangan region, human settlements and agricultural development for oil palm drive an intense fragmentation process. Electric fences guard against elephant crop raiding but also remove access to suitable habitat patches. We conducted expert opinion-based least-cost analyses, to model the quantity and configuration of available suitable elephant habitat in the Lower Kinabatangan, and called this the Elephant Habitat Linkage. At 184 km², our estimate of available habitat is 54% smaller than the estimate used in the State''s Elephant Action Plan for the Lower Kinabatangan Managed Elephant Range (400 km²). During high flood levels, available habitat is reduced to only 61 km². As a consequence, short-term elephant densities are likely to surge during floods to 4.83 km⁻² (95% CI: 2.46–9.41), among the highest estimated for forest-dwelling elephants in Asia or Africa. During severe floods, the configuration of remaining elephant habitat and the surge in elephant density may put two villages at elevated risk of human-elephant conflict. Lower Kinabatangan elephants are vulnerable to the natural disturbance regime of the river due to their limited dispersal options. Twenty bottlenecks less than one km wide throughout the Elephant Habitat Linkage, have the potential to further reduce access to suitable habitat. Rebuilding landscape connectivity to isolated habitat patches and to the North Kinabatangan Managed Elephant Range (less than 35 km inland) are conservation priorities that would increase the quantity of available habitat, and may work as a mechanism to allow population release, lower elephant density, reduce human-elephant conflict, and enable genetic mixing.     

Working for the Forest: The Ambivalent Intimacies of Human–Elephant Collaboration in South Indian Wildlife Conservation

This paper explores the collaboration of humans and elephants in South Indian wildlife conservation. Drawing on ethnography within the Indian forest department and among elephant handlers in Wayanad, Kerala, it highlights the largely invisible work relationship between indigenous forest labourers and captive elephants, and their essential contribution to wildlife management. Extending ethnographic attention beyond an exclusively human realm, I show that human and elephant relations have been co-constituted while working together for the forest department. Their working partnership, situated in the historical nature-cultures of logging, teak extraction, and conservation, has created ambivalent intimacies between humans and elephants, containing both mutual violence and affect. By highlighting the importance of work relationships, history, and questions of power for multi-species studies, this article argues that human–animal relations are not only shaped by individual intimacies, but also by danger, risk, and aggression, situated within a region's larger political ecology.     

A TECHNIQUE TO ‘TAG’ SPECIFIC VOCALIZATIONS IN TAPE-RECORDINGS OF COMPLEX VOCAL INTERACTIONS

ABSTRACT

It has been suggested that African savanna elephants Loxodonta africana produce 31 different call types (Langbauer 2000). Various researchers have described these calls by associating them with specific behavioural contexts. More recently Leong et al. (2003) have attempted to classify elephant call types based on their physical properties. They classified 8 acoustically distinct call types from a population of captive elephants. This study focuses on one of these call types, the rumble, in a wild population of elephants in Kruger National Park, South Africa. A single family group of elephants was followed to record group behaviours and vocalizations from January through August 2001. By measuring the physical properties of 663 rumbles and subjecting these to cluster analysis, we present evidence that shows that rumbles can be categorized by their physical properties and that the resulting rumble types are associated with specific group behaviours. We characterize three types of rumbles that differ significantly by ten acoustic parameters. Two rumble types were associated with the elephant group feeding and resting, while the third was associated with socializing and agitation.