Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-mlc7c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-15T21:15:32.410Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Ecology of the Asian elephant in southern India. I. Movement and habitat utilization patterns

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

R. Sukumar
R. Sukumar
Affiliation:
Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore - 560 012India
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The movement and habitat utilization patterns were studied in an Asian elephant population during 1981–83 within a 1130 km2 area in southern India (11° 30′ N to 12° 0′ N and 76° 50′ E to 77° 15′ E). The study area encompasses a diversity of vegetation types from dry thorn forest (250–400 m) through deciduous forest (400–1400 m) to stunted evergreen shola forest and grassland (1400–1800 m).

Home range sizes of some identified elephants were between 105 and 320 km2. Based on the dry season distribution, five different elephant clans, each consisting of between 50 and 200 individuals and having overlapping home ranges, could be defined within the study area. Seasonal habitat preferences were related to the availability of water and the palatability of food plants. During the dry months (January-April) elephants congregated at high densities of up to five individuals km-2 in river valleys where browse plants had a much higher protein content than the coarse tall grasses on hill slopes. With the onset of rains of the first wet season (May-August) they dispersed over a wider area at lower densities, largely into the tall grass forests, to feed on the fresh grasses, which then had a high protein value. During the second wet season (September-December), when the tall grasses became fibrous, they moved into lower elevation short grass open forests.

The normal movement pattern could be upset during years of adverse environmental conditions. However, the movement pattern of elephants in this region has not basically changed for over a century, as inferred from descriptions recorded during the nineteenth century.

Keywords

Asian elephantelephant ecologyElephas maximushabitat utilizationhome rangeIndia
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 5 , Issue 1 , February 1989 , pp. 1 - 18
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1989

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

LITERATURE CITED

Allaway, J. D. 1979. Elephants and their interactions with people in the Tana river region of Kenya. Ph.D. thesis, Cornell University, Ithaca.Google Scholar
Douglas-Hamilton, I. 1972. On the ecology and behaviour of the African elephant. D.Phil. thesis, University of Oxford, Oxford.Google Scholar
Eltringham, S. K. 1977. The numbers and distribution of elephant Loxodonta africana in the Rwen-zori National Park and Chambura Game Reserve, Uganda. East African Wildlife Journal 15:19–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jennrich, R. I. & Turner, F. B. 1969. Measurement of non-circular home range. Journal of Theoretical Biology 22:227–237.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Laws, R. M., Parker, I. S. C. & Johnstone, R. C. B. 1975. Elephants and their habitats. Clarendon Press, Oxford. 376 pp.Google Scholar
Leuthold, W. 1977. Spatial organization and strategy of habitat utilization of elephants in Tsavo National Park, Kenya. Zeitschrift für Saugetierkunde 42:358–379.Google Scholar
Mace, G. M., Harvey, P. H. & Clutton-Brock, T. H. 1983. Vertebrate home–range size and energetic requirements. Pp. 32–53 in Swingland, I. R. & Greenwood, P. J. (eds). The ecology of animal movement. Clarendon Press, Oxford. 311 ppGoogle Scholar
McNab, B. K., 1963. Bioenergetics and the determination of home range size. American Naturalist 97:133–140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moss, C. J. 1982. Portraits in the wild: behavior studies of East African mammals. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago. 371 pp.Google Scholar
Olivier, R. C. D. 1978. On the ecology of the Asian elephant. Ph.D. thesis, University of Cambridge, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Peters, R. H. 1983. The ecological implications of body size. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 325 pp.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Puri, G. S. 1960. Indian forest ecology. 2 vols. Oxford Book and Stationary Co., New Delhi. 710 pp.Google Scholar
Pyke, G. H. 1983. Animal movements: an optimal foraging approach. Pp. 7–31 in Swingland, I. R. & Greenwood, P. J. (eds). The ecology of animal movement. Clarendon Press, Oxford. 311 pp.Google Scholar
Sanderson, G. P. 1878. Thirteen years among the wild beasts of India. W. H. Allen, London. 387 pp.Google Scholar
Sinclair, A. R. E. 1983. The function of distance movements in vertebrates. Pp. 240–258 in Swing-land, I. R. & Greenwood, P. J. (eds). The ecology of animal movement. Clarendon Press, Oxford. 311pp.Google Scholar
Sukumar, R. 1985. Ecology of the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) and its interaction with man in south India. Unpublished Ph.D thesis, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.Google Scholar
Sukumar, R.Ecology of the Asian elephant in southern India. II. Feeding habits and crop raiding patterns. Journal of Tropical Ecology In press.Google Scholar
Von Lengerke, H. J. 1977. The Nilgiris - weather and climate of a mountain area in south India. Franz Steiner Verlag, Wiesbaden. 340 pp.Google Scholar