There are local populations of African elephants (Loxodonta africana) which have increased
to levels where they are implicated in altering vegetation types. The local reduction of
elephant numbers for wildlife management objectives can involve contraception, killing
excess animals, or translocation to alternative habitats. The effects these management
decisions can have on the physiological stress response of free-ranging African savanna
elephants are still not fully understood. We examined the effect of translocation on faecal
glucocorticoid metabolite levels of an African elephant family group,which was translocated
within the Kruger National Park, South Africa. We found that translocation resulted in a
significant increase in faecal glucocorticoid metabolite levels (up to 646 ng/g wet weight)
compared to (1) pre-translocation levels in this group, (2) post-translocation levels in this
group, and (3) levels measured in undisturbed ‘control’ groups in the area. However, the
faecal glucocorticoid metabolite levels had returned to <100 ng/g by the time the
translocated animals had navigated their way back to their previous home range, covering
300 km in 23 days.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:tut/oai:encore.tut.ac.za:d1000381 |
| Date | 01 October 2008 |
| Creators | Viljoen, JJ, Ganswindt, A, du Toit, JT, Langbauer, WR |
| Publisher | South African Wildlife Management Assciation |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | |
| Rights | South African Wildlife Management Association |
| Relation | South African Journal of Wildlife Research |
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