Aspects of the ecology of the elephant Loxodonta africana (blumenbach, 1797), and a management plan for the Tembe elephant reserve in Tongaland, KwaZulu

Abstract

The climate, surface water, soil nutrients, vegetation composition and the dependence of the local people within the study area on these environmental components and various aspects of the ecology of the Tongaland elephants, were examined. The objective was to provide a management plan for a future elephant reserve. It was established that a resident elephant population including breeding herds, existed in Tongaland. An attempt was made to explain the differences in local movement of the elephants during wet and dry seasons, and movement across the Mozambique-Natal border. It appears that the availability of surface water, food, and the presence of people determined elephant movement and distribution. After determining elephant habitat requirements and the dependence of the local people on the resources in the study area, boundary proposals for an elephant reserve were made, which should ensure the co-existence of the human and elephant population, in Tongaland, KwaZulu.