Project Updates

Updates From the field - November 2002

Elephants Crops and People Update

From the Project Director, Michael Keigwin

Elephants have been using Southern reaches of the Queen Elizabeth National Park (QENP) extensively over the past few months. They are being seen much more frequently which indicates a reduction in human pressure and disturbance. The recovery of the elephant population through breeding and transmigration of elephants from the Democratic Republic of Congo's Park National des Virunga has increased elephant numbers in the area and has caused more habitat destruction. After thirty years of tree regeneration resulting in more acacia tree cover than there has ever been, the elephants are now pushing back the trees through their destructive feeding. This is a natural and much needed cycle in Southern QEPA.

Crop raiding continues to cause enormous problems for those communities surrounding the Park and ECP has continued to monitor each and every incident. In creating a purpose built database to aid our analysis and understanding of the problem, ECP is about to start providing the Uganda Wildlife Authority with detailed management recommendations to reduce and alleviate the problem.

After six huge community meetings, ECP has learnt much about the wishes and problems of the farming communities and their longing to better relations with the park management; this is reflected by UWA. ECP has identified statue and park law problems that affect the communities adversely.

The Masters degree students who have been working with ECP have now finished their fieldwork and are busy writing up their thesis. The two studies are:

Paul Okullo: Department of Forestry. Makerere University.

"The effect of elephant foraging behaviour on Acacia sieberiana in Southern QEPA"

Gerald Kiaru: Institute of Environment and Natural Resources. Makerere University.

"The potential effect of community resource use on elephant - human interaction."

Both students have presented their initial findings to the Cambridge University based Tropical Biological Association in two field-training courses carried out in Queen Elizabeth National Park.

ECP, alongside FOC and the Rothamsted Institute is now developing plans and proposals towards identifying crop species and varieties, cropping techniques, settlement patterns and production systems, that use non palatable crops in areas of serious crop raiding in order to reduce the losses due to crop raiding. All of this is to be done with the understanding that it must be practical and sustainable, as well as improving agricultural economics and food production.

Despite the regions many problems and setbacks, ECP has continued to work tirelessly to achieve its goals. Ishasha is one of Africa's jewels and is in desperate need for more support.

Selous Rhino Trust Project Supervisor, Friedrich Alpers updates us on his latest news in the Selous

Due to very 'out of season' rain showers this August and September, our dry season rhino monitoring activities have been severely restricted. The dry seasons usually provides us with the most sitings as the rhinos have to depend on the several larger watering holes. The rains though, replenish smaller watering holes allowing the rhinos to stay hidden in the bush.

With all that in mind we committed ourselves to one specific watering point, where we had detected fresh signs of rhino in the past. Luckily the sporadic rain filled puddles dried out quickly, forcing the rhinos to return to the main watering points. I constructed an observation platform in the tree closest to the waterhole with the aim to camp out for 6 days monitoring any rhino presence. I rid the area of most man made scent by covering myself, and the equipment, in elephant dung and preparing for the following days and nights observations.

The first night was about 3 nights before the full moon. I was hoping to find a rhino mother and a recently (March 2002) born calf which also frequented this specific area. We were especially keen to confirm the sex of the young calf and its condition. The first night passed slowly with intermittent rain showers, clouds covering the moon and no rhino. Dawn broke, I was wet, de-motivated (and thinking of abandoning the mission) but a beautiful early morning and a herd of buffalo passing right under the tree, without detecting me, convinced me that I should hold out for another few nights. The second night started wet again, but the clouds lifted and the almost full moon lit up the area and warmed my spirit, as many night creatures could be observed from close by. As the night slowly crept on, my eyes were tiring from the constant focusing on objects which might have moved...a tree stump which might just be a leopard and so on....

Well, this time the object did move and from the posture it could have only been rhino (yes, it can only be a rhino!) and he was heading straight along his ancient trail passing right under my tree. He was well lit by the moon and I managed to film him on his peaceful, but alert way to the water. I hoped he would not smell me, hoped the night air did not carry any of my scent, I hoped the camera captured (double checked, yes it was recording!) the animal and his distinct features, which are so crucial for our rhino population data collection. His right ear had a very distinct tear that I could clearly recognize. He was the dominant bull of this territory.

Very excited and with shaking hands, I did manage to capture him on film and could confirm his identity (first time for this individual rhino) and that he was in splendid condition. Very wary and alert he had moved toward the water, had his fill and disappeared into the night.

At 04:40 a second rhino came to drink but unfortunately the moon had disappeared behind the horizon and I could only recognize the shape of a smaller size than the first visitor. It was a younger animal, possibly a lone sub-adult, which we had previously documented spoor print copies of, but not captured on film. Unfortunately I could not film this second rhino, next time maybe. The following nights no rhinos came to drink, as the dry earth was blessed with more 'un-seasonal' rain filling dry pans.

As of yet I have not managed to find the mother and her calf, but the next few months should offer the same conditions and hopefully a few more chances.