The elephants (Loxodonta africana) of Zoba Gash Barka, Eritrea: Part 3. Ecological and other data from tusks, teeth and carcasses

Abstract

An isolated elephant population of about 100 animals live in the border region of northwestern Ethiopia and southwestern Eritrea. During the October-February dry season these elephant migrate to Eritrea and return southward to Ethiopia at the beginning of the short wet season. (Hagos, et al. 2003: Shoshani, et al. 2004) During dry period the only natural occuring permanent open water may be the Setit (Tekezze) River which forms the border between the two countiries. This article, the third of a series, 'summarizes nine years of ecological data retrieved from tusks and three years of data from dead elephants'. Body measurements and pathological data were taken from 11 elephants which were found dead between 2002 and 2004: four had fallen into manmade water wells, two were killed by farmers, and 'five died form unknown causes although some exhibited pathological bones and teeth.' Table 1 reviews information on the recently dead elephants while Table 2 reviews data (lengths, circumferences, weight, etc) from the 31 tusks collected since 1993. The authors note their observations confirm that a healthy elephant population inhabits the southwestern region of Eritrea duirng the long dry season. However, over the past three years it has suffered a loss of about 5% per annum, and this loss is in part due to attempts to drink from manmade wells because of the lack of natural water sources. Recommends artificial water sites, constructed so that young elephants could access them easily, be installed 'along the path of elephant movement. Calls for the establishment of protected areas because as this population increases the conflict with the human populations will become greater and more contentious land use issues will arise.