Why do elephants destroy woodland?

Abstract

The increase in the number of elephants in some of the conservation areas was followed by a decline in woodland density due to a combination of the destruction by elephants and burning by man. The article addresses the issue of whether modification of woodland by elephants is a natural phenomenon that is part of a cyclical relationship existing between elephants and woodland. A major factor contributing to habitat degradation by elephants could be a maladapted feeding strategy associated with the fact that the elephants now occupying much of the drier areas are descendants from animals of the Central African forest belt. The article discusses the various ways elephants utilize trees or parts of trees.