Elephant Movements in Different Human Land-Uses in Chobe District, Botswana

We have a limited understanding of the effects that an increasing human population and urban and agricultural development are having on elephant movements in Botswana. Elephant movements are complex because they are influenced by a wide range of location-specific variables. This study aimed to investigate how elephants move through different human-dominated landscapes in the Chobe District, Botswana. The movements of four female elephants from the Chobe District were studied over a period of 13 months using GPS collars to follow them. Annual home ranges of the elephants were calculated using both the 100% minimum convex polygon (MCP) and 95% fixed kernel (FK) methods. Additionally, general estimating equation models were used to investigate which factors influenced the elephants' distance moved, both hourly and daily. We found the elephants' movement behaviour was dependent on the time of day and type of land use: whether agricultural areas, protected areas or wildlife management areas, trophy hunting blocks, and multi-use zones (e.g. game management areas). Overall, all of the elephants had smaller annual home ranges (similar to 450-1,750 km(2)) than seen in other studies within southern Africa, and there was a difference in seasonal movements, between individuals. Additionally, contrary to previously published studies, the elephants made larger diurnal movements than nocturnal movements. Movements were significantly different between different land-use areas, suggesting that elephants could be developing different strategies to move through differing levels of human disturbance. It is vital for any wildlife management plan that the spatial movements of key conservation species are thoroughly understood, in order to formulate informed management decisions and create an integrated land-use management plan that enables both development and elephant coexistence.