Seasonal variation in home range sizes and distance to the nearest
ephemeral surface water for African savannah elephant (Loxodonta
africana) in semi-arid eastern Okavango panhandle, northern Botswana
Abstract
African elephants (Loxodonta africana) are megaherbivores of the African
savanna that require extensive ranges to provide key resources critical
for their survival and reproduction, both at spatial and temporal
scales. We studied seasonal differences in home range sizes and daily
distance travelled to the nearest ephemeral surface water sources by
five male and ten female African elephants in the eastern Okavango
Panhandle in northern Botswana between 2014-2017. We hypothesized that
(i) elephant home ranges would be larger in the wet season than in the
dry season (because forage and water sources tend to be more plentiful
and widely distributed in the wet season than in the dry season, and
elephants would not be restricted to localized resource areas), and that
(ii) distances traveled by elephants to the nearest ephemeral surface
water sources would be larger in the dry season than in the wet as these
ephemeral water sources successively dry up. Our findings supported the
hypotheses of the study. Elephants had larger home ranges in the wet
season than in the dry season and the daily distances traveled to the
nearest ephemeral surface water sources were larger in the dry season
than in the wet season. The findings indicate the need to consider
seasonal variations in elephant space use in land use planning and
protected area management to minimize restricting elephants access to
critical resources as seasons change or droughts intensify due to
climate change.