Introduction
There are two main species of elephants, the African Elephants which live in the
savannah and the Asian Elephants which live in more tropical forest environments. African
Elephants are located in Northern Africa where it is dominated by savanna and desert biomes.
Asian Elephants, on the other hand, are located in Southeast Asia which has tropical forest and
temperate grassland biomes. Within each biome there are abiotic and biotic systems that
coexist and create a unique environment which defines an ecosystem.
A savanna consists of grasses and scattered trees and is warm year round. As a result of
dry soil and lack of consistent rainfall varying from 12 to 20 inches, the savannah has wildfires
often due to natural and human causes (Simon, Dickey, & Reese, 2019). It’s abundant grassy
vegetation creates an ideal environment for African elephants which are natural grazers. The
desert biome shares similarities to the savanna biome, but generally has less rainfall and consists
of different vegetations that are adaptive to the desert’s environment. A unique feature of the
African elephant that lives in this biome is that elephants are migratory species. As a migratory
species, African elephants may migrate from areas that have become like a desert biome to
search for water sources. Oftentimes, the routes taken during migration pass through deserts.
Asian elephants live in a much different environment than the African elephant.
Southeast Asia consists of Tropical Forest and Temperate Grassland habitats. Tropical Forests
are defined by two categories, Wet and Dry based on the amount of rainfall (Simon, Dickey, &
Reese 2019). Wet Tropical Forest receives more rainfall that allows a lot of growth in vegetation
while a Dry Tropical Forest has more vegetation that grows closer to the ground and has adapted
to conserve water during longer periods of no rain. Temperate Grasslands are described to “have
some characteristics of tropical savanna, but are mostly treeless, except along rivers and streams,
and found in regions of relatively cold winter temperatures” (Simon, Dickey, & Reese 2019).
(Sentence to summarize both points).
What are the African Elephants threatened by?
Two major threats in Africa towards the African elephant is poaching of their tusks and
loss of habitat. According to the World Wildlife Fund (2021), every-year around 20,000 African
elephants were killed for their tusks. Tusks are made out of ivory which is highly valued as a
material for art pieces and jewelry, but also holds a significant role in raising an individual’s
status. Additionally, the African elephant has lost much of its natural habitat to human
development and agricultural development. Between 2011 and 2015, the habitat loss around 90%
resulted in a dramatic decrease in the African elephant’s population (World Wildlife Fund
2021).
Proposal to improve and conserve African Elephant Population
Due to the loss of habitat for African elephants, conservation efforts are directed to
obtain and manage land that is essential for African elephants to live and be protected from
poachers. In order to accomplish habitat conservation for African elephants, I propose to secure
land by focusing on purchasing land surrounding existing wildlife reserves from locals and other
organizations to further expand habitat and potential migratory routes.
African elephants need a lot of land in order to forage for vegetation, migrate, and roam.
One way to help save essential habitats for the species is redirecting human development such as
agriculture and the raising of flocks (sheep, goats, or cattles). Deforestation is the removal of
trees that clears land to be used for development. Another method to saving land for the elephant
is incentives to the locals or educating them about the conservation issues with the elephant
population to encourage them to coexist with the elephants. Hiring the local community as
workers or protectors to the elephant population can provide a new workforce to support
conservation efforts while giving back to the community job opportunities and training.
There are two types of growth models for populations, the exponential growth model and
the logistic growth model. The exponential growth model is when a population is experiencing a
large amount of growth in population numbers. Abundance of food resources and land space are
factors to having a boost in populations, but as the population grows and goes through their
resources (food and space) will also mark a decline in population once resources run low. The
logistic growth model states that there is a maximum amount the environment can support a
population and as the population numbers get closer to the limit that the environment supports,
the growth rate of the population decreases. African elephant populations follow the logistic
growth model as due to their limited and decreasing amount of food resources and land, prevents
further growth in the elephant’s population. Improving the access to more food resources and
land would promote an exponential growth model that will ultimately improve the African
elephant’s population.
Within the local communities that share the area where African elephants live and roam,
many individuals are not well informed about the issues that lie within the elephant population
nor are they aware of methods to support conservation efforts. Many human communities view
elephants as a hazard as elephants may trample on crops or conflict with grazing grounds that
humans use to feed their animals and often kill elephants to remove the nuisance (Elephant for
Africa 2021). Providing alternative methods to alleviate the tensions between human and
elephant populations such as interviewing farmers to gain a better understanding of the risks they
are taking and how elephant populations have affected them. Additional support to maintaining
human-wildlife conflict is tackled by tying behavioral ecology by observing and monitoring
behaviors of elephant populations and making efforts to change bad behaviors (crop raiding) that
have negatively impacted communities near elephant populations.
References
African Elephant, World Wildlife Fund. (Viewed Feb 27 2021)
https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/african-elephant
Human-Wildlife Conflict. Elephants for Wildlife. Viewed February 27, 2021.
https://www.elephantsforafrica.org/research/human-wildlife-conflict/
Simon, E. J., Dickey, J., & Reece, J. B. (2019). Campbell essential biology (7th ed.). Pearson.