Elephant research in Chizarira, Zimbabwe

Dear Sponsors and interested friends,
Since we last posted an update on our elephant project, we
have been able to collar two more male elephants in the NorthWestern part of Zimbabwe known as the Sebungwe region
where our research team focuses it studies currently.

Based inChizarira National Park (1,910km2
) the research team
now follow and track 11 collared elephants (7 bulls and 4 cows)
with the aid of GPS satellite collars. We are able to regularly
track the collared herds both via satellite downloads onto our
computers, and on foot so that we can obtain herd
demographics.

Our data is shared with the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife
Management Authority, specifically the Park Manager and Park
ecologist, and contributes to the National Elephant movement
map. From a wider regional view, the Elephant Project feeds
into the greater KAZA objectives for elephant conservation.

The map above shows how much movement there is in the
elephant population from Chizarira overlaying cases of HumanElephant-Conflict. Fortunately, there are no fences between
the large Protected Areas although between them are
subsistence farmers. This data collect by tracking and mapping the movement of these Elephants allows us to better
understand their traits and routes. A long term goal is to
distinguish and protect specific wildlife corridors, naturally
used by the animals to move between the larger protected
areas. By opening up corridors we can reduce human-wildlife
conflict which will be of benefit to both human and wildlife in
the long run.

Thank you for supporting this project.