From elephant memory to conservation action: using chili oil
Julie Fillebrown, Samantha Koehler, Trey Wehlan, Anastassiya Suprunova, Andrea Presotto
Study Area
Victoria Falls National Park, Zimbabwe (Figure 1)
Bull 2 - This elephant was the subject of a case study to investigate if the elephant would stay away from an area of potential human-elephant conflict.
Timeline of Major Events
Use slider to interact with the Bull 2 Movement Data.
The BLUE points are the movement before and on the date Bull 2 was tranquilized and chili peppered. Before July 22nd, 2018.
The PINK points are the movement after the Bull 2 was chili peppered and tranquilized. After July 21st, 2018.
Before & After Proximity Data
Percentage of points vs distance from the school
Results
- The elephant has not re-entered the school property for 1.5+ years after the disruptive darting.
- The elephant only came within .25 km of the school 3 times after the darting
- Thus disruptive darting successfully created a memorable traumatic experience that would deter deterred the elephant from returning to the school yard..
- This implies that the elephant remembered the event and the location.
- Bull2 had an extension to his life which we expect to end naturally.
- Disruptive darting resulted in an ideal outcome: the bull is still alive, and the schoolchildren are safe
Acknowledgements
We thank the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, whose permission and participation were instrumental in the success of this project. We thank Adrian Read for supporting the collaring operation.