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Mount Kenya elephant survey conducted

04.08.2016

Aerial counts of elephants in forest environments are ineffective due to the obstruction of tree canopies. Therefore, an ambitious elephant dung survey was carried out on foot along line transects. This is the most commonly used method to estimate the density of elephants in forest environments. The survey was led by Hilde Vanleeuwe of the World Conservation Society, with financial support from Disney, with full support from the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and involving Rhino Ark, the Bongo Surveillance Project and Mount Kenya Trust.

A two-day training session was held prior to the start of the survey at the KWS Naro Moru Park Headquarters. Trainees were all scouts and rangers with basic knowledge of geographical navigation using maps and GPS. The 32 rangers and scouts divided into eight teams of four for the training. Those who performed best during the practical training were allocated as team leaders, in charge of data collection and daily communication with senior KWS researcher James Mathenge.

The project ran in three separate blocks of ten days; these consisted of field missions lasting a maximum of seven days and at least three rest days between field missions. During the survey, eight teams of four rangers and Mount Kenya Trust scouts were able to monitor 397 transects of 200 m, yielding 79 400m of survey effort). This is no mean feat. Men and women needed to keep their transect lines as straight as possible in difficult terrain and through thick bamboo and steep valleys, across rivers and gorges for several days. Other vital information on illegal activity on Mount Kenya was also collected.

Results suggested a density of 1.28 elephants per sq km, which is statistically a non-significant reduction from the previous survey conducted in 2001 which suggested a density of 1.45 elephants per sq km. The survey estimates that there are 2 579 (+/-453) elephants on Mount Kenya today.

In conclusion, the population has remained relatively stable since the last published results by H. Vanleeuwe in 2001 when the estimated number was 2 911 (+/-640). The slight reduction is speculative depending on some poaching and/or migration since the opening of the Northern Elephant Corridor. However, this is a positive result in an era where elephant numbers are dwindling so rapidly.

News and photo by Mount Kenya Trust

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