The Impact of Gunfire on Elephant Conception Rates
Zimbabwe’s wildlife continues to suffer terrible atrocities. Snaring is reported to be rife, with the country’s larger, stronger animals (such as the elephant) sometimes managing to break free of these deadly wire traps, too regularly seen in the veld with hideous wire injuries. Conservationists do what they can, destroying snares, immobilising and treating suffering animals, arresting poachers and pushing for harsher penalties for their criminal acts.
The country’s wildlife also continues to suffer the effects of wanton gunfire. “It took time, but high-level authorities have corrected some underhanded hunting practices which accompanied land claims in this area,” says Sharon Pincott of the ‘Presidential Elephant’ Conservation Project in south-western Zimbabwe. “Land has been returned for tourism purposes, and some hunting licences have been revoked.”
While the wildlife attempts to recover from the mayhem of the past few years, some interesting elephant statistics are emerging.
Australian Sharon Pincott has, for more than five years, spent her time amongst ‘The Presidential Elephants of Zimbabwe’ - a clan of over 400 free-roaming elephants, individually known in over 20 family groups, so named when Zimbabwe’s President Mugabe decreed them ‘protected’ in 1990; to be a symbol, it was then said, of Zimbabwe’s commitment to responsible wildlife management. These habituated elephants can be found on the unfenced Hwange Estate, bordering Zimbabwe’s premier Hwange National Park, where their social structure and population dynamics are being monitored. Ongoing conservation efforts remain the key focus of this long-term elephant project.
“The key home-range of the Presidential Elephants was underhandedly taken over by hunters - a situation now thankfully rectified,” Sharon confirms. “The elephants did however endure more than two years of unethical hunting problems.”
From data collected to date it is becoming clear that elephant conception rates during this hunting period were negatively affected, with elephants coming into estrus up to four times before they eventually conceived.
“Female elephants only come into estrus once every three months. Some elephants took another 6, and even 9 months to conceive after the first time I witnessed them in estrus,” says Sharon. “Some elephants, for example, who I witnessed in estrus (and being mated) during late 2003 have only recently had their babies, some 31 months later. They endured four sessions with the bulls, before eventually falling pregnant. This differs markedly from elephants who I witnessed in estrus during 2001 and 2002 (before gunfire increased substantially), who had their babies the ‘usual’ 22 months later. Occasionally, at that time, elephants were sighted back in estrus three months after their first (unsuccessful) estrous period, but even this was not the norm. Certainly there are no previous records of the fertile elephants in this population taking up to 9 months to conceive.”
Data collection continues now that the gunfire is somewhat better under control, in an attempt to confirm that conception rates have improved.
Elephant numbers in Zimbabwe have often been touted as having a negative impact on the numbers of smaller species, which are said to be declining. (This is in spite of scientific studies in Botswana confirming that numbers of smaller species in this neighbouring country continue to increase, despite their even larger elephant population.) Gunfire occurs, legally, inside of Zimbabwe’s National Parks. Although supposedly limited, this ‘ration hunting’ gunfire has at times been reported to be out of control.
Some of Zimbabwe’s conservationists are now asking the question: Is gunfire negatively impacting conception rates of all of it’s wildlife species?
“It is difficult for me to believe that only elephants would be negatively effected,” says Sharon.
(An article from "The Zimbabwean" issue of 28 Sep. 2006)
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