Ex situ conservation of the African elephant (Loxodonta africana): characterisation of the largest elephant reserve in Latin America
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22579/22484817.989Keywords:
African elephant, Conservation programme, Ex situAbstract
The drastic decline in wild populations of the African elephant (Loxodonta africana) over the last 50 years has forced us to complement in situ conservation programmes with human-maintained populations that act as a gene bank and raise awareness of the loss of the species. In partnership with the International Elephant Foundation (IEF), Africam Safari participates in the conservation of African elephants by supporting and funding projects aimed at preserving the species and maintaining the largest herd of elephants in Latin America at its facilities. The following report aims to characterise the main processes carried out at Africam Safari that have led to the effective reproduction of specimens and the subsequent birth of more than 10 African elephant calves in the last 6 years.
References
Aguirre A, Ostfeld R, Daszak, P. Conservation Medicine: Ontogeny of an emerging discipline. New Directions in Conservation Medicine: Ecological Health in Practice. Oxford University Press. 2012. Doi: 10.5860/choice.50-3886.
Benz. A (2005). Tesis de Doctorado La uña del elefante: Morfología macroscópica y microscópica considerando sus cambios patológicos. Instituto de Anatomía Veterinaria de la Universidad de Zurich.
Conley S. Conservation philosophy and activities of the International Elephant Foundation. Int Zoo Yearb. 2019; 53(1):208–16. Doi: 10.1111/izy.12232.
De Villiers, DJ. Musth and reproduction in the African elephant. M.Sc. 1988. Thesis, University of Pretoria.
Fernandez EJ, Martin AL. Animal Training, Environmental Enrichment, and Animal Welfare: A History of Behavior Analysis in Zoos. J. Zool. Bot. Gard. 2021, 2, 531-543. Doi: 10.3390/jzbg2040038.
Gobush K, Edwards T, Balfour D, Wittemyer G, Maisels F, Taylor R. Loxodonta africana (amended version of 2021 assessment). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021. Doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-2.RLTS.T181008073A204401095.en.
Harris GM, Russell RI, Van Aarde, SL Pimm. Rules of habitat use by elephants Loxodonta africana in Southern Africa: insights for regional management. Oryx . 2008; 42: 66-75.
Joy EJM, Broadley MR, Young SD, Black CR, Chilimba ADC, Ander EL, Barlow TS, Watts MJ. Soil type influences crop mineral composition in Malawi. Science of the Total Environment 505:587–595. 2015. Doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.10.038.
Martinez G. Exponen condicionamiento operante en el manejo de elefantes. Tomado de: http://gacetacomunidad.cuautitlan.unam.mx/2021/09/exponen-condicionamiento-operante-en-el-manejo-de-elefantes/.
Milewski A. Iodine as possible controlling nutrient. Pachyderm. 2000; 28:78–90.
Morfeld KA, Meehan CL, Hogan JN, Brown JL. Assessment of body condition in African (Loxodonta africana) and Asian (Elephas maximus) elephants in North American zoos and management practices associated with high body condition scores. PLoS One. 2016;11(7):1–20.
Narula R. Performing safe and effective blood draws on Giants of the planet. 2022. Tomado de: https://wildlifesos.org/chronological-news/performing-safe-and-effective-blood-draws-on-giants-of-the-planet/.
[OIE] Organización Mundial de Sanidad Animal. Garantizar la salud de la vida silvestre es garantizar un mundo más seguro. 2016.Tomado de:
https://www.woah.org/es/garantizar-la-salud-de-la-vida-silvestre-es-garantizar-unmundo-mas-seguro/.
Riddle HS, Schulte BA, Desai AA, Meer L van der. Elephants - a conservation overview. J Threat Taxa. 2010; 2(1):653–61. Doi: 10.11609/jott.o2024.653-61.
Sach F, Dierenfeld ES, Langley-Evans SC, Watts MJ, Yon L. African savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana) as an example of a herbivore making movement choices based on nutritional needs. PeerJ. 2019; (2):1–27.
Santos TL, Fernandes C, Henley MD, Dawson DA, Mumby HS. Conservation genetic assessment of Savannah elephants (Loxodonta Africana) in the greater kruger biosphere, south Africa. Genes (Basel). 2019. Doi: 10.3390/genes10100779.
Shannon G, B.R. Page, K.J. Duffy, R. Slotow. The consequences of body size dimorphism: are African Elephants sexually segregated at the habitat scale? Behaviour. 2016; 143.
Steele JH. La fiebre aftosa. Bol Oficina Sanit Panam. 2015; 26(3):231–8.
Sukumar R. The Living Elephants: Evolutionary Ecology, Behavior and Conservation. 2003. New York, Oxford University Press.
Borchers K. Elephant ultrasound at the Roger Williams Park Zoo. Special Collections and University Archives. 1999. University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries.
Ullrey D, Crissey S, Hintz H. Elephants: nutrition and dietary husbandry. In: Allen M, Edwards M, Roocroft A, eds. Nutrition Advisory Group. Silver Spring: Association of Zoos and Aquariums. 1997. (AZA), 1–20.
Vidya TNC, Sukumar R. Social and reproductive behaviour in elephants. Curr Sci. 2005; 89(7):1200–7.
[WAZA] World Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Conservation Breeding Programmes. 2019. Tomado de: https://www.waza.org/priorities/conservation/conservation-breeding-programmes/.
[WWF] Fondo mundial para la naturaleza. 9 datos sorprendentes sobre los elefantes. 2020. Tomado de: https://www.worldwildlife.org/descubre-wwf/historias/9datos-sorprendentes-sobre-los-elefantes#:~:text=Los%20elefantes%20son%20unos%20verdaderos,que%20comp arten%20con%20otras%20especies.
[WWF] Fondo mundial para la naturaleza. Informe Planeta Vivo. 2022. Tomado de: https://livingplanet.panda.org/es-ES/.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Esta revista y sus artículos se punlican bajo la licencia Creative Commons (CC BY – NC-ND 4.0), que permite el uso, distribución y reproducción sin restricciones en cualquier medio o formato, siempre que se acredite el autor y la fuente originales; no usar bajo propósitos comerciales.
