Linking crop availability, forest elephant visitation and perceptions of human-elephant interactions in villages bordering Ivindo National Park, Gabon

Abstract

Feeding by Critically Endangered forest elephants Loxodonta cyclotis in rural plantations is a conservation issue in Gabon, but studies characterizing drivers of spatiotemporal patterns of human-elephant interactions remain sparse, hindering mitigation. In this study, we use GPS tracking data from two elephants to characterize temporal patterns of village visitation, and surveys of 101 local farmers across seven villages to determine local patterns of crop planting and harvesting and of human-elephant interactions. Local farmers' perceptions of elephant visitations and empirical data on such visits were positively correlated with local crop availability. However, considering the two elephants separately revealed that the correlations were driven by just one individual, with the second elephant showing weak links between crop availability and visitation, highlighting the challenges in reliably predicting human-wildlife interactions. The most popular local perceptions of the drivers of elephant visitation were the presence of crops (53% of responses) and logging (39%). The most popular proposed interventions were letting the government find a solution (32%), killing problem elephants (30%) and providing compensation for lost crops (22%). We discuss the potential feasibility and efficacy of the proposed solutions in the context of human-elephant interactions. Future research efforts should focus on collaring elephants in zones with high potential for negative human-elephant interaction and expanding perception surveys to villages with contrasting ecological contexts (e.g. with and without logging in their surrounding forests), as these could influence local perceptions of conflicts and conservation initiatives.