During July 2010 Everything Elephant volunteers Astrid & Kat have been busy contributing to EDGE of AFRICA’s ongoing research efforts.
Today was an extremely exciting day for all involved…whilst busy studying the vegetation of the Tsitsikamma Indigenous Forest, as well as looking for signs of elephants; Astrid and Kat did in fact come across some elephant tracks!!! As the elephants of this forest are one of the most endangered populations in the world, seeing any sign of their existence is…how should I put it?…A BIG DEAL!!!!
Currently there is a lot of interest in whether the forest contains the right vegetation to sustain and elephant population and by conducting vegetation surveys we hope to contribute to solving this question.
At the beginning of this month Astrid & Kat were conducting behavioural research on a captive elephant population; research which will in the long term help to better our understanding of the dynamics of this elephant herd and elephant behaviour in general.
And finally, to finish off their time on the Everything Elephant project Astrid & Kat will be spending 3 days in Addo Elephant National Park (home to the highest concentration of African elephants in the world – over 400 elephants!) where there will be doing population counts and recording which areas of the Park are used by the elephants.
As if all that exciting research wasn’t enough for Astrid & Kat; they have also been conducting elephant themed educational workshops for children of all ages! Through these workshops we aim to educate the wider community, specifically young students, abut elephants and elephant conservation. We believe that conservation relies on community appreciation and understanding.
Currently there is a lot of interest in whether the forest contains the right vegetation to sustain and elephant population and by conducting vegetation surveys we hope to contribute to solving this question.
At the beginning of this month Astrid & Kat were conducting behavioural research on a captive elephant population; research which will in the long term help to better our understanding of the dynamics of this elephant herd and elephant behaviour in general.
And finally, to finish off their time on the Everything Elephant project Astrid & Kat will be spending 3 days in Addo Elephant National Park (home to the highest concentration of African elephants in the world – over 400 elephants!) where there will be doing population counts and recording which areas of the Park are used by the elephants.
As if all that exciting research wasn’t enough for Astrid & Kat; they have also been conducting elephant themed educational workshops for children of all ages! Through these workshops we aim to educate the wider community, specifically young students, abut elephants and elephant conservation. We believe that conservation relies on community appreciation and understanding.
By Jo Lancaster
jo@EDGEofAFRICA.com
No comments:
Post a Comment