Locating elephant corridors between Saadani National Park and the Wami-Mbiki Wildlife Management Area, Tanzania

摘要

Although more than 40% of Tanzania mainland is managed for nature conservation, protected areas are increasingly becoming isolated because of rapid habitat degradation in the matrix in between. Knowledge on corridors connecting the protected areas is urgently needed. We assessed the area between Saadani National Park and Wami-Mbiki Wildlife Management Area, combining interviews about wildlife occurrences from 20 villages in the area with least-cost landscape modelling with African elephants (Loxodonta africana) as the focal species. The interviews suggested that, in contrast to earlier assumptions, migration of elephants or the presence of one or more independent elephant populations still exists in the unprotected area between Saadani and Wami-Mbiki. A combination of the interview results and multiple least-cost models showed three corridors in the area. The corridor along the Wami river is the most important one, the area between Miono and Mandera was identified as an impeding zone. Management decisions on the wildlife corridors to be protected will require further in-depth research in the three specified corridor zones. Apart from providing insights into elephant movement ecology, the approach may be useful for localizing corridors elsewhere in eastern Africa.