Title
Estimating the defaecation rate of the African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) in Banyang-Mbo Wildlife Sanctuary, south-western Cameroon
Author(s)
Nchanji A.C., Forboseh P.F., Powell J.A.
Published
2008
Publisher
African Journal of Ecology
Abstract
Defaecation rate is an important parameter in the conversion of dung counts to elephant numbers, yet estimates of elephant defaecation rates are available for a few sites, especially rainforest sites. The Banyang-Mbo Wildlife Sanctuary in south-western Cameroon is no exception in this regard. We tracked a radio-collared herd of four forest elephants, counted their fresh droppings in two 24-h periods each month in 36 consecutive months. Our results show a mean defaecation rate of 15.9 [95% CI (12.2-19.7)] dung piles per elephant per day. We found significant monthly and inter-annual variation in defaecation rates with implications for their predictability and forest elephant surveys. In particular, our results show that mean defaecation rates are higher for the wettest period of the year than the relatively dry months. © 2007 The Authors.
Keywords
annual variation; elephant; estimation method; fecal pellet; rainforest; Africa; Banyang-Mbo Wildlife Sanctuary; Cameroon; Sub-Saharan Africa; Sud Ouest Province; West Africa; Elephantidae; Loxodonta cyclotis
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PUB10609