Rising temperatures are disrupting elephant migrations in African national park

A new research paper claims that hotter and drier days are compelling Zimbabwe’s elephants to seek shelter further south.

The new study reveals how climate change impacts even the world’s largest land mammals.

Elephants naturally migrate from Hwange National Park in western Zimbabwe to areas in neighboring Botswana. However, two Sri Lankan scientists say that geographic information systems (GIS) data shows that these wanderings are becoming more frequent, a sign that elephant populations in the park are experiencing climatic stress and are increasingly seeking relief.

Droughts and higher temperatures are becoming major factors in pushing Hwange’s elephants into Botswana, the study shows.

Data compiled and analyzed by researchers Ashvin Wickramasooriya and Sanduni Prarthana show how elephants are seeking relief in cooler grounds. Their findings were published this month in the journal Media Konservasi.

“Annual mean surface temperature fluctuations in Zimbabwe have influenced elephant migration, with high surface temperatures recorded in 2010, 2015, and 2016 accompanied by increased migrations,” the two authors wrote.

“Consequently, the elephants’ tendency to migrate towards Botswana has gradually risen throughout the period,” they added, “underscoring the adverse impacts of climate change.”

Their study focused on Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe’s largest park and home to the country’s largest elephant population. The park is a mixture of savanna and grasslands.

The park is described as having natural water resources such as ponds and seasonal springs, but many of the park’s water sources tend to dry up during prolonged dry spells. Zimbabwe’s parks authorities have installed artificial watering holes in the park’s eastern edges to help animal populations cope with droughts.

The research duo says they used ArcGIS Pro software and satellite remote sensing imagery to track when, where, and why Hwange’s elephants left the park for Botswana. Their datasets included land surface temperatures and precipitation measurements.

Tracking elephant migrations that appeared on these satellite images from 2009 to 2017, the team discovered that elephant migrations were becoming more closely aligned with heat waves that send temperatures in the park soaring.

Droughts and subsequent water shortages are also factors.

Their findings show how elephant herds in Hwange are more willing to spread out throughout the park and even into neighboring Botswana during periods of wetter and cooler weather. In the dry season, they tend to stay on the eastern side of the park, likely to stay close to artificial watering holes.

But rising temperatures and more severe droughts are definitely taking a toll on Hwange’s elephants, the researchers said.

Their results showed that the elephants were more likely to spread out around the park and across the border into Botswana during the wet season. Herds clung to the eastern edges of the park in the dry season and during droughts likely to stay close to artificial watering.

However, they uncovered clear evidence of greater migration activity coinciding with exceptionally hotter weather and more pronounced dry spells.

They found that the matching pattern of higher temps coinciding with larger migrations out of Hwange “intensified over the study period.”

Wickramasooriya and Prarthana say the findings underscore the need to develop wildlife conservation strategies toward helping animals deal with heat stress, in addition to drought and potential food shortages.

Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park is home to about 50,000 elephants.“As temperatures rise, elephants seem compelled to seek cooler environments, leading to their migration towards Botswana,” they wrote. “This phenomenon highlights the intricate interplay between climate factors and wildlife dynamics, emphasizing the urgent need for conservation efforts and adaptive management strategies to mitigate the impacts of climate change on vulnerable species, such as elephants.”