Population structure and demography of Myanmar’s conflict elephants

Abstract

Despite containing the largest extent of unfragmented landscape in the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) range, Myanmar has high levels of human–elephant conflict. The Bago Yoma mountain region of central Myanmar has previously been identified as an elephant conflict hotspot, characterized by high levels of crop-raiding and illegal killing of elephants for the ivory and skin trades. We used non-invasive fecal sampling to evaluate the population structure and demography of wild and captive elephants in the Bago Yoma using microsatellite loci and mitochondrial DNA in combination with crop-raiding status, age, and sex. We were able to collect 252 samples from wild elephants –119 directly following conflict events– and 25 from captive elephants from which we identified 127 unique wild and 21 captive individuals. The population was biased toward subadults, which could be an important contributor to the high rates of conflict, as these individuals may lack the experience to avoid dangerous behaviors. Conflict elephants were primarily male, although both sexes and all ages engaged in crop-raiding, including females with juveniles. We found that elephants that commit solo raids were all male, while larger raiding parties often included both related and unrelated individuals of both sexes. Repeat offenders were common. These wild elephants contained high levels of genetic diversity, differentiated from local captive populations, and valuable for the species’ conservation. Overall, the elephants of Bago Yoma, Myanmar have been heavily affected by conflict, and managers could utilize the knowledge presented to aid in the preservation of this population.

Keywords

• Crop-raiding
• Human-elephant conflict
• Illegal killing
• Population genetics