Spatial organization of the Kasungu elephant

Using a recognition file that was compiled during the study, information on movements of individually known elephants was collected over two periods, one of three and one of eight months, in 1978 and 1981/82, respectively. There appeared to be a relationship between the number of animals in the family unit and the size of the home range / activity area, probably as a result of food competition between the members of a unit. Since 1978 the size of the home range / activity area had decreased in general, as a result of compression by illegal activity. Dry-season home ranges of family units appeared to be rather stable over longer periods and larger than the wet-season home ranges that were situated along the river Lingadzi. Dry-season home ranges of bulls only lasted throughout a single dry season. During the wet season bulls ranged over an extended area. In the later part of the dry season, elephant movements were determined by salt licks and the remaining water holes with a relatively high conductivity, at a distance of the river Lingadzi. The social structure of the family units that made up a kin-group determined the time spent with each other and also appeared to influence the actual size of the home range.