Photo: Elizabeth Freeman/IEF
2011 International Elephant Foundation Grants Backed by Zoo Donations
Jan 11, 2011Silver Spring, MD –The
International Elephant Foundation (IEF) and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums
(AZA) today announced support for 18 elephant conservation projects for 2011.
IEF-supported projects
protect elephants from poaching, seek solutions for human-elephant conflict, equip
and train community conservationists, increase our knowledge of the treatment
and prevention of disease and educate people. In 2011, IEF will provide more than $230,000
to support elephant conservation around the world, adding to the $1.8 million
total invested in conserving elephants since its inception in 1998.
“The future for
African and Asian elephants is in our hands,” said IEF Executive Director,
Deborah Olson. “The elephants in North American zoos inspire support for the
International Elephant Foundation. When someone sees, or perhaps touches, an elephant and
gains a greater understanding of the animal he or she has known only from
picture books and video, they are then motivated to take action to save these
species from extinction.”
IEF’s elephant conservation and education programs are
ongoing both in managed elephant care facilities and in the wild. IEF is a
non-profit organization established in 1998 by a group of zoos and other
elephant care facilities to enhance and promote elephant conservation around
the world. IEF receives the majority of
its funding from AZA-accredited zoos.
“Elephants in AZA-accredited zoos are wildlife ambassadors
who educate the public and raise money to support vital IEF conservation
efforts,” said AZA President and CEO, Jim Maddy. “AZA is proud to support the
efforts of the International Elephant Foundation.”
“IEF is helping the Uganda Conservation Foundation to invest
in proactive projects to strengthen elephant protection across Queen Elizabeth
National Park”, explained
Michael Keigwin, Founder, Trustee and Director of the Uganda Conservation Foundation.
“Without IEF, UCF would be unable to support the Uganda Wildlife Authority in
recovering critical elephant populations from poaching, communities from crop
raiding and habitats from illegal activity.”
“The International Elephant Foundation partners with the
Northern Rangelands Trust to support community-led conservation in 17 community
conservancies covering a vast 12,000 square kilometers in northern Kenya,” said
Ian Craig, Executive Director for the Northern Rangelands Trust, “In the last
decade, the International Elephant Foundation has provided more than $300,000 for
African elephant conservation activities in Kenya.”
The following elephant conservation projects will receive
support from IEF in 2011:
ASIAN ELEPHANT
PROJECTS
Sumatra Elephant
Conservation Response Units (CRU), Indonesia
If
the elephants living on the Indonesian island of Sumatra
are to be saved for the future, conservation programs that promote elephants
and people co-existing peacefully are necessary. As a long-time supporter of elephant
conservation in Sumatra, IEF has invested $500,000
since 2000 to support Conservation Response Units (CRU), providing once
neglected captive elephants with high quality care and an active lifestyle, and
providing the mahouts (elephant caretakers) with training and salary. The CRU elephant/mahout teams are employed to
carry out forest patrols and wildlife monitoring, as well as provide
educational workshops about elephants in neighboring communities. Creating this
positive link between people and elephants, and ensuring that these elephants
are seen as an important national resource and doing positive deeds, is helping
local communities and decision-makers recognize the value of protecting the
elephants of Sumatra.
ElefantAsia’s
Breeding Sanctuary and Hospital Program, Laos
With domesticated elephant numbers plummeting due to low
reproduction rates, it is vital that cows are given the optimum opportunity to
breed. ElefantAsia will be opening the first breeding sanctuary, elephant
hospital and laboratory on the grounds of the Lao Elephant Sanctuary. This
project will provide elephant owners incentives to breed their elephants
raising the birth rate of endangered Asian elephants in Laos, while offering
local and international visitors a new educational tourism experience via
observation towers where they can view cows interacting with their calves.
ElefantAsia’s elephant hospital and laboratory will provide Laos with a much-needed center for
elephant disease diagnosis, pathology and veterinary care.
Evaluation of Elephant
Herpesvirus Shedding Among In Situ
Asian Elephants
Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus (EEHV) has been
associated with rapidly progressing, fatal hemorrhagic disease in Asian
elephants in human care and in the wild. Using a rapid and sensitive test based
on real-time PCR, it has been determined that captive Asian elephants from
several herds frequently shed EEHV1 in trunk secretions, and these secretions
are a likely mode of viral transmission between animals. However, important
questions remain regarding the frequency of persistent EEHV1 infection within wild
Asian elephant populations and when EEHV1 infection entered Asian elephant
populations. The objectives of this project are to determine whether wild Asian
elephants show evidence of persistent EEHV1 infection and to perform detailed
DNA sequence analysis to characterize the evolutionary history of the viruses
being shed by wild elephants. Data generated from this project will be
invaluable in our understanding of the prevalence and history of EEHV1
infection in Asian elephants.
Promoting
Human-Elephant Coexistence in Karnataka, Southern India
through Survey, Education and Awareness Programs
In 2009, a series of training and awareness programs in
human-elephant conflict areas of Karnataka were held in order to promote human-elephant
coexistence. A successful education module was developed by Zoo Outreach
Organization for both literate and illiterate audiences of age groups from
school going children to adults. This project will assess the impact of the
training and awareness program that took place in 2009 and to evaluate any
attitude and behavioral changes towards problem elephants. This project will
also use the Zoo Outreach Organization’s education module in the districts of
Hassan and Coorg which are additional target areas to promote human-elephant
coexistence.
Publication of the Gajah, the Journal of the Asian Elephant
Specialist Group
Gajah is the
Journal of the IUCN/Asian Elephant Specialist Group. With long-term
support from IEF, Gajah shares best
practices and builds capacity amongst conservationists and researchers and to
those interested in the care and conservation of the Asian elephant, both wild
and those in human care.
AFRICAN ELEPHANT
PROJECTS
Joint Conservancy
Anti-Poaching Team with the Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT), Kenya
Since the Northern Rangeland Trust’s (NRT) inception in 2004,
poaching and other security-related incidents in northern Kenya have
decreased largely because of the development of NRT and its 17 community conservancies.
However, poaching still remains a threat in this region, due to the large
number of illegal firearms in the hands of local people, and relative proximity
to unstable countries on the northern and eastern borders of Kenya. IEF and NRT, with support from the United
States Fish and Wildlife Service and Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, have partnered
to develop a Joint Conservancy Anti-Poaching Team that is greatly enhancing the
wildlife protection and monitoring in the region. This team, first and foremost, is protecting
elephants by deterring incidents of poaching from occurring and, when
unfortunate incidents of poaching do arise within NRT communities, by providing
a dedicated team of skilled anti-poaching officers immediately available to
respond to and resolve these issues. In 2011, IEF signed a partnership
agreement with NRT, thus making a strong commitment to support this critical
project for the next 3 years.
Disseminating Lessons
Learned and Building Capacity through Pachyderm
Pachyderm, the
journal of the African Elephant, African Rhino and Asian Rhino Specialist
Groups of IUCN’s Species Survival Commission, provides a vital venue for the publication
of research into the status and conservation of the African elephant. The Chair
Report, in addition to reports from the CITES Monitoring
the Illegal Killing of Elephants and Elephant
Trade Information System monitoring programs, provides an international
overview into current policy issues and conservation discussions surrounding elephants. Pachyderm is an essential vehicle for publishing
manuscripts by range state researchers, thereby assisting in developing
capacity at the scientific and managerial level within the African elephant
range.
Elephants, Crops and
People and the Waterways Project,
Uganda
Conservation Foundation (UCF)
This multi-year partnership between IEF and Uganda
Conservation Foundation (UCF) has resulted in the development of a system of
fencing and trenches that keep elephants out of fields and villages while
protecting human lives and allowing children to attend school without a fear of
elephants. This project has also
constructed and equipped multiple boat patrol stations on the shores of Lake
George in Queen Elizabeth National Park. These boat patrols are already having a
significant impact on the ability to protect wildlife and prevent elephant and
hippopotamus poaching, illegal fishing.
Park Protection and
Training Program in Kafue National
Park, Zambia
Game Rangers International (GRI) is committed to working in
close cooperation with the Zambian Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) and the local
Community Resources Boards to protect the territories of more than 950 wild
elephants. However, recent evidence has
shown that elephant populations in south Kafue are being attacked by poachers
posing as fishermen and using Lake
Itezhi-Tezhi to access
the Park. Currently, ZAWA does not have the means to respond to this threat. Therefore, GRI is determined to expand the
Park Protection & Training Program to include Water Patrols, Surveillance
and Monitoring of Lake Itezhi-Tezhi, providing increased security the
wildlife. To achieve this mission, GRI
will use boats to patrol the lake and will provide specific training to ZAWA
officers and Village Scouts.
Program "My
Elephant Neighbor"
Exposing African children to their elephant neighbors in a
positive manner is an effective way to involve them and their families in
elephant conservation. Since the inception of the “My Elephant Neighbor”
program, over 2,500 children and 300 teachers have participated in this
outreach program with ongoing support from IEF. The program offers a unique
opportunity to see the local elephants and learn about them in the field. This
program benefits elephant conservation as both children and their parents are
sensitized to the issues of neighboring elephant populations.
Save The Elephants
IEF funding has supported the core operation of Iain
Douglas-Hamilton’s Save The Elephants (STE) conservation organization that
operates projects throughout Africa since 2007. STE does basic research on
elephant behavior and ecology and has pioneered GPS radio tracking with
elephants, assists wildlife departments in their fight against ivory traders
and poachers using aerial surveillance and radio-tracking, involves local
people in research and education to develop a conservation ethic based on local
knowledge and elephant needs, and disseminates information through films and
publications.
Supporting Village
Scout Anti-poaching Work in South Luangwa,
Zambia
This project provides training to scouts and the community to
protect and conserve elephants in their region. Monitoring data suggests that
elephant poaching activities in the South
Luangwa National
Park and surrounding game management areas
continue to increase, despite improvements in law enforcement. The direct and
immediate benefits of this anti-poaching work will be a decrease in elephant
mortalities from poaching, a reduction in the number of elephants controlled
for crop raiding and also a reduction in the number of elephant fatalities from
snare and gunshot wounds.
Sustaining Protection
for Nigeria’s Largest
Elephant Population in Yankari Game Reserve,
Nigeria.
Yankari contains the largest surviving population of
elephants in Nigeria, which
is also one of the largest in West Africa.
Estimated at about 350 individuals, this is perhaps the only viable elephant
population remaining in the country. From January to July 2010 with IEF
support, there were 1,606 patrol hours covering a distance of more than 8,800km
with 69 arrests made. IEF will be continuing its support of this project for
another year. The project’s goal in 2011
is to improve the long-term conservation of elephants in Yankari Game Reserve
by 1) providing support for regular, effective anti-poaching patrols, and 2)
further strengthening the existing ranger-based CyberTracker monitoring system.
RESEARCH and
EDUCATION
Determining
Pharmacokinetic Characteristics of the Antiviral Drug Ganciclovir in Asian
Elephants
Elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV) is a
significant cause of mortality in young Asian elephants, contributing to at
least 65% of juvenile deaths in the captive population. Two EEHV-infected
calves have been treated with ganciclovir, an antiviral drug which has been
successfully used in human medicine, and both calves survived. Appropriate
dosages and dosing intervals to maintain therapeutic blood levels of
ganciclovir in elephants needs to be established in order to guarantee
effective treatment and to minimize drug-associated side effects. This
pharmacokinetic study will measure levels of ganciclovir in the plasma of Asian
elephants following intravenous administration. Confirmation that therapeutic
blood levels of ganciclovir are achieved after treatment and establishment of
an appropriate treatment regimen will provide a scientifically based protocol
for others to follow when treating EEHV-infected elephant calves with this
promising antiviral drug.
Elephant Endothelial
Cells: A System to Isolate Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus
Elephant endotheliotropic herpesviruses (EEHVs) are a
leading cause of neonatal/juvenile deaths in Asian elephants. To date,
scientists have identified several herpesviruses but have not yet isolated them
from infected tissues of sick animals. It is believed that the virus present in
secretions, blood, or tissues of infected animals can be isolated in the lab in
an elephant endothelial-cell culture. Once the virus is isolated, significant
understanding of the biology of the virus and the pathophysiology of the
disease will be possible. This would constitute a major advance for improving
the health and management of African and Asian Elephants, and greatly
contribute to their conservation worldwide.
Elephant Endotheliotropic
Herpesvirus (EEHV) Research
IEF has been a primary funder of the National Herpesvirus
laboratory at the Smithsonian National Zoo since 2008 and funds multiple
studies aimed at identifying the causes of EEHV in an effort to prevent future
EEHV fatalities. Studies include identifying the status of EEHV in individual
elephants and their potential for further transmission, and identify
predisposing factors that make specific elephants more susceptible to the
disease and identifying effective treatments.
EEHV is a serious concern for both wild and managed elephant
populations.
GnRH Vaccination as a
Potential Way
to Control Fertility and Androgen Driven Behavior in African and Asian Elephant
Bulls
Social behavior of free-ranging adult elephant bulls differs
from that of females. A solitary life, increased aggression and periods of
musth characterize the mature bulls’ behavior. In their range countries, free
ranging musth bulls damage settlements and crops. Animal welfare issues, as well as conflicts
between wild bulls and humans underline the urgent need of solutions. Recently,
trials of reversible chemical castration of elephant bulls with the help of a
GnRH (Gonadotropin-releasing Hormone) vaccine have been undertaken and appear
promising as a new simple and cost-effective contraception method. However, further studies are necessary to
show the effectiveness and safety of this vaccine. This study will involve four
vaccinations within one year and regular monitoring of the antibody titer, of
physiological and behavioral changes, of the reproductive tract (through
ultrasound), of the semen quality and hormonal changes.
IEF Elephant Research
Symposium
Every year IEF facilitates an International Elephant
Conservation and Research Symposium. In
2011, this gathering of elephant conservationists and researchers from around
the world will be convened in Rotterdam,
The Netherlands in October. This
symposium offers elephant experts the unique opportunity to learn from others
and share information in order to further conservation efforts of elephants in the wild.
As a non-profit organization dedicated to elephant
welfare, IEF solicits donations to fund worthy elephant conservation and
research projects worldwide. To learn more about IEF or to contribute to elephant
conservation efforts, please visit IEF’s website at www.elephantconservation.org/.
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