Mikumi Elephant Project 

TANAPA, Darwin Initiative awards, British Airways, Wildlife Conservation Society

GPS units, VHF radio

*

Elephant

Mikumi National Park protects the diverse flora and fauna of the vast Mikumi-Selous ecosystem. The elephants ranging in Mikumi National Park present us with a one the best and most viable opportunities for ensuring the survival of this ecologically and economically important species. Anglia Polytechnic University (APU) is aiming to build on their extensive experience of field research in Africa to create a lasting capacity within Tanazania National Parks (TANAPA) to monitor, manage and protect the Mikumi elephants. The project is creating an integrated park-wide system for identifying and surveying elephants and training park ecologists, senior wardens and rangers in the appropriate methods of data collection and analysis. This will allow questions on the behaviour, ecology and population dynamics of the Mikumi Elephants to be addressed and the extent and consequences of management problems such as crop raiding and poaching to be assessed.

*