Abstract:
Knowledge of home ranges (HRs) helps conservationists understand movement
patterns and can aid management including avoidance of human‐wildlife
conflicts. This study examined the African savannah elephant seasonal HRs
and space use using telemetry data in Mana Pools National Park, Zimbabwe.
The objectives were to (i) compare the HR sizes and (ii) construct utilization
distribution of African savannah elephants using the minimum convex polygon
(MCP) method and the time‐local convex hull (T‐LoCoH). The results
revealed that the dry, transitional, and wet season HR sizes estimated by the
MCP method were significantly larger than those of the T‐LoCoH method.
Significant differences were observed between core T‐LoCoH home‐range
distributions for the wet, transition, and dry seasons. T‐LoCoH more accurately
represented the HR size and nuances of repeated movements and
internal spaces than the MCP method. The findings show larger‐scale movements
in the transition season, which would enhance the potential for
human–elephant conflicts.
