Premium
Structure of population, grouping patterns and density of forest elephants in north‐west Congo
Author(s) -
Querouil Sophie,
Magliocca Florence,
Gautier-Hion Annie
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
african journal of ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.499
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1365-2028
pISSN - 0141-6707
DOI - 10.1111/aje.1999.37.2.161
Subject(s) - clearing , population , offspring , demography , sex ratio , geography , biology , population density , ecology , pregnancy , finance , sociology , economics , genetics
Summary The structure of the population of forest elephants visiting a clearing in north‐west Congo was studied over 8 months. Out of 3314 sightings, 629 elephants were identified (including 64%, of adults). The sex ratio was about 1:1. The number of offspring per female was 1.12. Solitary elephants (91.4%, of males) made up 35% of the population. Of females, 93.6% were grouped. Groups (mean size 3.5) included females and offspring (3.4), males and females (5.0), or males only (2.3). The return rate of elephants at the clearing suggested that up to 1900 individuals have visited the clearing. This confirms that elephant densities are especially high in north Congo.