Richard Burroughs, 15 February 2023 ANCIENT HIGHWAYS: Pioneering conflict-avoidance study asks elephants what works for them Elephants created Africa’s first highways and still remember them. It’s when we block them that trouble with humans begins. Click on Photo : Erik Verrynne Interesting Richard. Thank you. I have always maintained that we are ignoring the intrinsic factor on why elephants move or stay. There seems to be in any populations the resident and the nomadic animals. So it’s a step in the right direction. But the opposite is also true. Elephants will not move if they have relatively easy access to browse and water despite landscapes of fear. It’s not always barriers preventing them following the scouts. It seems to be a conscious decision. The challenge we have with HEC mitigation is that, especially in predominantly farming land use areas, we are pushing the conflict mitigation mainly from the conservation perspective and not from the small farmers perspective. We are forcing the farmer to adapt. And as people are getting more, and getting more dependent on the resources for food, the goodwill to maintain the corridors is getting less. Richard Burroughs, 15 February 2023 Indeed. I agree. This document stimulates ideas, and shows what has been done. HEC in both Africa and India is a big problem.
