Elephant carcasses and skeletons as indicators of population trends

Abstract

Reviews methods of recording dead elephants and discusses how carcass records can be interpreted, suggesting four ways of carcass classification recognizable from the air; discusses factors affecting carcass breakdown, particularly rainfall & scavengers, and describes ways of allocating ages to carcass categories; presents three case studies to illustrate the usefulness of information provided by elephant surveys using carcass data.

Authors

  • Douglas-Hamilton, I.
  • Hillman, A.K.K.