Distribution In Entire Range And Assessment On Local Populations Of Asian Elephant In China

Our study focused on the Asian elephant's(Elephas maximus)distribution in China.Surveys were conducted in southwest Yunnan including Xishuangbanna,Pu'er and Cangyuan county,from January 2016 to March 2017.Based on questionnaire surveys,Asian elephant accident data from the insurance company,as well as line transect surveys,we created Asian elephant distribution maps.The study area was divided into 1612 grids of 5×5km.We conducted surveys with 1248 questionnaires across an area of 40300 km2.A total of 138 Asian elephant distribution grids were established in 2006,followed by 228 in 201 1,241 in 2013,264 in 2015,and 267 in 2016.We divided vegetation cover into three levels:0-40%,40-70%,and 70-100%,and total of 4,163 and 100 Asian elephants distribution grids were overlapped with vegetation cover grids in 2016.As expected,Asian elephants were found to prefer higher vegetation cover as lower vegetation cover generally meant fewer sources of food and shelter.We assessed the minimum population number of Asian elephants based on camera trapping methods in Shangyong Sub-reserve(SYSR),Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve in Yunnan province,China.We placed 27 camera traps in the study area from January to April 2016,which ran for a total of 621 camera trap days and obtained 1944 sample photographs.Within this period,each camera unit was active between 9 and 52 full days(mean=24).We identified a minimum number of 69 individual elephants from photographs(38 adults,16 sub-adults and 15 calves)collected in Shangyong Sub-reserve.We assessed the population density across different sampling periods using the spatial capture-recapture model,and estimated 6.71-9.70 Asian elephants per 100km2.We also detected 7 Asian elephants that moved actively across the China-Laos border.The advantages and disadvantages of our camera trap method compared with other methods for individual identification are discussed,and we explored the potential for robust methods for fast,real-time and effective population evaluation in the future.This study increased our understanding of the Asian elephant's status in China and provided scientific evidence to support conservation planning in SYSR.