A Preliminary Analysis Of Preferences On Foraging Natural Mineral Of Wild Asian Elephants In China

Minerals play an important role in the normal growth and reproduction of organisms.Natural mineral salt pond rich in natural minerals are an important source of minerals for herbivores animals.The Asian elephant(Elephas Maximus)is the Asian largest predatory graft terrestrial wildlife,by the international union for conservation of nature(IUCN)listed as endangered species(EN),also is National Class?key protected wild animal in China.It is only distributed in the southwest of Yunnan Province in China,and is critically endangered,with high conservation and scientific research value.In order to study the mineral preferences and utilization rules of wild Asian elephants.The Asian elephants research team of Yunnan University have already collected some at the early stage(2017? 2019)wild Asian elephants use of natural mineral salt ponds distribution,ecology and natural mineral composition and characteristics of survey data as a result.From October 2019 to January 2021,we continue to use investigation,quadrat method for natural mineral salt pond of Asian elephants in China distribution and ecology characteristics were investigated.Samples were collected for the determination and analysis of their natural mineral components.Infrared camera was used to monitor the activity frequency of wild Asian elephants in foraging on part of the natural mineral salt ponds to analyze their preference for natural mineral salt ponds.The main results and conclusions are as follows:(1)A total of 154 natural mineral salt ponds were investigated by means of interviews and samples,which were mainly divided into four types: bog,pond,rivulet and mud hole,of which 90 were found in Xishuangbanna,48 in Pu'er,and 16 in Lincang.In terms of altitude distribution,72% of the natural mineral salt ponds were distributed in the area between 500 m to 1,000 m,26% were distributed in the area between 1,001 m to 1,500 m,and 2% were distributed in the area above 1,500 m.In terms of slope distribution,58% of the ponds were distributed on gentle slope(8�?15�),37% on flat ground(0�?8�),and only 5% on steep slope(15�?25�).In slope direction,24% natural mineral salt ponds were located in northwest slope direction,21% in north slope direction,13% in northeast slope direction,13% in south slope direction,11% in southeast slope direction,10% in east slope direction,8% in southwest slope direction;On the distribution of the habitat types,60% natural mineral salt pond distribution in evergreen broad-leaved forest,14% natural mineral salt ponds distributed in the farmland,7% natural mineral salt ponds distributed in the bamboo forest,5% natural mineral salt ponds distributed in the tropical rain forest,5% natural mineral salt ponds distributed in the bare land,3% natural mineral salt ponds in artificial forest,3%natural mineral salt ponds in shrub tussock,2% natural mineral salt ponds distribution in the village pond,1% natural mineral salt ponds distribution in monsoon forest.(2)The natural mineral salt ponds investigated in this study are all distributed in the areas where Asian elephants are active.The used natural mineral salt ponds were mainly distributed in the evergreen broad-leaved forest,located in the flat area below the middle slope at an altitude of 800 m to 1,000 m,and the slope direction was mainly north or northwest.Asian elephants mainly feed on natural mineral salt ponds in groups,and the peak time of feeding on natural mineral salt ponds is 4:00?7:00,10:00?11:00,14:00?17:00,20:00?23:00.Compared with males,the females and their young elephants stronger demand for natural mineral,foraging time is longer,has more peak foraging times.More human and livestock activities affects the time distribution of wild Asian elephants foraging natural mineral salt ponds,concentrated in human disturbance and wild elephants in livestock activities weaker at 4:00?7:00 and20:00?23:00 during foraging natural minerals.(3)The average salt content in the natural mineral salt ponds was 226% higher than that in the control water sample,and the Na,Fe,Ca,Ma,Cu and Zn in the natural mineral salt ponds were significantly higher than those in the control water sample(P<0.05).The distribution of K in the natural mineral salt ponds and the control water sample was even(P>0.05),which indicated that the natural mineral salt ponds contained more abundant minerals than the control water sample,that is,the river water and drinking water.The contents of Na(11.8�115.1)mg/L were significantly higher than those non-utilized natural mineral salt ponds(6.5�98.9)mg/L(P=0.017<0.05),Fe(0.3�1.9)mg/L were significantly higher than those non-utilized natural mineral salt ponds(0.01�0.2)mg/L(P=0.004<0.05),Ca(40.2�65.4)mg/L were significantly higher than those non-utilized natural mineral salt ponds(18.4�22.8)mg/L(P=0.004<0.05),Mg(8.9�38.3)mg/L were significantly higher than those non-utilized natural mineral salt ponds(2.6�4.1)mg/L(P=0.004 <0.05),Cu(0.04�0.05)mg/kg were significantly higher than those non-utilized natural mineral salt ponds(0.04�0.0)mg/kg(P=0.028<0.05),and Zn(0.009�0.002)mg/L were significantly higher than those non-utilized natural mineral salt ponds(0.009�0.0)mg/kg(P=0.028<0.05).The soil contents of K(1.7�1.3)% was significantly higher than those of non-utilized natural mineral salt ponds soil(1.4�2.1)%(P=0.041<0.05),Na(2034.0�3010.5)mg/kg were significantly higher than those non-utilized natural mineral salt ponds(740.3�2032.7)mg/kg(P=0.008<0.05),Mg(4518.1�2357.5)mg/kg were significantly higher than those non-utilized natural mineral salt ponds(2536.6�3997.7)mg/kg(P=0.017<0.05),Fe(27329.6 � 15083.9)mg/kg were significantly higher than those of non-utilized natural mineral salt ponds(14899.3�30186.7)mg/kg(P=0.015<0.05).Mg,Na and Fe in the utilized natural mineral salt ponds soil and water were significantly higher than those of non-utilized natural mineral salt ponds.Na,Mg and Fe were the target mineral elements for Asian elephant to forage on natural mineral salt ponds.In a word,understanding the preference of wild Asian elephants in foraging on natural minerals will provide important basic data and information for habitat reconstruction and restoration of wild Asian elephants as well as the mitigation of conflict between elephant and human.