Elephants avoid costly mountaineering
Landscape relief influences which areas African elephants migrate to and where they settle down. Because the pachyderms often avoid hills and mountains for energetic reasons.
Researchers at Oxford University observed what drives elephant migration in a 32,000 square kilometer area in Kenya (Samburu/Isiolo/Laikipia). As the incline of the mountain increased, the researchers encountered fewer and fewer pachyderms. The research team led by Fritz Vollrath now concludes that the animals rarely inhabit higher-lying areas, since the ascent is very exhausting. The scientists calculated that the elephants burn about as much energy climbing a hundred meters as they do looking for food for half an hour. Vollrath assumes that the pachyderms weigh up whether it is energetically worthwhile to climb a mountain or not. Because elephants are herbivores, replenishing their food reserves can be a time- and energy-consuming task, especially for elephants.
Researchers believe that other environmental factors also tempt elephants to avoid height - such as the increased risk of injury or lack of water.
Knowing about the migratory behavior of the animals could help protect elephant habitats. The researchers hope that this could prevent humans from further changing the natural habitat of the pachyderm.
