Parque Nacional da Gorongosa Moçambique

Elephant Gets a Modern Satellite Tracking Collar

Sep 10, 2008 - Gorongosa National Park

By Carlitos Sunza (GNP Communication Department)

Gorongosa National Park (GNP) completed a procedure a few days ago to substitute the collar on a female elephant for a new model that facilitates tracking the position to follow the movement of the animal and her family.

Five vehicles and two helicopters were used to transport equipment and nearly 30 individuals, among whom were those carrying out the mission and spectators. Participants included veterinarians from GNP and Wildlifevets, a South Africa-based institution that was invited to take part in the procedure to modernize the satellite transmitter that monitors the movements of the wild animal under study.

Before the final stage, there were many preliminary stages to ensure success in this mission, which is considered to be a quite delicate procedure requiring the utmost in conscientious veterinary medicine

The preparation of the dart was one of the crucial moments of the procedure.

The dart was armed with a strong anesthetic made of a mixture of three substances, namely Etorphine, Carfentanil and Azaperone. Next, the shooter took the loaded dart gun and boarded a small-scale helicopter, ready to fire at the target. Once the elephant was found and moved to an area of greater visibility, the dart was skillfully fired and hit the animal in the hindquarters.

Eight minutes later, when the drug had reached its maximum effectiveness and immobilized the animal, a group of men came to help lay the animal down and put it in the lateral recumbent position.

Forty-five minutes of intense work on the animal ensued. First, it was treated with antibiotics at the dart’s point of entry. Next, various samples were taken. Finally, the satellite collar was put on again. Then the animal was brought out of anesthesia using the drug Naltrexone to reverse the effects of the tranquilizers.

The reversal of the tranquilizers was a very rapid process. Two minutes after the drug was administered the animal was already standing up and moving about its habitat normally, as if nothing had happened.

According to Carlos Lopes Pereira, Veterinarian of Gorongosa National Park and Director of the Conservation Services Department, the operation, which had the objectives of immobilizing the pachyderm to observe its health status and to put on the new satellite tracking collar, was a success.

“The operation went well and it went as we had expected. With the use of the small-scale helicopter we were able to locate and immobilize the animal in a short amount of time using conventional methods,” he described and explained.

As for the diagnosis of the animal from the clinical aspect, Dr. Carlos Lopes Pereira observed that the female had many ticks, from the genus Amblyomma sp, which are external parasites that feed exclusively on the blood (hematophagy) of a large variety of hosts.

 “As soon as we immobilized the elephant, with the help of Jacobus Raat, friend and colleague, with whom I have worked for many years, we next treated the animal with antibiotics at the wound caused by the dart puncture. We also maintained the animal at a controlled body temperature by using water. We attached the new satellite tracking collar. After that, the immobilizing agent that was used was reversed and the elephant began at that moment to transmit the signal of her position to the satellite,” he described.

In another instance, Dr. Carlos Lopes Pereira said that actions of this type that immobilize an animal can be used to relocate animals from one area to another.

Dr. Pereira informed us that GNP monitors elephants in the conservation area twice a day by reading location data transmitted by satellite. The satellite collar is a modern technology used to provide the position of the animal based on a GPS (Global Positioning System) signal which is transmitted to a satellite system.

Greg Carr, member of the Oversight Committee of the GNP and president of the foundation that bears his name, was the happiest man in the group after the procedure had been completed. Compellingly voicing his opinion about the operation, Greg said that this activity carries out one of the important objectives of the Restoration Project of the Park.

“The elephant population was reduced to just one family of dozens of animals at the end of the civil war that engulfed this country for 16 years. Because of this it is necessary to dedicate all of our attention to this species in danger of extinction in order to prevent them from being threatened by illegal poaching,” he concluded.

The elephant is a herbivorous animal that feeds on herbs, grasses, fruits and tree leaves. Because of its size, an adult elephant can ingest from 150 to 300 kilograms of food per day. Females live in herds of 10 to 15 animals, led by a matriarch and made up of various reproducing females and calves of various ages. The gestation period is long and varies from 20 to 22 months. The development of the animal is also long and it takes years for an elephant to reach an adult age. Calves can be born weighing up to 90 kilograms. Adolescent males tend to live in small herds and adult males are solitary, encountering females only during the breeding season.

Elephants grow to a height of between 3 and 4 meters and an average weight of 6 tons. Elephant skin is extremely tough over most of their bodies and is about 2.5 cm thick. Despite this, the skin around the mouth and inside the ears is very thin.

Moving at average speed, an elephant walks at about 3 to 6 kilometers per hour but they can run up to 40 kilometers per hour. Because of its size, the elephant has few predators. They live to be about 60 years old and they die when their molars fall out, preventing them from feeding on plants.

The ivory from their tusks is used to make jewelry, piano keys, personalized seals to sign official documents, and for other objects. Their skin and other parts are of less commercial value.