中国科学院西双版纳热带植物园机构知识库

Abstract In May‐June 2021 a herd of wild Asian elephants made global headlines when they trekked hundreds of km into areas where elephants had been absent for centuries, mobilizing a response of unprecedented scale. Here, we analyze the movement attributes and body condition of these elephants to understand this unusual behavior and its implications for megafauna conservation in the Anthropocene. We propose that these movements are a form of partial and irruptive nomadic behavior, although the data is also compatible with a failed attempt of dispersal. In their path to Kunming, the elephants made unusual habitat choices, using landscapes with higher nightlight intensity, and moving close to towns and villages, while avoiding areas with high forest cover, which we interpret as habituation to feeding on crops and lack of fear of people. Fifteen months after starting their journey, the elephants showed high body condition scores and had successfully delivered two babies, both indicators of good health, suggesting that their decision to leave their previous home range had paid off. In China, we recommend an elephant conservation strategy founded on area‐based and area‐specific measures, including protected areas, landscape connectivity, and the mitigation of human‐elephant conflicts, as well as preparedness for expectable population range expansions, potentially on the scale of hundreds of km, in the coming decades. Our study highlights the ecological and behavioral plasticity of elephants and the importance of integrating movement ecology in conservation planning, especially for wide‐ranging species. 摘要 2021年5月至6月,一群野生亚洲象登上全球头条新闻。它们跋涉数百公里,进入数百年来未曾涉足的地区,引发了前所未有的关注。本文分析了这些大象的活动轨迹特性和体况,以了解这次不寻常行为背后的原因,及其对人类世大型兽类保护的寓意。我们认为这次象群的活动反映了它们局部的、突发性的游牧行为,但数据也支持这是象群的一次以失败告终的扩散尝试。在前往昆明的途中,大象选择了不同于以往的栖息地。它们避开森林覆盖率较高的地区,选择在夜光强度较高或靠近城镇的地方栖息。我们将其归因于这些大象习惯于食用农作物,且不惧怕人类。在象群远行的15个月后,它们的体况评分很高,并成功产下两头幼象,这两个指标都表明它们健康状况良好,虽决定远离家园,但有所回报。我们建议中国政府制定基于特定区域的、有针对性的大象保护策略,包括保护区、景观连通性、缓解人象冲突,并为大象种群活动范围的扩张做好准备,在未来几十年内其家域可能会扩大数百公里。本研究强调了大象生态和行为的可塑性,以及在未来的保护规划中整合运动生态学的重要性,尤其是那些分布范围较广的物种。