Observations on elephant habitat and conservation of elephants in Eritrea

Confined to a small area of about 100 by 50 km, the elephants in Eritrea are one of the northernmost populations in Africa. They are vulnerable because they appear to be genetically isolated and their small number may renders them a non-viable population. During 1997-1999 we visited elephant habitat in the Zoba Gash-Barka in southwest Eritrea to study problems of encroaching human populations on elephant habitat. This situation was described in the preceding article by Hagos Yohannes who is proposing to translocate farmers — with their willing cooperation — from the conflict zone to non-wildlife designated areas. Should such an ambitious plan be too difficult to execute, an alternative solution is being considered