Impact of land use changes on the human-elephant conflict; Bornean elephant (Elephas maximus borneensis) movements, feeding ecology and associated habitat requirements in North Kalimantan, Indonesia

My PhD covers the impact of land use changes on human-elephant conflicts (HECs), the feeding ecology and movements of the Bornean elephant (Elephas maximus borneensis) in North Kalimantan, Indonesia. I dentified two functional Bornean elephant dispersal corridors in the study area along the Agison River and the Upper Sibuda River which provide a connection between elephant core habitat in the Upper Apan of the Sebuku forest and the Bornean elephant population in Sabah, Malaysia. Although the population of elephants in the Sebuku forest is small, conservation efforts could secure its presence when important habitat of this forest keystone species is adequately protected. Although no retaliation in response to HEC has occurred in the study area, the frequency of crop-raiding incidents is increasing and the forest is being converted at an alarming rate. Current plans for the conversion of remaining forest into timber plantations or oil palm are posing a serious threat to the future of this small sub-population. Elephant movement patterns represent temporal patterns of site recursion amongst foraging sites. Recursion patterns showed via corridors suggest that it may be part of a foraging strategy to revisit areas of great nutritional value.