The challenges confronting elephant conservation in most elephant Range States are habitat loss and fragmentation, human–elephant conflict, and poaching and illegal trade of elephants;
Provide Details of resource rights regime where relevant
In 1995, after signing CITES, Myanmar banned all wild elephant captures. How- ever, elephants are still captured in areas where human– elephant conflict requires mitigation. Frequently herds of 10, 20 or more are removed from conflict areas and trained as working elephants.
Is the use part of a strategy to generate conservation incentives, to finance conservation, or to improve tolerance/stewardship?
No
Is there evidence that the use is affecting the conservation status of the species? HIDE
Yes – use is negatively affecting the status (e.g., population is declining; extraction effort is increasing)
Is there evidence that the use is affecting natural selection?
Unknown/not recorded
Is there evidence that the use is affecting poaching of illegal wildlife trade?
Unknown/not reported
Is there any evidence that this use of the species is having a knock-on effect on the status of non-target species
Unknown/not recorded
Unknown/not recorded
Details of assessment carried out
Our results demonstrate that the current captive population is not self-sustaining because mortality is too high and birth rates are too low. Our models also suggest 100 elephants year1 have been captured in the wild to supplement the captive population. Such supplementation cannot be supported by a wild population of fewer than 4000 elephants. Given the most recent expert estimate of 2000 wild elephants remaining in Myanmar, a harvest of 100 elephants year1 could result in extinction of the wild population in 31years.
Has a valuation of financial flows from this use at the site/national/international level been recorded
Leimgruber, P., Senior, B., , Aung, M., Songer, M.A., Mueller, T., Wemmer, C. and Ballou, J.D. (2008), Modeling population viability of captive elephants in Myanmar (Burma): implications for wild populations. Animal Conservation, 11: 198-205. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-1795.2008.00172.x
Our models also suggest 100 elephants per year have been captured in the wild to supplement the captive population. Such supplementation cannot be supported by a wild population of fewer than 4000 elephants. Given the most recent expert estimate of 2000 wild elephants remaining in Myanmar, a harvest of 100 elephants per year could result in extinction of the wild population in less than 31 years.
Threats/pressures impacting the species at the scale of this record