IMPACT OF DOMESTICATED AFRICAN ELEPHANTS LOXODONTA-AFRICANA ON NATAL BUSHVELD

Browse preferences of African elephants Loxodonfa africana in Natal bu shveld which had not experienced elephant utilisation since 1860 were determined and used to anticipate likely changes in the woody vegetati on community following elephant re-introduction. Elephants were observ ed to feed on 31 species of trees and woody shrubs during the course o f the study but their efforts were concentrated on 10 species for whic h over 80% of the feeding events and 85% of the bites taken were recor ded. Generally,diet selection was for Acacia caffra and broad-leafed w oodland species belonging to later successional stages whilst earlier successional species, Such as A. nilotica, were less utilised. During the course of the study, 25 trees were pushed over. Eighty percent of these were members of later successional stages. Single-stemmed trees were more often felled than multi-stemmed species. Our results suggest that the use of Natal bushveld vegetation by elephants in the absence of fire will result in a dense, early successional, multi-stemmed sta nd of woody species instead of an open grassland or a broad-leafed ope n woodland community.