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Home > Field Reports > Monitoring Elephant Locations

Monitoring Elephant Locations

by Mark MacAllister
June 21, 2002

Page 1 : Introduction

As we've learned from the stories and pictures on this website, the process of tracking, anesthetizing, and collaring elephants is certainly a complicated and exciting one. However, it is only part of the larger elephant protection program operated in Cameroon by the World Wildlife Fund--Cameroon, the Cameroon Ministry of Environment and Forestry, and the North Carolina Zoological Park. Every bit as critical to the program's success is the collection and analysis of location data generated by the elephants' collars and, eventually, the decisions that are made based on those data.

In order to make these decisions, researchers from the NC Zoo and its partners use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software to analyze data, draw maps, and determine homeranges. The following field report illustrates some of the techniques we use to better understand elephant migration patterns.

Next Page : About satellite data
Pages: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
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