GROUNDUP: As climate change intensifies, animals need the freedom to move

An elephant bull in Namibia has traveled nearly 600 kilometers in two weeks, breaking through numerous fences and moving across commercial farmland and protected areas. This remarkable journey, tracked via GPS collar, underscores growing concerns among conservation scientists about the impact of fencing and artificial water sources on wildlife movement in arid regions. The elephant, a male desert elephant, began its trek in Namibia's northern regions, crossing into communal conservancies and eventually entering Etosha National Park. Conservation scientist Morgan Hauptfleisch, who studied the movement, noted that the bull’s path was highly deliberate, suggesting it was following ancestral migration routes influenced by environmental cues such as seasonal rainfall and the availability of specific vegetation. “There might be a memory of a certain plant that fruits at a particular time, or of a place where rain falls reliably,” Hauptfleisch explained. Namibia’s arid environment presents challenges for wildlife survival due to unpredictable rainfall patterns. These conditions create isolated patches of water and grazing land, which animals must traverse to find sustenance. Historically, wildlife in such regions relied on extensive migrations to access these resources. However, the introduction of fences, originally intended to safeguard both human settlements and wildlife, has significantly restricted this mobility. Over time, these barriers have become integral to a model known as “fortress conservation,” which prioritizes protecting designated areas over allowing natural movement. This shift has had profound consequences. By limiting movement, fences have disrupted traditional migration patterns, leading to changes in animal behavior. In some cases, conservation efforts have included the creation of artificial waterholes, further reducing the need for animals to travel long distances. Hauptfleisch argues that this approach has transformed mobile species into sedentary ones. “We took a migratory species and made it sedentary,” she said. The result is a decline in biodiversity and increased pressure on localized ecosystems, as animals overuse available resources and degrade habitats. Hauptfleisch, who leads research at the Namibia Nature Foundation, works in the rugged, dry scrublands of a 3-million-hectare region. Her work involves studying animal movement and behavioral ecology, often relying on insights from local communities. In the Kunene Highlands, the Damara people possess detailed knowledge of high-altitude elephant populations, including their movement patterns and feeding behaviors. This knowledge, according to Hauptfleisch, is as scientifically valuable as formal research methods. Michael Wenborn, a colleague of Hauptfleisch, has collaborated with local residents, employing them as para-scientists to gather observational data. These individuals provide consistent, reliable information that predates modern technological tools. “If you sit down with some of the Damara and Herero people at their homesteads and talk to them about nature, they know much more about it than I do,” Hauptfleisch remarked. Despite the value of local knowledge, conservation success depends on ensuring that communities benefit from these efforts. Jeremiah Amutenya, a former ranger and current PhD student under Hauptfleisch, emphasized that sustainable conservation requires addressing the economic realities of local populations. “If we do not ensure that the people living with these resources are benefiting, I don’t think conservation will be successful,” he stated. “The cost of living with the wildlife needs to be less than the benefits they receive.”