Abstract:
Fynbos is a unique endemic vegetation type belonging to the Cape Floral Kingdom in
the Western Cape Province of South Africa, representing the smallest of the six floral kingdoms
in the world. Nowadays, only a few game reserves in this region support populations of
African elephants (Loxodonta africana), and thus, little information exists regarding the suitability
of the nutritionally poor Fynbos vegetation for these megaherbivores. Using already established
non-invasive methods, the monitoring of individual body conditions and fecal glucocorticoid
metabolite (fGCM) concentrations, as a measure of physiological stress, was performed to examine a
herd of 13 elephants in a Western Cape Province Private Game Reserve, during two monitoring periods
(April and June 2018), following a severe drought. The results indicate that overall median body
condition scores (April and June: 3.0, range 2.0–3.0) and fGCM concentrations (April: 0.46 µg/g dry
weight (DW), range 0.35–0.66µg/g DW; June: 0.61µg/g DW, range 0.22–1.06µg/g DW) were comparable
to those of other elephant populations previously studied utilizing the same techniques. These findings
indicate that the individuals obtain sufficient nutrients from the surrounding Fynbos vegetation during
the months monitored. However, a frequent assessment of body conditions and stress-associated
fGCM concentrations in these animals would assist conservation management authorities and animal
welfare practitioners in determining ways to manage this species in environments with comparably
poorer nutritional vegetation.
