Notes on Seeds in Elephant Dung from Bia National Park, Ghana

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Abstract
Seeds were collected from elephant dung in Bia National Park, Western Region, Ghana during a 3-mo period prior to the major wet season, and were brought to the laboratory for counting, identification, and germination trials. We report here the quantities of seeds, characteristics of fruits and seeds of the species encountered, and the results of germination trials comparing fresh seeds (from ripe fruits) and ingested seeds (from dung). Altogether 449 seeds representing 11 species were enumerated, the most important of these being Panda oleosa, Balanites wilsoniana, Strychnos aculeata, and Parinari excelsa. For three of the species tested, the germination percentage was significantly higher for ingested seeds than for fresh seeds; for two species, there was no difference.