Influence of Fire on Elephant Use of Combretum/Terminalia Woodland in Southern Burkina Faso

Abstract
Data on woodland utilization, habitat preference, and elephant distribution show that at the Nazinga Game Ranch in southern Burkina Faso, elephants prefer areas that are left unburned during the dry season. Comparison with elsewhere in Africa shows that resprouting of the vegetation after fire is likely to be the most important factor in determining the degree of elephant utilization of areas burned early in the dry season. The timing of buring therefore, is crucial to effective manipulation of elephant distribution and hence impact on woodland. The significance to woodland management in general is discussed.

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