Mwima fell in love with elephants after studying them for two years
Jul 21, 2008
<b>Polycarp Mwima</b> is passionate about elephants and fondly talks about them. Mwima told <b>Gerald Tenywa</b> about how he follwed eight elephants in the wilderness for two years...
Polycarp Mwima is passionate about elephants and fondly talks about them. Mwima told Gerald Tenywa about how he follwed eight elephants in the wilderness for two years...
Fifteen years ago, Mwima encountered the first herd of elephants in Queen Elizabeth National Park during a study tour.
He fell in love with them, but did not know that he would return and even come close enough to touch the elephants.
“When I saw the elephants, I was deeply moved by their massiveness,†he said. “They are gentle and somebody may not realise their presence until they break tree branches which they crunch and munch.â€
Mwima was born 42 years ago among the Banyole, a tribe in eastern Uganda. He was introduced to wild animals by his father at a young age.
“I grew up in a village setting and we were close to nature. I remember I was not scared of chameleons, which I used to catch with my bare hands,†he said.
,b>Trailing the elephants
Two years ago, while working with the Wildlife Conservation Society, Mwima tracked eight elephants for 23 months. He followed them everyday, and even got the opportunity to touch them.
Prime West, a USAID supported initiative, funded Mwima’s study.
Mwima used a plane to locate the eight elephants he monitored in his study. He was accompanied by a team from the Uganda Wildlife Authority to sedate the elephants.
Sedation made the elephants drowsy and the team fitted them with satellite collars mounted on leather straps.
The 15-kilo collars contained satellite and radio, which could send messages to radio calls or computers.
Mwima also used hidden cameras to take pictures, and interviewed local people about the movements of the elephants outside the park.
In central Uganda, elephants that were living in parts of Luweero were translocated in the late 1990s in a fateful operation that killed Mwima’s colleague, Dr. Jonathan Arusi.
Arusi was killed when one of the elephants, which had been sedated, suddenly turned and squeezed him as it was being loaded on a truck.
Mwima’s discovery
Mwima now knows how the elephants move and which places they avoid.
He says elephants, like other large mammals, need vast landscapes to survive.
“Their suitable habitats, which have salt licks, water and pastures are scattered and elephants have to traverse the landscape to such areas for survival,†he says.
Elephants move from western Uganda, particularly Queen Elizabeth National Park, to Kibaale, he says.
They also move from Rwenzori to Kiboga, Mubende, Luweero and Nakasongola and from Murchison Falls National Park to southern Sudan.
Sometimes the elephants would cross through Lipan in Acholi to Kidepo and then to north-eastern Uganda or southern Sudan.
Mwima singled out the Ishasha area in the southern part of Queen Elizabeth National Park and Bwera as one of the most important movement areas for large mammals as they go to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Human-elephant conflicts
“The movement of elephants has reduced because of the fragmentation of their habitats, which has disturbed their way of life.
The elephants are now confined in smaller areas because their migratory corridors are being replaced by farmland as the human population increases,†he said.
Human conflicts with wildlife are becoming common. This is understandable since the human population is expanding and the wild animals that once occupied the land are seen as intruders.
Population increase is accompanied by intensive farming, which is not compatible with the existence of wild animals.
For instance, the elephants have been deprived of their homeland on the slopes of Mt. Elgon in eastern Uganda. The slopes were once sparsely populated, but now human activities have increased.
“The elephants also tend to avoid corridors where human settlements are close,†Mwima adds.
For example, Muhokya area, which was inhabited by Basongora pastoralists before they were evicted.
The migratory corridor between Queen Elizabeth National Park and Kibaale National Park also appears to be cut off. And the elephants in Bwindi National Park are cut off from those in Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Mwima said these obstacles posed a threat in that the elephants could start breeding with their close relatives, putting their population at a great risk of extinction.
In Mgahinga National Park, the elephants are believed to have perished.
Another threat is that the elephants grazing in a small area will destroy the vegetation and increase conflicts with the human population living in the vicinity of the park.
The destruction of the corridors spells disaster since elephant habitats, which usually contain a lot of water, are also sources of water for people.
Way forward
Mwima appeals to the Government to promote conservation of the environment in order to encourage tourism.
Tourism is an important foreign exchange earner for the country.
Mwima wants to undertake more studies on elephants. He is walking in the footsteps of Ugandan researchers on elephants, such as Dr. Eve Abe.
Fifteen years ago, Mwima encountered the first herd of elephants in Queen Elizabeth National Park during a study tour.
He fell in love with them, but did not know that he would return and even come close enough to touch the elephants.
“When I saw the elephants, I was deeply moved by their massiveness,†he said. “They are gentle and somebody may not realise their presence until they break tree branches which they crunch and munch.â€
Mwima was born 42 years ago among the Banyole, a tribe in eastern Uganda. He was introduced to wild animals by his father at a young age.
“I grew up in a village setting and we were close to nature. I remember I was not scared of chameleons, which I used to catch with my bare hands,†he said.
,b>Trailing the elephants
Two years ago, while working with the Wildlife Conservation Society, Mwima tracked eight elephants for 23 months. He followed them everyday, and even got the opportunity to touch them.
Prime West, a USAID supported initiative, funded Mwima’s study.
Mwima used a plane to locate the eight elephants he monitored in his study. He was accompanied by a team from the Uganda Wildlife Authority to sedate the elephants.
Sedation made the elephants drowsy and the team fitted them with satellite collars mounted on leather straps.
The 15-kilo collars contained satellite and radio, which could send messages to radio calls or computers.
Mwima also used hidden cameras to take pictures, and interviewed local people about the movements of the elephants outside the park.
In central Uganda, elephants that were living in parts of Luweero were translocated in the late 1990s in a fateful operation that killed Mwima’s colleague, Dr. Jonathan Arusi.
Arusi was killed when one of the elephants, which had been sedated, suddenly turned and squeezed him as it was being loaded on a truck.
Mwima’s discovery
Mwima now knows how the elephants move and which places they avoid.
He says elephants, like other large mammals, need vast landscapes to survive.
“Their suitable habitats, which have salt licks, water and pastures are scattered and elephants have to traverse the landscape to such areas for survival,†he says.
Elephants move from western Uganda, particularly Queen Elizabeth National Park, to Kibaale, he says.
They also move from Rwenzori to Kiboga, Mubende, Luweero and Nakasongola and from Murchison Falls National Park to southern Sudan.
Sometimes the elephants would cross through Lipan in Acholi to Kidepo and then to north-eastern Uganda or southern Sudan.
Mwima singled out the Ishasha area in the southern part of Queen Elizabeth National Park and Bwera as one of the most important movement areas for large mammals as they go to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Human-elephant conflicts
“The movement of elephants has reduced because of the fragmentation of their habitats, which has disturbed their way of life.
The elephants are now confined in smaller areas because their migratory corridors are being replaced by farmland as the human population increases,†he said.
Human conflicts with wildlife are becoming common. This is understandable since the human population is expanding and the wild animals that once occupied the land are seen as intruders.
Population increase is accompanied by intensive farming, which is not compatible with the existence of wild animals.
For instance, the elephants have been deprived of their homeland on the slopes of Mt. Elgon in eastern Uganda. The slopes were once sparsely populated, but now human activities have increased.
“The elephants also tend to avoid corridors where human settlements are close,†Mwima adds.
For example, Muhokya area, which was inhabited by Basongora pastoralists before they were evicted.
The migratory corridor between Queen Elizabeth National Park and Kibaale National Park also appears to be cut off. And the elephants in Bwindi National Park are cut off from those in Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Mwima said these obstacles posed a threat in that the elephants could start breeding with their close relatives, putting their population at a great risk of extinction.
In Mgahinga National Park, the elephants are believed to have perished.
Another threat is that the elephants grazing in a small area will destroy the vegetation and increase conflicts with the human population living in the vicinity of the park.
The destruction of the corridors spells disaster since elephant habitats, which usually contain a lot of water, are also sources of water for people.
Way forward
Mwima appeals to the Government to promote conservation of the environment in order to encourage tourism.
Tourism is an important foreign exchange earner for the country.
Mwima wants to undertake more studies on elephants. He is walking in the footsteps of Ugandan researchers on elephants, such as Dr. Eve Abe.