Research Article published by International Journal of Biodiversity and Conservation Vol. 8(6), June 2016
A study to estimate population size and distribution of elephants in the Rubondo Island National Park
(RINP) was conducted between March and July 2014. It involved elephant dung survey methods. In
estimating elephant dung pile density, a total of 217 dung piles were enumerated in 58 transects (each 1
km). The on-site dung decay rate computed from 100 marked fresh dung piles was estimated to be
0.01542 per day. By combining estimated dung pile density, on-site decay rate and defecation rate of 17
dung piles per day, the study found an estimate of about 102 elephants (95% CI, 72-144). Furthermore,
results of this study indicate that, elephants were found to be more concentrated on the central and
northern zones, which are the areas of the park that have some open glades allowing elephant to
access the area easily to lake shores. The information generated from the study can be incorporated
into setting up future management strategies for elephant conservation in RINP.