RESEARCH ON HABIAT AND DIET OF ASIAN ELEPHANT IN BAC TRA MY AND HIEP DUC DISTRICTS, QUANG NAM PROVINCE

Abstract

In Vietnam, Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) is threatened species. In order to determine the habitats as well as the diet of the elephant herd in the bordering area of Bac Tra My and Hiep Duc districts, by the route survey combined with community interviews, habitats and diet of the elephants has been identified. Their habitats are tropical evergreen seasonal submontane forests, mixed of bamboo-broadleaf evergreen forests, evergreen broad-leaved schrublands, secondary grasslands and stands. There are 45 plant species in the area recorded as diet of elephants. They are belonging to 25 families, 2 phyla such as Polypodiophyta and Magnolophyta. Of which, there are 10 species used by elephants as mainly food as: Ampelocalamus patellaris, Arenga westerhoutii, Caryota urens, Donax canniformis, Merremia boisiana, Miscanthus sinensis, Musa acuminata, Neahouzeaua dulooa, Plectocomia elongata and Thysanolaena latifolia. On average, 2 elephant individuals eat about 109.5 tons food per year. The average biomass of elephant diet is about 12 tons/ha. Therefore, with 3000 ha of natural area, the food is capable of providing enough for 2 elephant individuals. However, diet sources will be scarcer in the dry season when bamboo shoots and herbaceous plants are reduced.