Forget dynamite blasts. Those loud explosions are nothing compared to the threat of humans, at least when it comes to elephant behavior. In fact, in a major study of how forest elephants deal with oil exploration in central Africa, Peter Wrege and colleagues at Cornell University found that elephants change their behavior significantly to avoid humans. Another example of how sensitive these animals are to humans in their habitats.

From New Scientist:

Peter Wrege and colleagues at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, used listening devices similar to those designed to eavesdrop on whales to monitor the sounds and seismic activity of oil prospecting in the Loango National Park in Gabon. After collecting 27,000 hours of recordings, the team analysed how dynamite blasts and other human activity, such as driving and setting up equipment, affected the number of elephant calls.

Elephants are active both during the day and at night. Those in the study did not flee the areas where oil prospecting was taking place, but those closest to the activity became increasingly nocturnal. Acoustic data suggested these changes were linked to workers moving through the forest and setting up equipment, not the detonation of dynamite (Conservation Biology, DOI: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2010.01559.x).

“Dynamite might sound like intense thunder,” says Wrege. Blasts could therefore seem harmless, whereas elephants in the region have long been hunted by humans. The behavioural changes could have caused extra stress and competition for food, since the elephants had less time to go about their daily activities, he says.

Image: jimmyharris