What Climate Change Does
“We think of elephants as very resilient animals, very robust,
but then we see at the same time there is a very narrow range
at which they are at their optimal survival. If the climate changes
by even a few degrees it can substantially reduce survival…
dryer, hotter months could prove to be fatal”
- Hannah Mumby
Climate change leaves elephants at risk of drought, disease and death. The heat causes freshwater resources to lower, dangerous diseases to spread faster, and heat stroke, one of the deadliest killers of elephants. Researcher Hannah Mumby found that when elephant calves moved out of their optimal temperature to their maximum, it doubled their mortality risk.
Elephant Calf in Tsavo
Not only does changing climate affect the elephants themselves, but several climate change studies report that, “key portions of elephants’ habitat will become significantly hotter and drier, resulting in poorer foraging conditions and threatening calf survival” (Basic Facts About Elephants).
Over 40 Kenyan elephants have died in July and August of 2009
Elizabeth Freeman
Associate Professor: Wildlife conservation, behavioral endocrinology, behavioral ecology
"They're going to be affected by water availabity...by their ability to hydrate and their ability to cool. That's what's going to impact them the most when it comes to climate change...the natural causes that we see in general that lead to death of elephants is predominantly drought. A lot of parts of Africa in the past five, ten years, have had big periods of drought. And we've seen it in the old and the young suffering, and dying faster than ...typical. Drought is related to temperature and body termpare regulation"
Professor Freeman is well known for her study of reproductive behavior of elephants in South Africa and her similar study of black rhinoceros. She has spent more than 10 years studying elephants.