Elephants, Leopards and there Conflicts with Humans in Sri Lanka

< Volunteer Contribution > < Dates > < Support > < Sign Up >

IMPORTANT NOTE: Conservation Research is a dynamic process where although the research goals are planned for years in advance the monthly and daily activities to achieve these goals depend on the local situation and can change dramatically. All information herein should be treated in this manner.

“ Ecological research on elephants, remote camera trapping of leopards, community integrated human elephant/leopard conflict resolution, biodiversity mapping using surveying techniques, GPS and GIS ”

Overview:

Skills Required: No specific skills are required, but volunteers should be prepared for the heat and high humidity of tropical jungles and be willing to walk or bike up to 15 kilometers per day. The volunteers will be trained in the skills they need to conduct the fieldwork. The project staff will prepare each group for their fieldwork. They will explain the research methods and the goals of the research.

Training/Qualifications: No previous experience or knowledge is necessary. The process to integrate new volunteers to the research work will be done on the first two days at the field site. On the first day at the field base during the orientation we make sure the volunteers are thoroughly briefed on each activity, what it entails, why we are doing it and what we hope to understand from the data gathered from these activities.

Location: The total research area lies within the confines of the Central and North Central Province forests of Sri Lanka. The climate ranges from a low of 14oC in the wet zone mountains to a high of 34oC in the dry zone jungles, where the average temperature will be in the region of 25oC-32oC. Expect hot and dry weather during the expedition with the occasional shower or humid day. Insects could be a problem in the night when they are attracted to the camp lights. During the monsoon season (Dec-Feb) conditions will be wet and there are frequent thunderstorms both day and night. However, our research is continuous because valuable data can be obtained during these times since it is essential to know the movement of animals both in the wet and dry seasons to establish proper management practices.

Partners: This program is being conducted jointly by the SLWCS and Sri Lanka Escape Tourism, a partner company to SLWCS. Sri Lanka Escape Tourism's pioneering “SciEscapes” program will be providing the ground logistics plus covering some of the other costs of the project.

Field Conditions: Depending on the number of participants you will be stationed at one of the two field sites operated by the SLWCS in the region. The Irriyagasuplotha field camp is a tented camp that consists of individual tents for sleeping, a large central dining/meeting tent, kitchen, western toilets/showers and a small library cabinet. Volunteers will stay in tents (2 per tent) and will share a row of communal toilets. There is GSM (digital cellular 900MHz) coverage in some of the project area. All meals will be prepared for the team at the base and vegetarians can be catered for. Clothes can be hand washed at base. The Pussellayaya Field Base is situated on a scenic hill overlooking a large tank (reservoir). The makeup of the Pussellayaya field house is the first thing you notice and it is quite a surprise. The walls are made of wooden slats and hardened mud and the roof is of iron sheets. You really do feel like you are in the wilderness! The house is very open to the outdoors. It will be quite a culture shock at first, but rest assured the friendly nature of the villagers and beautiful scenery soon make up for the basic nature of the accommodation. The make up of the house is perfectly sufficient and keeps the house relatively cool during the hot days and nights and dry during the storms. The house has 2 western bathrooms and they have cold water only – but it comes out at a nice temperature as the pipes have been in the sun all day. There is no electricity in the house, although there are solar powered lights. There are five bedrooms sectioned off for privacy in the project house and around the communal area of the house. They are very basic but have beds for 2 or 3 people each. Mosquito nets and clean bedding are provided, but please remember to take your own towel. Most GSM phones with the Dialog and Mobitel Sri Lanka providers will work around the project base camp. You can purchase pre-paid SIM cards in Sri Lanka for Rs. 2000 and calls to UK, USA etc cost about Rs. 15/min.

Team Size: Maximum 14 volunteers plus staff (Researcher, assistants and camp staff).

Duration: Duration: The program is run in 2-week ‘slots’. Each slot consists of 12 days (Monday morning to the following Friday). Volunteers are able to participate in multiple slots of the program at a discount.

Weekly Activities Schedule - SLWCS will attempt to make sure that every team member will participate in each research activity at least once.
FS	Tank Monitering Team A	Fence Monitering Team B	Tank Monitering Team C	Transect Team A	Elephant Damage survey Team B
Project Scientists & FS	Transect Team C	Elephant Damage survey Team A	Fence Monitoring Team B	Tank Monitoring Team C	Fence Monitoring Team A
FS	Leopard Project Team B	Data Entering Team C	Tank Monitoring Team A	Data Entry Team B	Vehicle Transect (outside park) Team C
LUNCH
FS	Tree Hut Team C	Elephant Observations/ Birding Teams ABC	Tree Hut Team B	Elephant Observations/ Birding A B C	Tree Hut Team A
FS	Elephant Observations/ Birding Teams A& B	Elephant Observations/ Birding Teams ABC	Elephant Observations/ Birding A& C	Elephant Observations/ Birding A B C	Elephant Observations/ Birding B & C

From October 2005 we will conduct each of the following activities on a monthly basis

ELEPHANT RESEARCH

Tank monitoring will be done 5 times per 12 days.
Trail transects are conducted on 6 trails that range from 5-10 kilometers.
Road transects out side the park is conducted on two main roads.
Road transects inside the park is conducted on four main park roads.
Park ID - identification of elephants within the park is conducted for 8 days.
Elephant Damage Surveys are conducted for 8 days.
Observations of elephants are conducted for 8 days.
Fence monitoring:
GND Surveys are conducted 4 days per 12 days.

LEOPARD and BIODIVERSITY RESEARCH

Laying and checking cameras On Hold
Identifying new trails 4 days
Checking leopard-human conflict as needed
Conducting Biodiversity assesments as needed

SUMMARY OF EACH ACTIVITY

Note: A “Session” is either a morning (from 07:30 to 12:00) or evening (from 15:00 to 19:00). All activities are in hot sun. See wg-risk-assessment for details on risks.

Personnel/Project Scientists:

A field researcher and/or experienced/trained field assistants or field scouts will accompany you on all activities. The field personnel (scouts and assistants) understand the work and your presence allows them to get more work done than they would normally be able to do. You must adhere to all instructions they give you. All of your work and the work of the field staff is monitored by our Project Scientists/managers and consultants.

1. Tank Monitoring

You will check around tanks (small irrigation reservoirs) situated outside the National Park for elephant dung. The aim is to find out whether there are single males and/or herds present outside the Park, what their dispersal patterns might be and what kind of food they eat (for example crops or jungle plants).

Conditions: You will bike about 10 kilometers and then walk up to 5 kilometers around the tanks.

2. Trail Transects

You will spend a session walking along a trail and recording dung found alongside the trail. The aim of the trail transect is to investigate elephant abundance outside the Park, seasonal variation of abundance and habitat preference.

Conditions: You will bike about 5 kilometers or take a vehicle to where the transect starts, from there you will walk/hike up to 12 kilometers. The terrain can be steep and undulating.

3. Road Transects (Inside/Outside Wasgamuwa Park)

You will spend a session in a vehicle on a road transect and afterwards collecting dung. The aim of the road transect is to investigate elephant abundance outside the Park, seasonal variation of abundance and habitat preference as well as to collect data to be able to compare elephant abundance inside and outside the Park. You will also collect dung for the dung garden activity.

Conditions: Entire activity is in vehicles except at designated sites where you can alight from the vehicle to take a break/swim.

4. Park ID

You will spend a session in a vehicle in the National Park randomly looking for elephants and then observing and photographing them. The aim of the elephant ID is to build up a catalogue of individuals as a basis for numbers, social organization and movement inside/outside the Park.

Conditions: Entire activity is in vehicles except at designated sites where you can alight from the vehicle to take a break/swim

5. Elephant Damage Survey

You will assist with interviewing villagers who have suffered elephant damage to their crops, property or have been attacked. The aim is to build up a picture of human/elephant conflict in the area in order to develop solution strategies.

Conditions: You will bike up to 15 kilometers and walk short stretches to individual houses.

6. Fence Monitoring

You will check the state of a solar powered electric fence erected to stop elephants from entering villages so that this information can be relayed to the local fence committee, who maintains and operates the fence. It also enables us to see what goes wrong with fences so that their design and management can be improved.

Conditions: You will bicycle up to 5 kilometers and then walk up to 8 kilometers around the fences.

7. Elephant Observations

You will spend an afternoon/night in a tree hut waiting for and recording elephants that pass near by to it. The aim is to build up a catalogue of individuals as a basis for numbers, social organization and migration inside/outside the Park. In the night it will mostly be recording exact times when they approach the area and recording any human disturbances.

Conditions: You will be driven to the tree huts and then picked up next day morning. You should take snacks and refreshments. You can bring a bedroll to lie down. Any additional candy that you can bring will be appreciated by your team mates.

8. Leopard Research

You will spend a session checking cameras and/or identifying new trails for laying cameras. Cameras are set in sites where leopard signs have been observed and are kept at the same site for 20 days at a time. They are checked every 5 days and batteries/film replaced as needed.

Conditions: You will bike up to 5 kilometers or will be taken by vehicle to the closest point from where you will walk up to 15 kilometers through the forest in undulating and difficult terrain.

9. Data Entry

You will spend time at the camp/field house entering the data you have collected and help in initial analysis. You will be expected to present a short update of results of the work you have done every month/before your departure. All data collected must be digitized within 1 week of collection.

Conditions:

< Volunteer Contribution > < Dates > < Support > < Sign Up >

For more information

SLWCS "Saving Elephants by Helping People" Project Website

For availability email info@escapetourism.com