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Simple Summary: The translocation of elephants is a management tool developed in the 1980s during the culling operations at the Kruger National Park, South Africa, to remove "surplus" elephants from fenced properties. Elephants live in large social networks and form strong social bonds within their family units. In particular, the mother–offspring bond is crucial to the learning and development of social skills and social and environmental competence of the calves. The leadership role and experience of the matriarch appear to be an important factor in providing the necessary knowledge to optimise social and environmental skills and competence. The translocation of smaller groups of elephants results in the social disruption of these networks. This paper looks at the social and ecological aspects of such disruption and what it implies for elephants. A herd of Orphans and a translocated herd consisting of two families were observed over several years. The Orphans demonstrated marked effects of social disruption by splitting more frequently and for longer periods than the family herd and experiencing accelerated reproduction. Social disruption may therefore reduce learning opportunities with implications for elephant society as well as for conservation. African elephants (Loxodonta africana) exhibit a long developmental period during which they acquire complex social and ecological knowledge through social networks. Central to this is that matriarchs and older individuals play an important role as repositories of information gained through experience. Anthropogenic interventions—including poaching, culling, translocation, and hunting—can disrupt elephants' social networks, with implications for individual fitness and potential long-term population viability. Here, we draw on a unique long-running, individual-based dataset to examine the impacts of translocation on a population of elephants in South Africa, taking into consideration demographic rates, social dynamics, and ecological decision-making. Specifically, we compared two translocated groups: a group of unrelated culling Orphans and a family herd. We found that the Orphan group experienced accelerated reproductive rates when compared with the family herd. The Orphan group also fissioned more frequently and for longer periods of time, suggesting lower cohesiveness, and were less decisive in their large-scale movement decisions. These results add to the growing body of literature on the downstream impacts of social disruption for elephants. Whilst the translocation of culling Orphans is no longer practised in South Africa, we encourage careful consideration of any elephant translocation and the resulting social disruption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since certain Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) members, such as M. bovis, are endemic in specific South African wildlife reserves and zoos, cases of clinically important nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) in wildlife may be neglected. Additionally, due to the inability of tests to differentiate between the host responses to MTBC and NTM, the diagnosis of MTBC may be confounded by the presence of NTMs. This may hinder control efforts. These constraints highlight the need for enhanced rapid detection and differentiation methods for MTBC and NTM, especially in high MTBC burden areas. We evaluated the use of the GeneXpert MTB/RIF Ultra, the Hain CMdirect V1.0 line probe assay, and novel amplicon sequencing PCRs targeting the mycobacterial rpoB and ku gene targets, directly on antemortem African elephant (n = 26) bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) (n = 22) and trunk washes (n = 21) and rhinoceros (n = 23) BALF (n = 23), with known MTBC culture-positive and NTM culture-positive results. Our findings suggest that the Ultra is the most sensitive diagnostic test for MTBC DNA detection directly in raw antemortem respiratory specimens and that the rpoB PCR is ideal for Mycobacterium genus DNA detection and species identification through amplicon sequencing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Non-invasive endocrine monitoring is an important conservation tool frequently used to support the management of wildlife species. Investigating ovarian activity and pregnancy rates of free-ranging African elephants can enhance our knowledge about the physiology of this highly social and long-lived species. The utility of a new, field-friendly progestagen enzymeimmunoassay (EIA) method was tested by monitoring ovarian activity of 40 females in Addo Elephant National Park (AENP), South Africa. Fecal samples were collected opportunistically from known individuals (June 2007–September 2009) and fecal progestagen metabolites (FPM) were extracted in the field and analyzed on-site using a visual, qualitative EIA. Those results were compared to the laboratory quantitative EIA assessment of hormone concentrations in the U.S. Qualitative FPM concentrations were strongly correlated with quantitative concentrations (rs =0.72). Fecal samples collected from pregnant elephants (n =22) had significantly higher FPM concentrations than non-pregnant individuals, and month of gestation was the strongest predictor of FPM concentrations. Endocrine profiles suggested that five older females were no longer cycling normally. Simplified field endocrine techniques could transform endangered species research under field conditions and provide reliable and economical new tools for making sensible conservation management decisions based on real-time hormone results. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]