Spatial Modeling and Environmental Factors Influencing Seasonal Habitat Use of Wild Elephants (Elephas maximus) in Thung Salaeng Luang National Park, Phitsanulok Province
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.34044/tferj.2026.10.1.6618Keywords:
Habitat suitability, Maximum Entropy model, Thung Salaeng Luang National ParkAbstract
Background and Objectives: The Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) is classified as an umbrella species that plays a critical role in forest ecosystem conservation. Thung Salaeng Luang National Park (1,262.40 km²), located within the Phu Miang–Phu Thong Forest Complex, represents a key habitat for wild elephants. However, habitat fragmentation resulting from the expansion of human settlements and agricultural areas has compelled elephants to increasingly utilize agricultural lands as pseudo-habitats, elevating the risk of human-elephant conflict. This study aimed to analyze environmental factors influencing seasonal habitat selection and estimate home range size of wild elephants in Thung Salaeng Luang National Park, with the goal of informing wildlife management and conflict mitigation strategies.
Methodology: A total of 650 wild elephant occurrence records – comprising direct sightings, dung deposits, footprints, and rubbing marks – were collected from qualitative SMART patrol data between 2018 and 2024. Records were partitioned into dry season (November–April) and wet season (May–October) datasets. Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) modeling was applied using 11 environmental variables across three categories: physical, biological, and threat factors, on a 100×100 m grid. Data were randomly split into 75% training and 25% testing sets, with five replications, and model performance was evaluated using the Area Under the Curve (AUC).
Results: Both seasonal models demonstrated good predictive performance (dry season AUC = 0.764; wet season AUC = 0.858). During the dry season, the most influential factors were distance to evergreen forest (46.10%) and distance to grassland (12.70%), with elephants exhibiting a broad distribution across the park and a home range of 456.92 km². During the wet season, distance to dry evergreen forest (21.70%) and distance to salt licks (21.00%) were the primary determinants, with elephants showing a more clustered distribution in the central and southern areas and a reduced home range of 173.03 km². The difference of 283.89 km² between seasons reflects marked behavioral plasticity in response to seasonal resource availability. Elephants showed stronger avoidance of human settlements, agricultural areas, roads, and other threat indicators during the dry season. However, during the late wet season when crops reached maturity, some elephant groups moved toward agricultural lands in the northern and western zones where communities reside and cultivate within the park, increasing the likelihood of human-elephant encounters.
Conclusion: Seasonal variation in wild elephant habitat selection was clearly evident, with biological factors as primary determinants and anthropogenic factors influencing avoidance or approach behavior depending on the season. These findings provide a scientific basis for targeted management interventions, including the establishment of buffer zones, systematic monitoring of high-risk conflict areas, and seasonal management of food and water resources within the park, to effectively mitigate human-elephant conflict and promote balanced conservation of wild elephants and their habitats.
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