Birth Control Instead of Culling of African Bull Elephants

Elephant population control is a critical conservation issue facing many areas in Africa due to ecosystem damage and decreased biodiversity. Wildlife managers struggle with the limited options in permanent population control.

Over the past four years, our team has developed a minimally-invasive surgical technique to vasectomize free ranging elephants. This method of permanent contraception can be used as a management tool for the control of small populations of elephant and as an alternative to the controversial practice of culling. We have also taken the opportunity to study the physiologic effects of prolonged anesthesia in our mega-vertebrate patients with results currently in progress for publication. Innovative anesthetic protocols and specialized equipment have been developed to ensure patient safety.

Over the past four years we have vasectomized 21 bull elephants at four South African game reserves, all in emergency need of a method to halt population growth without culling. In 2008, several key personnel from major African universities, governmental agencies and private game reserves were present to learn our surgical and anesthetic procedures as part of our objective of local capacity building.

In collaboration with the Space for Elephant Foundation, behavioral studies were initiated in August 2008 to document the effect of our male contraception on the elephant herds on Pongola Game Reserve, the site of our recent conservation effort. Surgical contraception will not provide solutions for large populations of elephants but there are hundreds of game reserves in Africa with small but significant populations that may benefit from this method.