New publication on how Asian elephants make decisions about their diet

Contrary to the expected hypothesis that crop-raiding elephants in a human-dominated landscape will exhibit higher stress, the authors found that the stress levels were lower than expected, and it could be due to access to the superior quality of diet (as shown by higher NDVI and faecal Nitrogen content). 

Salient findings of the study: 

1. Lower levels of faecal glucocorticoid metabolites (as a proxy of stress) in crop-raiding elephants, than the elephants in protected forests. 

2. Human-production or human-dominated landscape having higher NDVI (or greenness). 

3. Higher faecal Nitrogen content in crop-raiding elephants than those in protected forests. 

Link to publication: https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/acv.12450 

Media coverage: 

1. The Hindu: https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/rich-diet-lowers-stress-in-crop-eating-elephants/article25413344.ece 

2. Down To Earth: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/wildlife-biodiversity/elephants-conflict-of-diet-63080