Abstract

The movement pattern and home range of African elephants in different geographical areas have been reported by different workers. The movement pattern of Asian elephants in Sri Lanka and Malaya has been described in the literature. In India, but for the work of Sinha (1981) and Sukumar (1985), not much has been reported. The study was conducted in Parambikulam wildlife sanctuary, Palghat district. The Parambikulam wildlife sanctuary holds a good population of elephants. The study was conducted during the two year period from 1985 to 1986. Two groups of elephants (one in each year) were selected and followed. The selected groups were followed during day time. The movement of the first group in dry season was restricited around the Thunacadavu and Peruvaripallam reservoirs and at the onset of rains the group extended its movement to far away places including Anamalai wildlife sannctuary. The dry season movement of the second group of elephants was confined mostly to Anamalai wildlife sanctuary and adjacent areas of Parambikulam. During wet seasons, there was a shrinkage in areas traversed and was around Thunacadavu reservoir. The observation clearly indicate the influence of water availability on the movement pattern of the groups in the study are