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Mayuko Nomoto
Have you ever heard of the African forest elephant? This relatively small elephant lives in the tropical rainforests of Africa, and its population is rapidly declining due to poaching for ivory and habitat loss.
I have been studying the ecology of the forest elephant since 2017 in Moukalaba-Doudou National Park, located in the Republic of Gabon in equatorial Africa.
I have loved large animals since I was a child. I was saddened to see monochrome drawings of extinct mammals in the first illustrated book I was ever bought, and it was my desire to protect endangered animals that led me to a career in research.
My dream is to organize an exhibition of elephant drawings created by children around the world.
What do you hope to accomplish through your research?
Through my research, I would like to leave behind a rich natural environment and a society that can enjoy it for future generations.
We humans have had a significant impact on the global environment through our various interactions with wildlife. Many wild animals are in danger of extinction due to human activities, and the importance of conservation is widely emphasized. On the other hand, however, it is not well known that the people who actually live with the wild animals in local area sacrifice their daily lives for the protection of these animals.
Ivory from African forest elephants is in high demand, mainly in countries where elephants do not live, including Japan, and poaching continues even after international trade has been banned. Elephants play an important role in maintaining the ecosystem of their habitat, and the decline or extinction of forest elephants leads to the extinction of the animal and plant species there. While elephant conservation has been actively promoted in Gabon, the livelihoods of the local people are under threat. In their culture, elephants were a precious source of food, but now hunting is forbidden and crops in the fields are severely destroyed by elephants. The livelihoods and rights of local people are overlooked.
I want to find ways to protect both elephants and their habitat while also supporting the daily lives of local people.
What approach are you using to try to achieve this?
I consider it important for the sustainable coexistence of the forest elephant and humans to maintain ecological balance and to enable everyone to enjoy the diverse benefits derived from the ecosystem (“ecosystem services”) without disadvantaging any particular people.This requires an understanding of the causes of the current conflicts between people and elephants, and in particular an understanding of elephants' foraging strategies that affect their land use patterns.
However, there is still much that we do not know about their ecology. When I started my master's program, there were no other researchers around me who were studying African forest elephants, so I began researching elephant ecology alone in the forests of Gabon.
At present, I am focusing on individuals that use human habitat area, and I am investigating; (1) what elephants eat in the study area, (2) when there is food in the forest, and (3) when they come to raid crops in the fields. In the future, we would like to further clarify how elephants understand the characteristics of the local area, and how they remember and revisit places. This will help us to understand the process and reasons why elephants visit the fields and will help us to consider effective countermeasures against crop damage.
What is the research topic you will be conducting for this project?
I am investigating the diet of elephants around a village in Gabon where crop raiding by elephants is a serious problem. Specifically, I am trying to determine what elephants eat in which season and whether this varies by sex and age class.
African forest elephants are nervous and difficult to observe in the dense tropical forests, which can be very dangerous. Therefore, I focused on elephant feces, which can weigh more than 100 kg per day. From a bolus of dung, we can learn a variety of information such as feeding content, dung size, and DNA, which enables us to determine who is eating what! Since female elephants form groups, it is possible that they have different foraging strategies than adult males, who roam alone. I am also conducting surveys with automated cameras and interviews with crop field owners to determine what areas elephants frequent. If we can identify the characteristics of elephants that use human settlements and field crops, we can focus our targets for conflict mitigation.
Forest elephants prefer fruits, but the amount and timing of fruit production fluctuates from year to year. Local people burn fields every year and change the location of their fields every two years or so. If the seasonal and annual changes in elephant foraging can be identified, it is hoped that this will help determine when priority measures should be taken and reduce the amount of countermeasure labor required by local people.
Why we need your support
Research in the great wilderness of a foreign country often encountered unexpected difficulties, and I sometimes felt cornered because I could not find any progress.However, I have been able to continue my research thanks to the support of many people, and I would like to complete this research project without giving up until the end.
On the other hand, I also realized that research alone cannot immediately and directly solve the problem, especially when seeing the fields destroyed by elephants and the grieving people.In the near future, I would like to apply the results of my research to “conservation and local support” as well.
Your support will be used to cover the necessary expenses for the research, with the aim of earning a doctoral degree. I will do my best and would appreciate your support!
Recommender's comment
中村 美知夫
ゾウは環境に大きな影響を与える動物です。その研究は単に一生物種としての位置付けにとどまらず、生態系保全、人類の進化、文化人類学などさまざまな分野に及びます。野本さんは観察の難しいマルミミゾウを対象にその生態を解明してきました。その研究遂行力を評価する一方で、研究は、そこで得た成果を社会へ還元することも大切です。野本さんにはそれを行える素質があると思いますので、今後の活動に期待しています。
松浦 直毅
アフリカの森でゾウの生態を追いかける―。ロマンあふれる話ですが、実行するには大きな困難がともないます。高温多湿のなかで毎日たくさん歩き、糞を拾い集めては中身を調べ、不慣れな生活環境に適応し、そうして文字どおり体を張って調査に臨みます。地道な調査を積み重ね、成果が得られるのにもとても長い時間を要します。こうした研究は誰にでもできるものではありませんが、野本さんにはそれを成し遂げる力があると確信しています。ぜひご支援をお願いいたします。
寺田 佐恵子
野本さんとの出会いは、私が社会人を経て博士課程に入り、アフリカでの研究を始めた院生時代でした。学部を出てすぐ「マルミミゾウの研究をする」という彼女の姿はとてもまぶしく、今でもその姿に変わりはありません。憧れていたマルミミゾウの研究に挑戦し続けることは、幸せなことであると同時に、先の見えない道を模索する勇気のいることでもあると思います。地道な調査と思考を続け、村人の信頼を得ている野本さんならではの研究成果と地域貢献を楽しみにしています。
Project timeline
| Date | Plans |
|---|---|
| August 2024 | Writing and submitting papers |
| September - December 2024 | Writing dissertation |
| December 2024 | Submission of doctoral dissertation |
| January-February 2025 | Preparation for dissertation defense, and Application for a international conference and travel expense grant |
| March 2025 | Obtaining doctorate and preparing for the conference |
Pledge Rewards
I will send you a thank you message via email.
Thank you email
30 supporters are supporting with this reward. （No quantity limit）
I will send you Elephant images (one with a message and one original image) taken with an automatic camera during fieldwork in Gabon.
In addition, your name will be listed in a research report that will be sent to all supporters.
Thank you email / Your name in the research report & Original images
60 supporters are supporting with this reward. （No quantity limit）
You are invited to an online science café about this research. If you are unable to attend on the day, the URL for the streaming will be shared later.
For non-Japanese speakers, I will send you a 10-minute video in English.
Thank you email / Your name in the research report & Original images / Online Science Cafe (in Japanese)
23 supporters are supporting with this reward. （No quantity limit）
I will send you an original tote bag with the logo of ELEPHA, a project about elephants that is currently being launched.
* Tote bag design is subject to change without notice. Shipping is limited to within Japan.
Thank you email / Your name in the research report & Original images / Online Science Cafe (in Japanese) / Tote bag with original logo
10 supporters are supporting with this reward. （No quantity limit）
You will have the opportunity to discuss this research individually. Dates will be arranged individually.
Thank you email / Your name in the research report & Original images / Online Science Cafe (in Japanese) / Tote bag with original logo / Individual discussion
0 supporters are supporting with this reward. （No quantity limit）
I will give a visiting lecture on this research.
Specific details and dates will be arranged individually.
If you wish to hold the lecture outside of Japan, please contact us in advance.
* Accommodation and travel expenses will be charged separately.
Thank you email / Your name in the research report & Original images / Online Science Cafe (in Japanese) / Tote bag with original logo / Individual discussion / Visiting lecture
0 supporters are supporting with this reward. （No quantity limit）
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Thank you email
30
supporters
back
（No quantity limit）
Your name in the research report & Original images and others
60
supporters
back
（No quantity limit）
Online Science Cafe (in Japanese) and others
23
supporters
back
（No quantity limit）
Tote bag with original logo and others
10
supporters
back
（No quantity limit）
Individual discussion and others
0
supporters
back
（No quantity limit）
Visiting lecture and others
0
supporters
back
（No quantity limit）
academist Prize 2nd adopted
