Freda

Quin and Freda's herd foraging near the Manggatal River

In contrast to the previous period, Freda’s movements during this period were concentrated more in the area on the north side of the corridor road, which extends from the PT. LAJ WCA area, the ecosystem restoration concession, to the PT.WKS eucalyptus area. Freda’s herd movements on the south side of the corridor road were only observed in the Manggatal River area in June 2023.

Freda, along with large groups, were observed to mostly avoid human-elephant conflicts on both the south and north sides of the WKS corridor road. Several elephant calves were observed when Freda and her herd were moving on the south side of the corridor road in the Manggatal area. Group merging activities were also observed at the end of July 2023 when Freda joined Cinta's group in the area around the ecosystem restoration concession. The dynamics of Freda's movement continued with her occupation of the WKS area, and she joined one of the male dispersal elephants.

Map of Freda and Quin’s ranging area from April 2023 – September 2023 based on Radio telemetry data collected.

The threat of disturbance is relatively high in the WKS area because Freda’s herd is in the eucalyptus plantation area, where active harvesting is taking place. This harvesting activity forced Freda’s group to move to the National Park boundary area to avoid disturbance. Elephant calves that were recorded in the previous period were also documented in this period. The ECMU Team and the community continue to monitor to prevent these elephant calves from experiencing habitat disturbance. The team recently captured this heartwarming video of a young elephant calf running to mum in Freda and Quinn's herd for some reassurance. 

Thank you to Freda's adopters for your support in keeping her herd safe.

(Program run by Ministry of Environment and Forestry and Frankfurt Zoological Society).