ELEPHANT INVASION AND ESCALATED DEPLETION OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES IN A SEMI ARID TROPICAL ECOSYSTEM

Abstract

For decades, elephants’ invasion is known to be associated with severe environmental consequences leading to escalated depletion o environmental resources (plants, water, wildlife and soil). This paper examined the effects of elephants’ activity on the environmental resources inHong and Gombi Local Government areas of Adamawa State, considering the damage they usually cause. Data collection was by personal observation, oral interview and semi-structural questionnaires using 400 respondents The data collected was analysed using chi-square (x 2 ) and descriptive statistics. Results showedthat the extentof damage was highly sgnificant (P Keywords: Escalated, Ecosystem, Horticultural crops, Depletion, Extinction, Management