Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A University of Utah professor says climate change and human encroachment are making it hard for a family of elephants in the African savannas of Kenya to survive.
The finding is part of a University of Utah-led study aimed at solving the problems. The study tracked a family of four elephants nicknamed "the Royals" -- mother, Queen Elizabeth and daughters Victoria, Anastasia and Cleopatra.
Thure Cerling, the lead researcher, used Global Positioning System tracking collars and analyzed carbon and other isotopes in tail hair to monitor behavior over a six-year period from 2000 to 2006.
Cerling says that despite of choosing locations with abundant waster and food, changing environmental conditions are making life harder for the elephants.
------ Information from: Deseret News
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
