Elephant tracking dataset to determine elephant movements between the Kruger National Park and Limpopo National Park in Mozambique

In December 2006, seven prime bulls (35-55 years of age) were collared on the eastern border of the Kruger National Park (KNP) in collaboration with SANParks, the objective being to identify movement routes between the KNP and Limpopo National Park. All study animals were fitted with GPS satellite collars due to the possible lack of cell reception in Mozambique. Field testing of the satellite tracking devices (model AWT SM2000E, African Wildlife Tracking, South Africa, Pretoria) had a root mean square error of <30 m with expected location success between 88-96% when tested in the field. The final elephant tracking data set was obtained via a “data downloader” supplying near real-time entry of data into a geodatabase while a data filter removed obviously erroneous GPS fixes, based on a maximum rate of travel. Data gaps due to field conditions such as thick vegetation, topography, satellite positioning or improper collar angles were also filtered until a cleaned dataset was imported.