  Human-wildlife conflict challenges conservation worldwide, which requires
innovative management solutions. We developed a prototype Agent-Based Model
(ABM) to simulate interactions between humans and solitary bull Asian elephants
in the Periyar-Agasthyamalai complex of the Western Ghats in Kerala, India. The
main challenges were the complex behavior of elephants and insufficient
movement data from the region. Using literature, expert insights, and field
surveys, we created a prototype behavior model that incorporates crop
habituation, thermoregulation, and aggression. We designed a four-step
calibration method to adapt relocation data from radio-tagged elephants in
Indonesia to model elephant movements in the model domain. The ABM's structure,
including the assumptions, submodels, and data usage are detailed following the
Overview, Design concepts, Details protocol. The ABM simulates various food
availability scenarios to study elephant behavior and environmental impact on
space use and conflict patterns. The results indicate that the wet months
increase conflict and thermoregulation significantly influences elephant
movements and crop raiding. Starvation and crop habituation intensify these
patterns. This prototype ABM is an initial model that offers information on the
development of a decision support system in wildlife management and will be
further enhanced with layers of complexity and subtlety across various
dimensions. Access the ABM at
https://github.com/quest-lab-iisc/abm-elephant-project.
