On the germination of seeds in the dung balls of the African Elephant in the Virunga National Park

At least 1591 out of 2576 seeds germinated in the Elephant dung at Virunga National Park belonged to one species, Capparis tomentosa. Elephants play a significant role in the dispersion of seeds, especially those of Capparis tomentosa and Maerua sp. and various wild Curcubitaceae and Solanaceae. Direct observation showed that 65 out of 112 mouthfuls were non-grass species, even when the elephant was grazing on short grass.