Family Traditions for Mahouts of Asian Elephants

ABSTRACT

The mahout and elephant relationship is one of the oldest human—animal relationships, possibly beginning as far back as 5,000 years ago. Valued for their assistance in war and work, elephants were trained and managed using methods described in ancient Indian texts. The lifelong job of mahouts historically had a long apprenticeship, and was passed from father to son. In 1973, when the government in Karnataka, India, assumed ownership of the maharajah's elephants, Hindu and Muslim mahouts with their elephants were relocated to national forests and became employees of the Forest Department. Members of honey-gathering tribes (called tribals) began to be offered government jobs as mahouts. To assess the current patterns of family traditions with elephants among mahouts living within Nagarahole National Park, India, sixteen mahouts and four young assistants were interviewed, representing Hindu, Muslim, and tribal families. In all three cultures, almost all had been introduced to elephants by a father or other male relative; the mahouts' sons expected to be mahouts. Mahouts' sons regularly assisted and played an essential role in the management of female elephants. No examples of injuries to children were mentioned by mahouts, yet some mahouts and villagers had been killed or seriously injured by elephants. Family tradition played a major role for Hindus, Muslims, and tribals in the decision to work with elephants. The semi-captivity of, and traditional, structured work activities with, Asian elephants may afford some possible improvements for their welfare and human—elephant conflicts.     

Variation in nature: its implications for zoo elephant management

Despite many advances in animal care and welfare over the past few decades, zoos have been criticized recently for the quality of their elephant management programs. More specifically, critics have argued that elephants live miserable lives in captivity and thus should not be kept in zoos. Poor health and reproductive success, they say, are the result of the combined impact of: a lack of exercise; exposure to cold temperatures and disease; and stress due to the use of “brutal” training techniques, chaining and inappropriate social environments. Everyone, including zoo professionals, seems to agree that improvements in zoo elephant management are necessary and appropriate. However, there is considerable disagreement on how to proceed and little information on which to base such decisions. One tactic that the critics have adopted in their efforts to promote change is their frequent reference to “nature” as a yardstick for gauging the adequacy of zoo animal management and care. An argument is made that direct zoo–wild comparisons are of questionable utility and may be invalid from a scientific perspective. Some critics talk about “nature” as if it represented a fixed set of rules by which captive managers must either abide by or risk diminishing the health and welfare of their charges. However, many aspects of elephant natural history vary greatly depending on prevailing environmental conditions and elephants may be much more flexible than many critics are giving them credit for. Thus, although zoo animal managers should look to nature for clues about how to best care for captive elephants, they should not feel constrained by them. This revelation is not intended as an excuse for poor elephant management or to support the status quo. On the contrary, a better approach is to develop realistic and biologically meaningful metrics that reflect the quality of elephant care and welfare and to use them to measure the success of evolving zoo elephant programs. Zoo Biol 25:161–171, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Elephant survival,rainfall and the confounding effects of water provision and fences

Elephant are increasing across some areas of Africa leading to concerns that they may reduce woodlands through their feeding. Droughts may help limit elephant numbers, but they are generally both episodic and local. To explore more general impacts of rainfall, we examine how its annual variation influences elephant survival across ten sites. These sites span an almost coast-to-coast transect of southern Africa that holds the majority of the ~500,000 remaining savanna elephants. Elephants born in high rainfall years survive better than elephants born in low rainfall years. The relationship is generally weak, except at the two fenced sites, where rainfall greatly influenced juvenile survival. In these two sites, there are also extensive networks of artificial water. Rainfall likely affects elephant survival through its influence on food. The provision of artificial water opens new areas for elephants in the dry season, while fencing restricts their movements in the wet season. We conclude that the combination of these factors makes elephant survival more susceptible to reductions in rainfall. As a result, elephants living in enclosed reserves may be the first populations to feel the impacts of global warming which will decrease average rainfall and increase the frequency of droughts. A way to prevent these elephants from damaging the vegetation within these enclosed parks is for managers to reduce artificial water sources or, whenever practical, to remove fences.     

Determining adrenocortical activity as a measure of stress in African elephants (Loxodonta africana) in relation to human activities in Serengeti ecosystem

African elephants (Loxodonta africana) play a vital role in most African ecosystems, with their opportunity to alter the entire ecosystem by their sheer numbers. Defining and measuring animal welfare has been much discussed. One potential way of determining an animal's welfare is to record the absence or presence of stress. Little research on elephant welfare has so far been performed in the Serengeti ecosystem. The aim of this study was to record the faecal glucocorticoid metabolite levels of African elephants in areas with high or with minimum human interference. A total of 117 faecal samples were collected from randomly located single elephants as well as family herds in the northern, central and western Serengeti National Park (SNP) as well as in Grumeti Game Reserve and Ikoma Open Area, northern Tanzania in 2010. Elephants had higher levels of faecal glucocorticoid metabolites in the areas outside, compared with areas inside SNP. No single males were observed outside SNP, and in general, higher abundance of elephants was observed inside SNP. This suggests that elephants may prefer to reside in the potential safer areas inside the national park, demonstrating the importance of protected areas to improve the welfare of elephants.     

Soft and persistent—The influence of sand-flooring and calves on the resting behavior of a zoo-kept African elephant (Loxodonta africana) group

Caring for all aspects of zoo elephants’ well-being is considered a major challenge. Providing an appropriate flooring substrate to facilitate lying rest presents a meaningful part of a holistic management concept. Investigating the impact of a new sand flooring on the nocturnal resting behavior of a breeding group of seven African elephants living at one zoo revealed more total lying rest, longer bouts of lying rest and a reduced side preference in the adult females. With an average total daily lying rest of about 1.5–2.0 hrs, the investigated zoo elephants expressed longer lying rest compared to recently reported data from free-ranging individuals in Botswana. In addition, the presence of nursing calves in the observed elephant group seemed to impact the resting pattern of all group members, with around 60% of all lying bouts being discontinued after interruption by the youngsters. With respect to observed nursing during leaning rest, we encourage the installation of appropriate horizontal structures in breeding facilities to support leaning rest behavior of their female elephants. In doing so, zoos may improve rest quality of nursing females, and, in general, the welfare aspect of sleep for their elephants.     

Visualizing Sound Emission of Elephant Vocalizations: Evidence for Two Rumble Production Types

Recent comparative data reveal that formant frequencies are cues to body size in animals, due to a close relationship between formant frequency spacing, vocal tract length and overall body size. Accordingly, intriguing morphological adaptations to elongate the vocal tract in order to lower formants occur in several species, with the size exaggeration hypothesis being proposed to justify most of these observations. While the elephant trunk is strongly implicated to account for the low formants of elephant rumbles, it is unknown whether elephants emit these vocalizations exclusively through the trunk, or whether the mouth is also involved in rumble production. In this study we used a sound visualization method (an acoustic camera) to record rumbles of five captive African elephants during spatial separation and subsequent bonding situations. Our results showed that the female elephants in our analysis produced two distinct types of rumble vocalizations based on vocal path differences: a nasally- and an orally-emitted rumble. Interestingly, nasal rumbles predominated during contact calling, whereas oral rumbles were mainly produced in bonding situations. In addition, nasal and oral rumbles varied considerably in their acoustic structure. In particular, the values of the first two formants reflected the estimated lengths of the vocal paths, corresponding to a vocal tract length of around 2 meters for nasal, and around 0.7 meters for oral rumbles. These results suggest that African elephants may be switching vocal paths to actively vary vocal tract length (with considerable variation in formants) according to context, and call for further research investigating the function of formant modulation in elephant vocalizations. Furthermore, by confirming the use of the elephant trunk in long distance rumble production, our findings provide an explanation for the extremely low formants in these calls, and may also indicate that formant lowering functions to increase call propagation distances in this species''.     

西双版纳勐海县勐阿水库对亚洲象迁移活动和人—象冲突的潜在影响

2020年1—12月,采用半结构式访查法、痕迹跟踪调查法和无人机跟踪调查法相结合的方法,对拟建西双版纳勐海县勐阿水库涉及区域的亚洲象种群结构、迁移路线等进行了调查,并采用样方法和3S技术对该区域亚洲象取食植物和栖息地适宜性进行了调查和分析,以探讨拟建勐阿水库可能对亚洲象迁移活动和人—象冲突的潜在影响。结果表明：(1)拟建勐阿水库区域活动的亚洲象小种群被称为澜沧江西部种群或西双版纳勐海—普洱澜沧种群,仅由19头亚洲象(10头雄性,9头雌性)组成,有2条亚洲象迁移路线穿越该区域;(2)在研究区域共统计到亚洲象取食植物12目19科32属33种,基本能满足该象群的取食需求;(3)海拔、坡度、植被隐蔽度及食物资源等生态因子的适宜性分析结果显示,大部分区域(包括占总面积14.61%的最适生境和占总面积82.05%的相对适宜生境)都能满足该亚洲象小种群的基本生活需求;(4)2条亚洲象迁移路线中的1条将因水库建设而阻断,迫使该象群改变原来的迁移路线;(5)水库淹没区的植被将被永久破坏,原本连片的适宜栖息地也将受到进一步切割和压缩影响;(6)当食物资源无法满足亚洲象生存需求时,它们可能会选择进入可在较短时间内获得大量食物的农耕区取食农作物和经济作物,随着人流、车流大量增加,亚洲象与人相遇的概率也会大幅度增加。分析认为,拟建勐阿水库将淹没1条迁移通道,对亚洲象迁移活动造成阻碍,迫使象群改变路线,还可能导致更为严重的人—象冲突。建议在水库工程设计和建设过程中采取有效的保护管理措施,减少工程项目对亚洲象种群及其栖息地的负面影响;水库建设和管理部门、林业和草原管理部门等应加强对亚洲象活动的监测和预警,避免亚洲象肇事造成人员伤亡和更大的经济损失。     

Increasing browse and social complexity can improve zoo elephant welfare

While recent work has assessed how environmental and managerial changes influence elephant welfare across multiple zoos, few studies have addressed the effects of management changes within a single institution. In this paper, we examine how management changes related to social structure and diet affect the behavior of a group of zoo elephants over a 23‐month period while also considering underlying factors, such as time of day, hormonal cycle, and individual differences. We recorded individual behaviors using 2‐min scan samples during 60‐min sessions. We analyzed behavioral changes across several study variables using generalized linear mixed models. We found that increasing browse can improve opportunities for foraging throughout the day but may not be sufficient to reduce repetitive behaviors. We observed that increasing group size and integration of bulls with cows can lead to increased social interaction in African elephants. Our results highlight the importance of using multiple management alterations to address elephant welfare, and considering environmental factors, when making management decisions.     

How selective are elephants as agents of forest tree damage in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park,Uganda?

Elephants are locally concentrated in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Vegetation damage attributable to elephants appears to be increasing and may result in the modification of the forest. We examined the implied selectivity of stem damage due to elephants. We followed 26.84 km of recent elephant trails and used 122 plots to document tree damage in relation to species, stem sizes and locations. Of 897 trees (DBH ≥2 cm), 542 (60.4%) were intact, 22 (2.5%) debarked, 274 (30.5%) toppled and 172 (19.2%) had broken branches. Small trees were more likely to be pushed over or have their branches broken, whereas large trees were more commonly debarked. The species most frequently selected for damage included mid‐successional species such as Newtonia buchananii, Myrianthus holstii and Chrysophyllum albidum. These species may be vulnerable to increasing elephant numbers. Our analyses using general linear models indicate that elephants are selective concerning where, how and what tree stems they damage. We found a higher incidence of elephant damage per‐tree stem in open areas than in more closed areas, suggesting feedback in which elephants maintain open habitats that may be conducive for other species such as mountain gorillas. More work is needed to better determine how changing elephant numbers may influence Bwindi's conservation values.     

Genomic DNA sequences from mastodon and woolly mammoth reveal deep speciation of forest and savanna elephants

To elucidate the history of living and extinct elephantids, we generated 39,763 bp of aligned nuclear DNA sequence across 375 loci for African savanna elephant, African forest elephant, Asian elephant, the extinct American mastodon, and the woolly mammoth. Our data establish that the Asian elephant is the closest living relative of the extinct mammoth in the nuclear genome, extending previous findings from mitochondrial DNA analyses. We also find that savanna and forest elephants, which some have argued are the same species, are as or more divergent in the nuclear genome as mammoths and Asian elephants, which are considered to be distinct genera, thus resolving a long-standing debate about the appropriate taxonomic classification of the African elephants. Finally, we document a much larger effective population size in forest elephants compared with the other elephantid taxa, likely reflecting species differences in ancient geographic structure and range and differences in life history traits such as variance in male reproductive success.     

Elephant Genomes Reveal Accelerated Evolution in Mechanisms Underlying Disease Defenses

Disease susceptibility and resistance are important factors for the conservation of endangered species, including elephants. We analyzed pathology data from 26 zoos and report that Asian elephants have increased neoplasia and malignancy prevalence compared with African bush elephants. This is consistent with observed higher susceptibility to tuberculosis and elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV) in Asian elephants. To investigate genetic mechanisms underlying disease resistance, including differential responses between species, among other elephant traits, we sequenced multiple elephant genomes. We report a draft assembly for an Asian elephant, and defined 862 and 1,017 conserved potential regulatory elements in Asian and African bush elephants, respectively. In the genomes of both elephant species, conserved elements were significantly enriched with genes differentially expressed between the species. In Asian elephants, these putative regulatory regions were involved in immunity pathways including tumor-necrosis factor, which plays an important role in EEHV response. Genomic sequences of African bush, forest, and Asian elephant genomes revealed extensive sequence conservation at TP53 retrogene loci across three species, which may be related to TP53 functionality in elephant cancer resistance. Positive selection scans revealed outlier genes related to additional elephant traits. Our study suggests that gene regulation plays an important role in the differential inflammatory response of Asian and African elephants, leading to increased infectious disease and cancer susceptibility in Asian elephants. These genomic discoveries can inform future functional and translational studies aimed at identifying effective treatment approaches for ill elephants, which may improve conservation.     

Circadian Rhythm of Salivary Cortisol in Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus): A Factor to Consider During Welfare Assessment

Elevated glucocorticoid levels during an extended time period might be a stress indicator in nonhuman animals. Therefore, knowledge of the circadian pattern of cortisol secretion is very important to correctly interpret data obtained for welfare assessment of animals in captivity through salivary cortisol. In order to define the circadian rhythm of salivary cortisol secretion in the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), morning and evening saliva samples of 3 Asian elephants were collected and analyzed by radioimmunoassay. Significantly higher salivary cortisol concentrations were found in the morning than in the evening in all individuals. These results show that salivary cortisol of Asian elephants follows a diurnal pattern of secretion, which could be taken into account when using this methodology to assess welfare in captive Asian elephants.     

How reliable are dung counts for estimating elephant numbers?

Dung counts are the most commonly used techniques for estimating elephant numbers in forests, yet there is considerable scepticism concerning their accuracy. Published accounts of dung counts show that they give estimates similar to those from other methods for vertebrates ranging in size from lizards to elephants. For ungulates, macropods and elephants there are strong correlations between estimates from dung counts and other methods. Thus, dung counts are as accurate or inaccurate as other methods for estimating vertebrate numbers, including elephants. Dung counts for elephants give estimates that are as precise as, and sometimes more precise than, those from aerial surveys of elephants. This is because the variance in dung density is usually low and results in a lower than expected variance for the final elephant estimate when combined with the variances of defecation and decay rates. Dung counts may be more appropriate than aerial surveys for monitoring small or declining elephant populations.     

Reconciling apparent conflicts between mitochondrial and nuclear phylogenies in African elephants

Conservation strategies for African elephants would be advanced by resolution of conflicting claims that they comprise one, two, three or four taxonomic groups, and by development of genetic markers that establish more incisively the provenance of confiscated ivory. We addressed these related issues by genotyping 555 elephants from across Africa with microsatellite markers, developing a method to identify those loci most effective at geographic assignment of elephants (or their ivory), and conducting novel analyses of continent-wide datasets of mitochondrial DNA. Results showed that nuclear genetic diversity was partitioned into two clusters, corresponding to African forest elephants (99.5% Cluster-1) and African savanna elephants (99.4% Cluster-2). Hybrid individuals were rare. In a comparison of basal forest "F" and savanna "S" mtDNA clade distributions to nuclear DNA partitions, forest elephant nuclear genotypes occurred only in populations in which S clade mtDNA was absent, suggesting that nuclear partitioning corresponds to the presence or absence of S clade mtDNA. We reanalyzed African elephant mtDNA sequences from 81 locales spanning the continent and discovered that S clade mtDNA was completely absent among elephants at all 30 sampled tropical forest locales. The distribution of savanna nuclear DNA and S clade mtDNA corresponded closely to range boundaries traditionally ascribed to the savanna elephant species based on habitat and morphology. Further, a reanalysis of nuclear genetic assignment results suggested that West African elephants do not comprise a distinct third species. Finally, we show that some DNA markers will be more useful than others for determining the geographic origins of illegal ivory. These findings resolve the apparent incongruence between mtDNA and nuclear genetic patterns that has confounded the taxonomy of African elephants, affirm the limitations of using mtDNA patterns to infer elephant systematics or population structure, and strongly support the existence of two elephant species in Africa.     

The historical development of zoo elephant survivorship

In the discussion about zoo elephant husbandry, the report of Clubb et al. (2008, Science 322: 1649) that zoo elephants had a “compromised survivorship” compared to certain non-zoo populations is a grave argument, and was possibly one of the triggers of a large variety of investigations into zoo elephant welfare, and changes in zoo elephant management. A side observation of that report was that whereas survivorship in African elephants (Loxodonta africana) improved since 1960, this was not the case in Asian elephants (Elephas maximus). We used historical data (based on the Species360 database) to revisit this aspect, including recent developments since 2008. Assessing the North American and European populations from 1910 until today, there were significant improvements of adult (≥10 years) survivorship in both species. For the period from 1960 until today, survivorship improvement was significant for African elephants and close to a significant improvement in Asian elephants; Asian elephants generally had a higher survivorship than Africans. Juvenile (<10 years) survivorship did not change significantly since 1960 and was higher in African elephants, most likely due to the effect of elephant herpes virus on Asian elephants. Current zoo elephant survivorship is higher than some, and lower than some other non-zoo populations. We discuss that in our view, the shape of the survivorship curve, and its change over time, are more relevant than comparisons with specific populations. Zoo elephant survivorship should be monitored continuously, and the expectation of a continuous trend towards improvement should be met.     

An elephantine challenge: human–elephant conflict distribution in the largest Asian elephant population,southern India

Wildlife conservation is a complex issue especially when it involves large carnivores or mega-herbivores that are conflict-prone. Karnataka state in southern India is known to harbor high density of wild elephants. This conservation success story also has opportunity costs for communities living in close proximity to elephants. Despite the fact that human–elephant conflict is a serious conservation and social issue, there is little quantitative understanding of conflict especially over large areas. Here we conduct the first analysis of human–elephant conflict distribution, severity and explanatory factors over the entire state of Karnataka. We use data from the state forest department records on villages that experience conflict, compensation payments made by the government, elephant densities, forest cover and perimeter, and presence of physical barriers to mitigate elephant conflict. In total, 60,939 incidences of crop loss were reported and US$ 2.99 m paid in compensation during April 2008–March 2011. A total of 91 people were killed by elephants and 101 elephants died in retaliatory killings during the study period. A total of 9.4 % of the state’s geographic area covering 25 of the 42 forest administrative divisions were affected. There was no significant difference in conflict incidences or compensation given between protected areas and non-protected areas. There was no correlation between conflict incidences/unit area and elephant density, forest cover, forest perimeter of protected areas and presence of physical barriers. The results depict the importance of efficient management of physical barriers, conserving key habitat linkages, and acts as baseline data for future work.     

Beehive fences as effective deterrents for crop‐raiding elephants: field trials in northern Kenya

Increasing elephant populations in Kenya since 1989 have been widely praised as a conservation success story. However, where elephants and agricultural land overlap, incidents of human–elephant conflict are on the increase. Wildlife managers and farmers are now trying different farm‐based deterrents to keep elephants out of crops. Here, we present data on the effectiveness of a novel beehive fence deployed in a Turkana community of 62 communally run farms in Kenya. Specifically, 1700 m of beehive fences semi‐surrounded the outer boundaries of seventeen farms, and we compared elephant farm invasion events with these and to seventeen neighbouring farms whose boundaries were ‘protected’ only by thorn bush barriers. We present data from 45 farm invasions, or attempted invasions, recorded over 2 years. Thirteen groups of elephants approached the beehive fences and turned away. Of the 32 successful farm invasions, only one bull elephant broke through the beehive fences. These results demonstrate that beehive fences are more effective than thorn bush barriers at deterring elephants and may have a role to play in alleviating farmer–elephant conflict. Additionally, the harvesting of 106 kg of honey during the trial period suggests that beehive fences may also improve crop production and enhance rural livelihoods through honey sales.     

Working with mahouts to explore the diet of work elephants in Myanmar (Burma)

At an elephant camp in central Myanmar (Burma), we interviewed mahouts and veterinarians to describe the diet of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) in a mixed-deciduous forest. Elephants showed a broad dietary breadth (103 plant species from 42 families); consumed mostly browse (94% of plant species); and were very selective about plant parts [e.g., many trees were eaten exclusively for their bark (22%) or fruits (14%)]. The fruits from 29 plant species were recorded to be eaten by elephants. Several of these were found as fruit remains, seeds, or seedlings in elephant dung, suggesting a role of Asian elephants in seed dispersal. Work elephants and their mahouts prove to be a rich source of information to understand wild elephant ecology.     

Spatio-Temporal Distribution of Injured Elephants in Masai Mara and the Putative Negative and Positive Roles of the Local Community

Background

Very few studies have ever focused on the elephants that are wounded or killed as local communities attempt to scare these animals away from their settlements and farms, or on the cases in which local people take revenge after elephants have killed or injured humans. On the other hand, local communities live in close proximity to elephants and hence can play a positive role in elephant conservation by informing the authorities of the presence of injured elephants.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Between 2007 and 2011, 129 elephants were monitored in Masai Mara (Kenya), of which 54 had various types of active (intentionally caused) or passive (non-intentionally caused) injuries. Also studied were 75 random control samples of apparently unaffected animals. The observed active injuries were as expected biased by age, with adults suffering more harm; on the other hand, no such bias was observed in the case of passive injuries. Bias was also observed in elephant sex since more males than females were passively and actively injured. Cases of passive and active injuries in elephants were negatively related to the proximity to roads and farms; the distribution of injured elephants was not affected by the presence of either human settlements or water sources. Overall more elephants were actively injured during the dry season than the wet season as expected. Local communities play a positive role by informing KWS authorities of the presence of injured elephants and reported 43% of all cases of injured elephants.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that the negative effect of local communities on elephants could be predicted by elephant proximity to farms and roads. In addition, local communities may be able to play a more positive role in elephant conservation given that they are key informants in the early detection of injured elephants.     

A case study: fecal corticosteroid and behavior as indicators of welfare during relocation of an Asian elephant

This study was a preliminary investigation of an enzyme immunoassay for measuring fecal glucocorticoid metabolites in a male Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) by investigating changes in behavior and cortisol metabolite excretion associated with a putative stressful event. The study collected fecal samples for 10 days prior to, and 10 days after, 24-hr transport and relocation of the elephant to a new herd. The study measured cortisol metabolites using 2 enzyme immunoassays indicating a 389% and 340% increase in cortisol metabolite excretion following relocation. Maximal cortisol metabolite excretion occurred 2 days after relocation and remained elevated during establishment of the new herd. Stereotypic behavior increased approximately 400% after relocation. The relocation disturbed sleep patterns, the elephant spent less time sleeping during the night, and the elephant slept standing up. These results provide preliminary evidence that noninvasive monitoring of fecal cortisol metabolites can be used to investigate adrenal activity in Asian elephants and may be a safe, practical, and accurate welfare indicator.