Newman, Lucy
(2024)
The welfare impact of traditional taming on Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) calves in Myanmar: Assessing the influence of personality.
MRes thesis, University of Nottingham.
Abstract
Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) have experienced a global population decline of at least 50% over the last 75 years, due to various anthropogenic activities. As wild numbers decrease, there is greater dependence on (semi-)captive populations, particularly in range countries, to preserve this endangered species. Currently, ~30% of the remaining ~50,000 Asian elephants live in captivity, a proportion expected to rise in future. However, captive populations are also in decline, due partially to high calf mortality. Elephants in captivity rely on human management, and so keepers/handlers have a responsibility to maintain good health and welfare of all individuals. Welfare refers to an animal’s collective physical, mental, and emotional states over time. Poor welfare is associated with reduced reproduction, and increased morbidity and mortality, which all limit population growth.
Myanmar is home to the largest population of captive Asian elephants (~5000), who are predominantly used for timber extraction in the logging industry. To prepare captive-born calves for this work, they are ‘tamed’ (aged 4-5 years) using traditional methods. This taming process has been linked to a peak in juvenile mortality and reduced welfare. It is anticipated that the welfare impact of taming will be influenced by several factors, including demographic features and individual differences in calf personality. Animal personality is linked to stress physiology and coping ability, suggesting that individuals with certain personality traits may tolerate exposure to stressors (e.g. taming) better than others. Furthermore, some personality traits identified in elephants have previously been correlated with serum cortisol, an indicator of welfare.
In this study, associations between calf personality and welfare during taming are explored through statistical analyses of physiological welfare indicators (serum cortisol, faecal glucocorticoid metabolites [FGM], creatine kinase [CK], glucose, and heterophil: lymphocyte ratio [H:L]) and physical welfare indicators from calf veterinary logbooks (e.g. incidence of wounds), in relation to elephant personality trait ratings carried out by mahouts (elephant handlers). Mixed- and fixed-effects statistical models were used, and significant associations were identified between three personality traits (‘aggressive’, ‘fearful’, and ‘obedient’) and different welfare indicators (serum cortisol, FGM, CK, H:L, and incidence of tool wounds) during the first 10 days (measured daily), and subsequent six months (measured monthly) of taming. Model results demonstrated that for every one-point increase in the ‘fearful’ trait, mean CK increased by 486.7 U/L (95% CI: 203.9-769.6, P-value: <0.05, R2 = 28.4%) during the first 10 days, and for every one-point increase in ‘obedient’, mean serum cortisol increased by 5.09 ng/ml (95% CI: 1.10-9.08, P-value: <0.05, R2 = 27.3%). This study provides the first evidence for connections between personality and welfare in elephant calves experiencing traditional taming practices. Increasing our understanding of the factors influencing health and welfare during taming can help to inform calf management and monitoring approaches, particularly those identified as being potentially more vulnerable to stress. This may be crucial to improve calf survival, promote semi-captive population growth and sustainability, and ultimately to support long-term Asian elephant conservation.
| Item Type: |
Thesis (University of Nottingham only)
(MRes)
|
| Supervisors: |
Yon, Lisa
Gardner, David |
| Keywords: |
Asian elephants; Elephants in captivity; Calf personality; Taming; Elephant welfare |
| Subjects: |
S Agriculture > SF Animal culture |
| Faculties/Schools: |
UK Campuses > Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > School of Veterinary Medicine and Science |
| Item ID: |
77276 |
| Depositing User: |
Newman, Lucy
|
| Date Deposited: |
09 Aug 2024 13:20 |
| Last Modified: |
09 Aug 2024 13:20 |
| URI: |
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/id/eprint/77276 |
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