A preliminary study of the behavioral effects of feeding enrichment on African elephants

Stoinski, Tara S.; Daniel, Everton; Maple, Terry L.

doi:10.1002/1098-2361(2000)19:6<485::aid-zoo1>3.0.co;2-5

Cited by 47 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…In this study, 37.9% of the observation period was spent foraging, 13.2% of the time spent in locomotion, and 17.6% of the time spent standing. Stoinski, Daniel, and Maple (2000) collected data on a group of African elephants (Loxodonta africana) in a zoological park for 30 minutes twice a day, using scan sampling, and determined feeding occurred for 47-80% of the scans in the morning and 20.5-36.7% in the afternoon, with longer feeding times seen when feeding enrichment was implemented. Locomotion was observed for 3.3-6.5%, while inactivity occurred between 0.6-7.6% of the scans.…”

Section: Activity Time Budgetsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Diurnal and Nocturnal Activity Time Budgets of Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus) in a Zoological Park

Lukacs¹,

Poulin²,

Besenthal³

et al. 2016

AB&C

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-The diurnal and nocturnal activity time budgets of five adult female Asian elephants (Elephas maximus)were studied in a zoological park for two 24-hour, five 14-hour, and one 9-hour observation periods between May and June 2011. Relatively few studies have looked at detailed daytime and nighttime activity time budgets in captive Asian elephants. Continuous observation was used to measure the activity time budgets of at least one focal animal per observation period. The activity time budgets varied between animals and observation periods. The elephants spent 17-49% of the day (daylight hours) standing, 1-9% of the day walking, 19-44% of the day eating, and 1-20% of the day using enrichment items. At night, the elephants spent 29-87% of the observation period standing, 1-19% of the night eating, and 0.1-10% of the night using enrichment items. At night, elephants spent 0-45% of the observation period lying down. Variations in activity time budgets between elephants and observation periods have been observed in other studies of captive and wild elephants. Results of this observational study allow comparison between groups of captive elephants and between captive and wild elephants. Furthermore, results of this study can inform management strategies.

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Section: Activity Time Budgetsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous studies have seen mixed results when considering whether an increase in enrichment use is associated with a decrease in inactivity. Stoinski et al (2000) did find a negative correlation between enrichment use and inactivity, while Gloyns (2000) did not find such a correlation.…”

Section: Enrichment Usementioning

confidence: 99%

Diurnal and Nocturnal Activity Time Budgets of Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus) in a Zoological Park

Lukacs¹,

Poulin²,

Besenthal³

et al. 2016

AB&C

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“…Elephants in captivity also receive frequent stimulation from their environment. Some of these stimuli come from human activities, like zoo visitors and exhibit construction, while others are produced through environmental enrichment to simulate the level and sometimes type of stimuli that occur naturally [Stoinski et al, 2000]. Captive elephants are provided with many forms of environmental enrichment, such as toys, music, and different feeding activities [Stoinski et al, 2000;Wells and Irwin, 2008;Wiedenmayer, 1998].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Habituation to Auditory Stimuli by Captive African Elephants (Loxodonta africana)

Goodyear¹,

Schulte²

2015

AB&C

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“…Enrichment strategies vary widely according to species, staff availability and the ingenuity of their keepers. With a few exceptions (and elephant management is one of them; Sevenich, Upchurch & Mellen, 1998; Shepherdson, 1999; Stoinski, Daniel & Maple, 2000) it has rarely been tested in a rigorous fashion as to whether these measures purported to be beneficial actually are. Many enrichment programs, sometimes of necessity, are highly contrived and find no equivalent in a species’ natural environment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is painting by elephants in zoos as enriching as we are led to believe?

English

Kaplan

Rogers

2014

PeerJ

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The relationship between the activity of painting and performance of stereotyped and other stress-related behaviour was investigated in four captive Asian elephants at Melbourne Zoo, Australia. The activity involved the elephant being instructed to paint on a canvas by its keeper in front of an audience. Painting by elephants in zoos is commonly believed to be a form of enrichment, but this assumption had not been based on any systematic research. If an activity is enriching we would expect stress-related behaviour to be reduced but we found no evidence of the elephants anticipating the painting activity and no effect on the performance of stereotyped or other stress-related behaviour either before or after the painting session. This indicates that the activity does not fulfil one of the main aims of enrichment. However, if an elephant was not selected to paint on a given day this was associated with higher levels of non-interactive behaviour, a possible indicator of stress. Behavioural observations associated with ear, eye and trunk positions during the painting session showed that the elephant’s attentiveness to the painting activity or to the keeper giving instruction varied between individuals. Apart from positive reinforcement from the keeper, the results indicated that elephants gain little enrichment from the activity of painting. Hence, the benefits of this activity appear to be limited to the aesthetic appeal of these paintings to the people viewing them.

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A preliminary study of the behavioral effects of feeding enrichment on African elephants

Cited by 47 publications

References 10 publications

Diurnal and Nocturnal Activity Time Budgets of Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus) in a Zoological Park

Diurnal and Nocturnal Activity Time Budgets of Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus) in a Zoological Park

Habituation to Auditory Stimuli by Captive African Elephants (Loxodonta africana)

Is painting by elephants in zoos as enriching as we are led to believe?

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