Associations among tourist camp management, high and low tourist seasons, and welfare factors in female Asian elephants in Thailand

Abstract

This study investigated how camp management and tourist activities affect body condition, adrenocortical function, lipid profiles and metabolic status in female tourist elephants. We compared twice monthly serum insulin, glucose, fructosamine, total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low density lipoprotein (LDL), high density lipoprotein (HDL), and fecal glucocorticoid metabolite (FGM) concentrations to body condition scores (BCS) at five camps with different management styles (e.g., tourist activities, work type, diet) between the High (November–February) and Low (March–October) tourist seasons. There were significant camp effects on health parameters, with BCS, TC, HDL, insulin and glucose being among the highest, and G:I being the lowest (less heathy) in elephants at an observation camp compared to those at camps where elephants received exercise by providing rides to tourists. Differences between High and Low tourist season months also were found for all measures, except TG and FGM concentrations. Both work time and walking distance were negatively correlated to glucose, fructosamine and insulin, while walking distance was negatively related to FGM concentrations. By contrast, positive associations were found between tourist number and BCS, TG, and insulin, perhaps related to tourists feeding elephants. Quantity of supplementary diet items (e.g., bananas, sugar cane, pumpkin) were positively correlated with FGM concentrations, glucose, fructosamine, and insulin. This study provides evidence that body condition, adrenal activity, metabolic markers, and lipid profiles in captive elephants may be affected by visitor numbers, work activities, and the amount of supplementary foods offered by tourists. Some activities appear to have negative (e.g., feeding), while others (e.g., exercise) may have positive effects on health and welfare. We conclude that camps adopting a more hands-off approach to tourism need to ensure elephants remain healthy by providing environments that encourage activity and rely on more natural diets or foraging.

Commonalities in Management and Husbandry Factors Important for Health and Welfare of Captive Elephants in North America and Thailand

“…In general, females had higher BCSs than males, and within sex category, elephants in the US had higher scores. The amount of walking-based exercise was a strong predictor of BCS [20,[26][27][28], which agrees with other studies showing that walking is an effective means of controlling body fat [38][39][40]. In North America, elephants involved in staff-directed walking of 14 h or more per week had a decreased risk of BCS 4 or 5 [20], whereas in Thailand, better body condition was associated with increased work time and walking distance in elephants used for riding [26][27][28].…”

“…However, increased exercise during tourist activities likely helps them maintain better body condition, which was lower on average than in North America. Similarly, those that worked more hours per day in the form of saddle or bareback riding had lower BCSs [26][27][28]. Our recent survey of tourist camps in Thailand noted a shift in how elephants are managed, with newer camps offering more intimate, passive experiences, and less reliance on activities such as riding [4].…”

“…Mahouts (elephant keepers) were also asked about the presence or absence of stereotypic behaviors. Finally, correlations between management, diet, and work activities, and BCS, FGM, and serum metabolic (insulin, glucose) and lipid markers were examined in a third set of 46 elephants (33 females, 13 males at five camps) [26][27][28] that could be blood sampled. The FGM and insulin EIAs were the same as those employed in the North American studies.…”

“…However, we propose that if elephants are not used for riding or shows, the amount and caloric content of food must also be reduced. Indeed, a popular activity for Thailand tourists is feeding elephants, particularly bananas and sugar cane, which possess high concentrations of sucrose and other soluble sugars that appear to be contributing to high BCS and metabolic derangements [26][27][28]. Interestingly, a training variable (positive reward/stimuli) in the univariate analysis in North America was associated with high BCS, which suggested the more frequent use of treats during training may contribute to weight problems.…”

“…Once known, effective strategies can then be developed to minimize those risks [14]. While mostly applied to disease risks, recent integrative studies conducted by our team utilized a variety of tools and analytical techniques to assess how the captive environment affects physiological and psychological wellbeing of Asian elephants in North America [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] and Thailand [26][27][28][29][30]. The North American studies involved~90% of elephants housed in American Zoo and Aquarium (AZA) facilities [31] and was followed a few years later by a series of comparable studies using similar methodologies in Northern Thailand tourist camps.…”