Handler familiarity helps to improve working performance during novel situations in semi-captive Asian elephants

Abstract

Working animals spend hours each day in close contact with humans and require training to understand commands and fulfil specific tasks. However, factors driving cooperation between humans and animals are still unclear, and novel situations may present challenges that have been little-studied to-date. We investigated factors driving cooperation between humans and animals in a working context through behavioural experiments with 52 working semi-captive Asian elephants. Human-managed Asian elephants constitute approximately a third of the remaining Asian elephants in the world, the majority of which live in their range countries working alongside traditional handlers. We investigated how the familiarity and experience of the handler as well as the elephant’s age and sex affected their responses when asked to perform a basic task and to cross a novel surface. The results highlighted that when novelty is involved in a working context, an elephant’s relationship length with their handler can affect their cooperation: elephants who had worked with their handler for over a year were more willing to cross the novel surface than those who had a shorter relationship with their handler. Older animals also tended to refuse to walk on the novel surface more but the sex did not affect their responses. Our study contributes much needed knowledge on human-working animal relationships which should be considered when adjusting training methods and working habits.

What drives horse success at following human-given cues? An investigation of handler familiarity and living conditions

“…In experiments based on the same population of horses as in this study, Liehrmann et al ( 2022 ) found that older horses agreed more often to walk on a novel surface when led by someone familiar than someone unfamiliar, and horses with longer relationship with their owner performed less reluctant behaviours towards the novel objects than horses having shorter relationship with their caretaker. Similarly, working Asian elephants agreed more often to step on a novel surface with and handler they knew for more than a year (Liehrmann et al 2021 ). In our study, the experiment involved free participation from the horses and included food reward so the informant was probably quickly associated with something positive.…”

“…One way to be more specific is to consider the relationship length between the familiar person and the animal. In working Asian elephants, the relationship length affected the elephants’ response in test situations; the elephants agreed more often to step on a novel surface and responded faster when they were called by a familiar handler whom they had known for a longer time (Crawley et al 2021 ; Liehrmann et al 2021 ). In horses, recent findings from Liehrmann et al ( 2022 ) show that older horses agreed more often to walk on a novel surface when led by someone familiar than someone unfamiliar, and in general horses with a longer relationship with their owner were less scared of novelty than horses having a shorter relationship with their handler.…”

“…(1) The main hypothesis is that horses perform better with a familiar informant than with an unfamiliar informant (Krueger et al 2011 ). (2) When the given cues are performed by a familiar informant (main caretaker of the horse), we expect the horses’ success to improve with the length of their relationship (Liehrmann et al 2021 , 2022 ). We do not expect the relationship length with the main caretaker to affect the horses’ performances when tested with an unfamiliar informant.…”

Longitudinal Analysis of Variability in Fecal Glucocorticoid Metabolite Concentrations in Three Orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus and Pongo pygmaeus abelii) before, during, and after Transition from a Regular Habitat Environment to Temporary Housing in Indoor Holding Facilities

“…The relationship between care staff familiarity and positive impacts has also been demonstrated in other species. For instance, more established care staff to animal relationships were associated with increased willingness to embrace new surfaces [ 38 ] and successful task completion [ 39 ] in Asian elephants ( Elephas maximus ). While a more in-depth study is needed to quantify the effect of increased contact with care staff on the physiological changes associated with dramatic habitat differences, we believe that the intense care and positive relationships provided by our care staff may have helped to buffer the orangutans from the potential stressful effects of the two moves and housing changes.…”

Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and international travel ban on elephant tourist camp management in northern Thailand

“…Strong ties between mahouts and elephants also can predict levels of cooperation. When elephants were asked to cross a novel surface (low bridge), those that had worked with their handler for over a year were more willing to cross it than those with a shorter relationship (66). Likewise, elephants responded more, and faster, in behavioral tasks in response to mahouts they had known longer (63).…”