Environmental Enrichment and Its Effect on the Welfare of Two Asian Elephants in African Safari Wildlife Conservation Park (Puebla, Mexico)
Publication Type: |
Journal Article |
Year of Publication: |
2023 |
Authors: |
Martha Trinidad Pérez Ramírez, Nora Garcez Mercado, María Rebeca Rojas Ronquillo, Marco Antonio Alarcón Zapata, Melina Maribel Ojeda Chi, Carlos David Pérez Brígido, Abigail Tabarez Rojas |
Publication/Journal: |
Open Journal of Animal Sciences |
Keywords: |
animal welfare, asian elephant, behavior, environmental enrichment |
Abstract:
Animal welfare is important in zoos to maintain the physical well-being and psychological health of individuals. An animal is considered to have welfare if it has good nutrition and also expresses its innate behavior, including sensations and feelings experienced as a result of physical health. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of environmental enrichment on the behaviors of two Asian elephants in a wildlife conservation park. The behavior of two Asian elephants, a 46-year-old male and a 59-year-old female, was observed. Behavior was measured by quantifying the frequency, latency, and duration of behavioral actions. Measurements were done with ad libitum sampling during 5 days of testing, then observations were recorded with focal sampling for 25 days with environmental enrichment and 25 days without enrichment. Data were analyzed with the Chi-square statistical test using the statistical program SPSS 20, observing significant differences (P < 0.0001) in the type of behavioral actions with and without the application of environmental enrichment. The frequency of maintenance behaviors was higher when environmental enrichment was provided, and the frequency of social conducts (affiliative and agonistic) decreased. In fact, the behaviors most frequently presented by elephants with and without environmental enrichment were definitely maintenance behaviors. The environmental enrichment program helped to reduce the duration of abnormal behaviors and increase the frequency of typical behaviors of the species. It also increased independent movements within the exhibition area and helped to know each of the elephants individually in order to apply each enrichment combination according to their needs.