Identifying potential measures of stress and disturbance during a captive to wild African elephant reintegration.

ABSTRACT: There is increasing evidence of compromised welfare for elephants managed in captivity. Should such facilities eventually close, more elephants will need to be rehabilitated and reintegrated into the wild. The goal of such reintegration would be to restore any physical or psychological aspects of the elephant that may have been compromised in captivity, followed by introduction into a free-roaming system where they can interact with other elephants. However, to achieve this goal, the reintegration methods implemented need to be assessed to ensure that welfare remains the priority. The objective of this study was to test whether parameters generally associated with stress and disturbance in African elephants, respond to changes in potentially stressful environmental conditions, assessed at

SUBMITTER: Pretorius Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10547182 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature