Influence of handler relationships and experience on health parameters, glucocorticoid responses and behaviour of semi-captive Asian elephants.

ABSTRACT: Declining wild populations combined with accumulating captive populations of e.g. livestock, pets, draught and zoo animals have resulted in some threatened species with substantial proportions of their populations in captivity. The interactions animals have with humans in captivity depend on handler familiarity and relationship quality and can affect animal health, growth and reproduction with consequences for the success of conservation programmes. However, assessments of how specific human-animal relationships affect a range of physiological and behavioural outcomes are rare. Here, we studied semi-captive Asian elephants with detailed records of elephant-handler (mahout) relationships and veterinary management, allowing assessment of multiple welfare indicators in relation to specific ma

SUBMITTER: Crawley JAH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8528106 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature