Your browser doesn't support javascript.
loading
Physical activity and temperature changes of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) participating in eco-tourism activities and elephant polo.
Tilley, Hannah B; Murphy, Derek; Wierucka, Kaja; Wong, Tsz Ching; Surreault-Châble, Annaëlle; Mumby, Hannah S.
Affiliation
  • Tilley HB; Applied Behavioural Ecology and Conservation Lab, Area of Ecology and Biodiversity, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR.
  • Murphy D; Applied Behavioural Ecology and Conservation Lab, Area of Ecology and Biodiversity, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR.
  • Wierucka K; German Primate Centre-Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Cognitive Ethology Laboratory, Göttingen, Germany.
  • Wong TC; Department for Primate Cognition, Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach Institute, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
  • Surreault-Châble A; Applied Behavioural Ecology and Conservation Lab, Area of Ecology and Biodiversity, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR.
  • Mumby HS; German Primate Center-Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology Unit, Göttingen, Germany.
PLoS One ; 19(5): e0300373, 2024.
Article in En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38696403
ABSTRACT
Captive and domestic animals are often required to engage in physical activity initiated or organised by humans, which may impact their body temperature, with consequences for their health and welfare. This is a particular concern for animals such as elephants that face thermoregulatory challenges because of their body size and physiology. Using infrared thermography, we measured changes in skin temperature associated with two types of physical activity in ten female Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) at an eco-tourism lodge in Nepal. Six elephants took part in an activity relatively unfamiliar to the elephants-a polo tournament-and four participated in more familiar ecotourism activities. We recorded skin temperatures for four body regions affected by the activities, as well as an average skin temperature. Temperature change was used as the response variable in the analysis and calculated as the difference in elephant temperature before and after activity. We found no significant differences in temperature change between the elephants in the polo-playing group and those from the non-polo playing group. However, for both groups, when comparing the average skin body temperature and several different body regions, we found significant differences in skin temperature change before and after activity. The ear pinna was the most impacted region and was significantly different to all other body regions. This result highlights the importance of this region in thermoregulation for elephants during physical activity. However, as we found no differences between the average body temperatures of the polo and non-polo playing groups, we suggest that thermoregulatory mechanisms can counteract the effects of both physical activities the elephants engaged in.
Subject(s)

Full text: 1 Collection: 01-internacional Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Skin Temperature / Elephants Limits: Animals Language: En Journal: PLoS One Journal subject: CIENCIA / MEDICINA Year: 2024 Document type: Article Country of publication:

Full text: 1 Collection: 01-internacional Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Skin Temperature / Elephants Limits: Animals Language: En Journal: PLoS One Journal subject: CIENCIA / MEDICINA Year: 2024 Document type: Article Country of publication: