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Housing and Social Environments of African (Loxodonta africana) and Asian (Elephas maximus) Elephants in North American Zoos

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  • Cheryl L Meehan
  • Jennifer N Hogan
  • Mary K Bonaparte-Saller
  • Joy A Mench

Abstract

We evaluated 255 African (Loxodonta africana) and Asian (Elephas maximus) elephants living in 68 North American zoos over one year to quantify housing and social variables. All parameters were quantified for the both the day and the night and comparisons were made across these time periods as well as by species and sex. To assess housing, we evaluated not only total exhibit size, but also individual animals’ experiences based on the time they spent in the unique environments into which the exhibits were subdivided. Variables developed to assess housing included measurements of area as a function of time (Total Space Experience), environment type (Indoor, Outdoor, In/Out Choice) and time spent on hard and soft flooring. Over the year, Total Space Experience values ranged from 1,273 square feet to 169,692 square feet, with Day values significantly greater than Night values (p

Suggested Citation

  • Cheryl L Meehan & Jennifer N Hogan & Mary K Bonaparte-Saller & Joy A Mench, 2016. "Housing and Social Environments of African (Loxodonta africana) and Asian (Elephas maximus) Elephants in North American Zoos," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(7), pages 1-22, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0146703
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0146703
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ros Clubb & Georgia Mason, 2003. "Captivity effects on wide-ranging carnivores," Nature, Nature, vol. 425(6957), pages 473-474, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Lisa Yon & Ellen Williams & Naomi D Harvey & Lucy Asher, 2019. "Development of a behavioural welfare assessment tool for routine use with captive elephants," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(2), pages 1-20, February.
    2. Cheryl L Meehan & Joy A Mench & Kathy Carlstead & Jennifer N Hogan, 2016. "Determining Connections between the Daily Lives of Zoo Elephants and Their Welfare: An Epidemiological Approach," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(7), pages 1-15, July.
    3. Kari A Morfeld & Janine L Brown, 2017. "Metabolic health assessment of zoo elephants: Management factors predicting leptin levels and the glucose-to-insulin ratio and their associations with health parameters," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(11), pages 1-18, November.
    4. Elissa Z Cameron & Sadie J Ryan, 2016. "Welfare at Multiple Scales: Importance of Zoo Elephant Population Welfare in a World of Declining Wild Populations," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(7), pages 1-4, July.

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