Behavioural welfare assessment of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) in Thailand tourist camps

Information from the abstract

Captive elephant welfare is a concern, particularly at tourist camps in Thailand, where many venues face Western boycotts over practices viewed as unethical, including elephant riding, chain restraints, and the use of an ankus by mahouts. To move beyond beliefs and emotions, structured and scientifically grounded tools are needed to assess elephant welfare in these contexts. We developed a behavioural welfare assessment tool for tourist camp elephants that generated an individual Behaviour Score based on focal-animal sampling and Qualitative Behavioural Assessment. We evaluated its relevance by examining its association with faecal glucocorticoid metabolite (fGCM) concentrations as a proxy indicator of stress. Data were collected on 31 elephants (13 males, 18 females) at three tourist camps in Chiang Mai, Thailand, representing different tourist activity programs. Stereotypic behaviours were observed at least once in 93.5% of elephants during a 1-hour assessment period per elephant. Elephants exhibited a higher percentage of negative behaviours when chained. By contrast, older elephants and those at camps with the highest tourist activity were less likely to exhibit stereotypic behaviours. Tourist activity type was not a significant predictor of Behaviour Scores, challenging the assumption that tourist interaction necessarily reduces elephant welfare. Higher Behaviour Scores and shorter durations of stereotypic behaviour were associated with lower fGCM concentrations, indicating the tool captured biologically meaningful variation in welfare. Together, these results suggest that prolonged chaining, rather than tourist contact alone, is a key driver of poor welfare. Future research should include nighttime observations and longitudinal sampling to better capture behavioural dynamics over time, and investigate the impact of specific management practices and life history events on elephant behaviour.

Why this record is monitored

This record has an Impact Signal of 70/100 based on recency, source, collaboration, and bibliographic signals. It prioritizes monitoring and is not a judgment of research quality.

Related topics: Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies · Wildlife Ecology and Conservation · Human-Animal Interaction Studies