Contact directed by uninvolved bystanders toward others in distress, often termed consolation, is uncommon in the animal kingdom, thus far only demonstrated in the great apes, canines, and corvids. Whereas the typical agonistic context of such contact is relatively rare within natural elephant families, other causes of distress may trigger similar, other-regarding responses. In a study carried ...

The occurrence of multiple corpora lutea (CLs) in the ovaries of the cycling and pregnant elephant, a monovulatory mammal, has driven scientific discussions during the past five decades. However, fundamental knowledge on luteogenesis is lacking. In this long-term study, CL formation and regression throughout the estrous cycle were monitored using transrectal 2D- and 3D ultrasonography in 33 cap...

A cross-sectional study was conducted from 10 January to 9 April 2012, to determine the seroprevalence of tuberculosis (TB) of all captive Asian elephants and their handlers in six locations in Peninsular Malaysia. In addition, trunk-wash samples were examined for tubercle bacillus by culture and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). For 63 elephants and 149 elephant handlers, TB seroprevalence was ...

Gajah sumatera (Elephas maximus sumatranus) merupakan salah satu kekayaan fauna indonesia yang termasuk satwa dilindungi. bukan hemat terhadap pakan dan cenderung banyak meninggalkan sisa makanan bila masih terdapat lebih disukainya. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui jenis-jenis alami tingkat palatabilitas gajah sumatera. Berdasarkan hasil inventarisasi jenis tumbuhan ditemukan 14 d...

The field of animal cognition has grown steadily for nearly four decades, but the primary focus has centered on easily kept lab animals of varying cognitive capacity, including rodents, birds and primates. Elephants (animals not easily kept in a laboratory) are generally thought of as highly social, cooperative, intelligent animals, yet few studies-with the exception of long-term behavioral fie...

African (Loxodonta africana) and Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) have lived in the care of humans for many years, yet there is no consensus concerning some basic parameters describing their newborn calves. This study provides a broad empirical basis for generalizations about the birth heights, birth weights, birth times and gestation periods of elephant calves born in captivity. I obtained da...

Elephant-mediated transmission of tuberculosis is assumed to be similar to human models, which state close and prolonged contact with an infected individual is required for transmission. Although considered a risk factor for infection, several case studies have reported that close contact with an elephant is not always necessary for transmission, and the role of aerosolized bacteria remains unc...

Th is article is about the use of trained Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) for transportation, in particular across muddy or fl ooded terrain, clandestine off road transportation, and during guerrilla operations or political revolts. In a sense, these are all in fact the same transport task: the terrestrial conveyance of people and supplies when, due to weather or politics or both, roads canno...