In-situ elephant populations have been in decline for much of the last 200 years, driven by an inexorable combination of habitat loss and hunting for ivory, but with more recent and dramatic declines primarily driven by hunting [1]. Consequently, the distribution and sustainability of elephant populations are now better predicted by human factors than ecological ones [2], underscoring the impor...

Two juvenile Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) presented with an acute onset of facial edema and lethargy. Examination of the oral cavity of each animal revealed cyanosis of the tip and distal margins of the tongue suggestive of endothelial inclusion body disease (EIBD) of elephants. Whole-blood samples were obtained, and polymerase chain reaction tests confirmed the presence of elephant herpes...

The blood biochemical analysis of bone markers could have a role in the early diagnosis of metabolic bone disease in animals; however, there is limited information on bone markers in captive Asian elephants (Elephas maximus). Serum samples from ten captive Asian elephants were obtained to clarify the relationship between age and the blood bone markers tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase isoform...

Juvenile mortality is a key factor influencing population growth rate in density-independent, predation-free, well-managed captive populations. Currently at least a quarter of all Asian elephants live in captivity, but both the wild and captive populations are unsustainable with the present fertility and calf mortality rates. Despite the need for detailed data on calf mortality to manage effect...

The Samburu pastoralists of Northern Kenya co-exist with African elephants, Loxodonta africana, and compete over resources such as watering holes. Audio playback experiments demonstrate that African elephants produce alarm calls in response to the voices of Samburu tribesmen. When exposed to adult male Samburu voices, listening elephants exhibited vigilance behavior, flight behavior, and produc...

Individual identification of the relatively cryptic forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) at forest clearings currently provides the highest quality monitoring data on this ecologically important but increasingly threatened species. Here we present baseline data from the first 20 years of an individually based study of this species, conducted at the Dzanga Clearing, Central African Republic. A t...

Conventionally, the assessment of adrenal responses to stress relies on blood sample collection. However, blood collection from animals is impossible without restraint or immobilisation that influences results. This study was undertaken to validate recently established enzyme immunoassays that measure faecal glucocorticoid metabolites in elephants, and to perform a preliminary investigation int...

Elephants, the largest living land mammals, have evolved a specialized foot morphology to help reduce locomotor pressures while supporting their large body mass. Peak pressures that could cause tissue damage are mitigated passively by the anatomy of elephants' feet, yet this mechanism does not seem to work well for some captive animals. This study tests how foot pressures vary among African and...

Elephants are widely assumed to be among the most cognitively advanced animals, even though systematic evidence is lacking. This void in knowledge is mainly due to the danger and difficulty of submitting the largest land animal to behavioral experiments. In an attempt to change this situation, a classical 1930s cooperation paradigm commonly tested on monkeys and apes was modified by using a pro...