Emotional States of African Elephants (<i>Loxodonta africana</i>) Kept for Animal–Visitor Interactions, as Perceived by People Differing in Age and Knowledge of the Species
This study aimed to investigate how three groups of people of differing ages, and with differing knowledge of the species, perceived the emotional state of African elephants (<i>Loxodonta africana</i>) managed in captive and semi-captive environments. Fifteen video-clips of 18 elephants,...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2021-03-01
|
| Series: | Animals |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/3/826 |
| _version_ | 1797541320527446016 |
|---|---|
| author | Ilaria Pollastri Simona Normando Barbara Contiero Gregory Vogt Donatella Gelli Veronica Sergi Elena Stagni Sean Hensman Elena Mercugliano Barbara de Mori |
| author_facet | Ilaria Pollastri Simona Normando Barbara Contiero Gregory Vogt Donatella Gelli Veronica Sergi Elena Stagni Sean Hensman Elena Mercugliano Barbara de Mori |
| author_sort | Ilaria Pollastri |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This study aimed to investigate how three groups of people of differing ages, and with differing knowledge of the species, perceived the emotional state of African elephants (<i>Loxodonta africana</i>) managed in captive and semi-captive environments. Fifteen video-clips of 18 elephants, observed during three different daily routines (release from and return to the night <i>boma</i>; interactions with visitors), were used for a free choice profiling assessment (FCP) and then analyzed with quantitative methods. A general Procrustes analysis identified two main descriptive dimensions of elephant behavioral expression explaining 27% and 19% of the variability in the children group, 19% and 23.7% in adults, and 21.8% and 17% in the expert group. All the descriptors the observers came up with showed a low level of correlation on the identified dimensions. All three observers’ groups showed a degree of separation between captive and semi-captive management. Spearman analyses showed that stereotypic “trunk swirling” behavior correlated negatively with first dimension (free/friendly versus sad/bored) in the children’s group; second dimension (agitated/confident versus angry/bored) amongst the adults; and first dimension (active/excited versus agitated/bored) amongst the experts. More studies are needed to investigate other potential differences in assessing elephants’ emotional states by visitors of different ages and backgrounds. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:13:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-33b3e124216a4b2e8376021b51f38a21 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:13:17Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-33b3e124216a4b2e8376021b51f38a212023-11-21T10:33:41ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152021-03-0111382610.3390/ani11030826Emotional States of African Elephants (<i>Loxodonta africana</i>) Kept for Animal–Visitor Interactions, as Perceived by People Differing in Age and Knowledge of the SpeciesIlaria Pollastri0Simona Normando1Barbara Contiero2Gregory Vogt3Donatella Gelli4Veronica Sergi5Elena Stagni6Sean Hensman7Elena Mercugliano8Barbara de Mori9Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padua, viale dell’Università 16, Agripolis, 35020 Legnaro, ItalyDepartment of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padua, viale dell’Università 16, Agripolis, 35020 Legnaro, ItalyDepartment of Animal Medicine, Production and Health, University of Padua, viale dell’Università 16, Agripolis, 35020 Legnaro, ItalyEthics Laboratory for Veterinary Medicine, Conservation, and Animal Welfare, University of Padua, viale dell’Università 16, Agripolis, 35020 Legnaro, ItalyDepartment of Animal Medicine, Production and Health, University of Padua, viale dell’Università 16, Agripolis, 35020 Legnaro, ItalySchool of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, University of Padua, viale dell’Università 16, Agripolis, 35020 Legnaro, ItalyIndependent Researcher, Via Ranzani 17, 40127 Bologna, ItalyAdventures with Elephants, Bela Bela, Limpopo 0480, South AfricaEthics Laboratory for Veterinary Medicine, Conservation, and Animal Welfare, University of Padua, viale dell’Università 16, Agripolis, 35020 Legnaro, ItalyDepartment of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padua, viale dell’Università 16, Agripolis, 35020 Legnaro, ItalyThis study aimed to investigate how three groups of people of differing ages, and with differing knowledge of the species, perceived the emotional state of African elephants (<i>Loxodonta africana</i>) managed in captive and semi-captive environments. Fifteen video-clips of 18 elephants, observed during three different daily routines (release from and return to the night <i>boma</i>; interactions with visitors), were used for a free choice profiling assessment (FCP) and then analyzed with quantitative methods. A general Procrustes analysis identified two main descriptive dimensions of elephant behavioral expression explaining 27% and 19% of the variability in the children group, 19% and 23.7% in adults, and 21.8% and 17% in the expert group. All the descriptors the observers came up with showed a low level of correlation on the identified dimensions. All three observers’ groups showed a degree of separation between captive and semi-captive management. Spearman analyses showed that stereotypic “trunk swirling” behavior correlated negatively with first dimension (free/friendly versus sad/bored) in the children’s group; second dimension (agitated/confident versus angry/bored) amongst the adults; and first dimension (active/excited versus agitated/bored) amongst the experts. More studies are needed to investigate other potential differences in assessing elephants’ emotional states by visitors of different ages and backgrounds.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/3/826African elephantqualitative behavior assessmentfree-choice profilingsemi-captive managementwelfarehuman–animal interaction |
| spellingShingle | Ilaria Pollastri Simona Normando Barbara Contiero Gregory Vogt Donatella Gelli Veronica Sergi Elena Stagni Sean Hensman Elena Mercugliano Barbara de Mori Emotional States of African Elephants (<i>Loxodonta africana</i>) Kept for Animal–Visitor Interactions, as Perceived by People Differing in Age and Knowledge of the Species Animals African elephant qualitative behavior assessment free-choice profiling semi-captive management welfare human–animal interaction |
| title | Emotional States of African Elephants (<i>Loxodonta africana</i>) Kept for Animal–Visitor Interactions, as Perceived by People Differing in Age and Knowledge of the Species |
| title_full | Emotional States of African Elephants (<i>Loxodonta africana</i>) Kept for Animal–Visitor Interactions, as Perceived by People Differing in Age and Knowledge of the Species |
| title_fullStr | Emotional States of African Elephants (<i>Loxodonta africana</i>) Kept for Animal–Visitor Interactions, as Perceived by People Differing in Age and Knowledge of the Species |
| title_full_unstemmed | Emotional States of African Elephants (<i>Loxodonta africana</i>) Kept for Animal–Visitor Interactions, as Perceived by People Differing in Age and Knowledge of the Species |
| title_short | Emotional States of African Elephants (<i>Loxodonta africana</i>) Kept for Animal–Visitor Interactions, as Perceived by People Differing in Age and Knowledge of the Species |
| title_sort | emotional states of african elephants i loxodonta africana i kept for animal visitor interactions as perceived by people differing in age and knowledge of the species |
| topic | African elephant qualitative behavior assessment free-choice profiling semi-captive management welfare human–animal interaction |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/3/826 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ilariapollastri emotionalstatesofafricanelephantsiloxodontaafricanaikeptforanimalvisitorinteractionsasperceivedbypeopledifferinginageandknowledgeofthespecies AT simonanormando emotionalstatesofafricanelephantsiloxodontaafricanaikeptforanimalvisitorinteractionsasperceivedbypeopledifferinginageandknowledgeofthespecies AT barbaracontiero emotionalstatesofafricanelephantsiloxodontaafricanaikeptforanimalvisitorinteractionsasperceivedbypeopledifferinginageandknowledgeofthespecies AT gregoryvogt emotionalstatesofafricanelephantsiloxodontaafricanaikeptforanimalvisitorinteractionsasperceivedbypeopledifferinginageandknowledgeofthespecies AT donatellagelli emotionalstatesofafricanelephantsiloxodontaafricanaikeptforanimalvisitorinteractionsasperceivedbypeopledifferinginageandknowledgeofthespecies AT veronicasergi emotionalstatesofafricanelephantsiloxodontaafricanaikeptforanimalvisitorinteractionsasperceivedbypeopledifferinginageandknowledgeofthespecies AT elenastagni emotionalstatesofafricanelephantsiloxodontaafricanaikeptforanimalvisitorinteractionsasperceivedbypeopledifferinginageandknowledgeofthespecies AT seanhensman emotionalstatesofafricanelephantsiloxodontaafricanaikeptforanimalvisitorinteractionsasperceivedbypeopledifferinginageandknowledgeofthespecies AT elenamercugliano emotionalstatesofafricanelephantsiloxodontaafricanaikeptforanimalvisitorinteractionsasperceivedbypeopledifferinginageandknowledgeofthespecies AT barbarademori emotionalstatesofafricanelephantsiloxodontaafricanaikeptforanimalvisitorinteractionsasperceivedbypeopledifferinginageandknowledgeofthespecies |