Management factors affecting physical health and welfare of tourist camp elephants in Thailand
Background Variation in management across elephant camps likely has differential effects on the well-being of elephants. Methods This study calculated body condition, foot health and skin wound scores (WSs) for 122 elephants from 15 elephant camps in Chiang Mai province, and examined relationships t...
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| Format: | Article |
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PeerJ Inc.
2019-04-01
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| Series: | PeerJ |
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| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/6756.pdf |
| _version_ | 1827606298167869440 |
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| author | Pakkanut Bansiddhi Korakot Nganvongpanit Janine L. Brown Veerasak Punyapornwithaya Pornsawan Pongsopawijit Chatchote Thitaram |
| author_facet | Pakkanut Bansiddhi Korakot Nganvongpanit Janine L. Brown Veerasak Punyapornwithaya Pornsawan Pongsopawijit Chatchote Thitaram |
| author_sort | Pakkanut Bansiddhi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background Variation in management across elephant camps likely has differential effects on the well-being of elephants. Methods This study calculated body condition, foot health and skin wound scores (WSs) for 122 elephants from 15 elephant camps in Chiang Mai province, and examined relationships to management factors using a multi-variable modeling approach. Results The majority of elephants had high body condition scores (BCS) indicative of being overweight or obese, mild foot problems, but few visible wounds. Females had higher BCSs than males, as did elephants provided a water source at night. Increasing age was associated with higher foot and WSs. Higher WSs were observed in about a quarter of the cases where mahouts carried a hook. Wounds related to saddle riding were rare. Elephants that rested on sand floors at night had a decreased risk of high WSs compared to elephants that rested on compact dirt floors. Discussion Findings emphasize the need for elephant camps to adjust management activities that negatively affect body condition (e.g., feeding too many sweet treats), foot health (e.g., hard substrates) and wounding (e.g., misuse of equipment) to improve health and welfare of this population. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:36:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7be91950e0ff4f4c8745ad1505297fd3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:36:14Z |
| publishDate | 2019-04-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PeerJ |
| spelling | doaj.art-7be91950e0ff4f4c8745ad1505297fd32023-12-03T10:58:11ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592019-04-017e675610.7717/peerj.6756Management factors affecting physical health and welfare of tourist camp elephants in ThailandPakkanut Bansiddhi0Korakot Nganvongpanit1Janine L. Brown2Veerasak Punyapornwithaya3Pornsawan Pongsopawijit4Chatchote Thitaram5Center of Elephant and Wildlife Research, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, ThailandCenter of Elephant and Wildlife Research, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, ThailandCenter for Species Survival, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Front Royal, VA, USADepartment of Food Animal Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, ThailandCenter of Elephant and Wildlife Research, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, ThailandCenter of Elephant and Wildlife Research, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, ThailandBackground Variation in management across elephant camps likely has differential effects on the well-being of elephants. Methods This study calculated body condition, foot health and skin wound scores (WSs) for 122 elephants from 15 elephant camps in Chiang Mai province, and examined relationships to management factors using a multi-variable modeling approach. Results The majority of elephants had high body condition scores (BCS) indicative of being overweight or obese, mild foot problems, but few visible wounds. Females had higher BCSs than males, as did elephants provided a water source at night. Increasing age was associated with higher foot and WSs. Higher WSs were observed in about a quarter of the cases where mahouts carried a hook. Wounds related to saddle riding were rare. Elephants that rested on sand floors at night had a decreased risk of high WSs compared to elephants that rested on compact dirt floors. Discussion Findings emphasize the need for elephant camps to adjust management activities that negatively affect body condition (e.g., feeding too many sweet treats), foot health (e.g., hard substrates) and wounding (e.g., misuse of equipment) to improve health and welfare of this population.https://peerj.com/articles/6756.pdfHealthWelfareManagementAsian elephantThailandElephant camp |
| spellingShingle | Pakkanut Bansiddhi Korakot Nganvongpanit Janine L. Brown Veerasak Punyapornwithaya Pornsawan Pongsopawijit Chatchote Thitaram Management factors affecting physical health and welfare of tourist camp elephants in Thailand PeerJ Health Welfare Management Asian elephant Thailand Elephant camp |
| title | Management factors affecting physical health and welfare of tourist camp elephants in Thailand |
| title_full | Management factors affecting physical health and welfare of tourist camp elephants in Thailand |
| title_fullStr | Management factors affecting physical health and welfare of tourist camp elephants in Thailand |
| title_full_unstemmed | Management factors affecting physical health and welfare of tourist camp elephants in Thailand |
| title_short | Management factors affecting physical health and welfare of tourist camp elephants in Thailand |
| title_sort | management factors affecting physical health and welfare of tourist camp elephants in thailand |
| topic | Health Welfare Management Asian elephant Thailand Elephant camp |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/6756.pdf |
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