Age and Social History Impact Social Interactions between Bull Asian Elephants (<i>Elephas maximus</i>) at Denver Zoo
Wild bull Asian elephants spend time in all-male groups. Therefore, managers of ex situ populations increasingly house bulls together. We examined the social interactions of five bull Asian elephants at Denver Zoo, using instantaneous sampling to compare social interactions across adolescent and mat...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-03-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5636/4/1/18 |
| _version_ | 1797610760221753344 |
|---|---|
| author | Taylor S. Readyhough Maura Davis Sharon Joseph Anneke Moresco Amy L. Schreier |
| author_facet | Taylor S. Readyhough Maura Davis Sharon Joseph Anneke Moresco Amy L. Schreier |
| author_sort | Taylor S. Readyhough |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Wild bull Asian elephants spend time in all-male groups. Therefore, managers of ex situ populations increasingly house bulls together. We examined the social interactions of five bull Asian elephants at Denver Zoo, using instantaneous sampling to compare social interactions across adolescent and mature bulls, and bulls with a social history prior to the integration of this group compared to bulls with no social history. Both age and social history significantly affected bull behavior. Adolescent bulls exhibited more affiliative and submissive behaviors when housed with mixed-age and mature social partners compared to with only adolescents, and less non-contact agonistic behavior and less time in proximity to a conspecific with mixed-age groups compared to with only other adolescents. Mature bulls exhibited more affiliative behavior when they were with only adolescent bulls compared to only mature bulls, and more time in proximity to a conspecific and increased contact agonistic behavior with at least one adolescent compared to only mature bulls. Bulls in new social groups engaged in more affiliative, agonistic, and submissive behaviors, and spent less time in proximity, than when they were in previously established social combinations. As more institutions house bulls socially, our results provide insights into factors that may affect bull social interactions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:19:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fff758e1f9f6423191341402d4632365 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2673-5636 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:19:45Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens |
| spelling | doaj.art-fff758e1f9f6423191341402d46323652023-11-17T12:05:17ZengMDPI AGJournal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens2673-56362023-03-014119121310.3390/jzbg4010018Age and Social History Impact Social Interactions between Bull Asian Elephants (<i>Elephas maximus</i>) at Denver ZooTaylor S. Readyhough0Maura Davis1Sharon Joseph2Anneke Moresco3Amy L. Schreier4Department of Biology, Regis University, Denver, CO 80221, USADepartment of Animal Care, Denver Zoo, Denver, CO 80205, USADepartment of Animal Welfare and Research, Denver Zoo, Denver, CO 80205, USADepartment of Animal Welfare and Research, Denver Zoo, Denver, CO 80205, USADepartment of Biology, Regis University, Denver, CO 80221, USAWild bull Asian elephants spend time in all-male groups. Therefore, managers of ex situ populations increasingly house bulls together. We examined the social interactions of five bull Asian elephants at Denver Zoo, using instantaneous sampling to compare social interactions across adolescent and mature bulls, and bulls with a social history prior to the integration of this group compared to bulls with no social history. Both age and social history significantly affected bull behavior. Adolescent bulls exhibited more affiliative and submissive behaviors when housed with mixed-age and mature social partners compared to with only adolescents, and less non-contact agonistic behavior and less time in proximity to a conspecific with mixed-age groups compared to with only other adolescents. Mature bulls exhibited more affiliative behavior when they were with only adolescent bulls compared to only mature bulls, and more time in proximity to a conspecific and increased contact agonistic behavior with at least one adolescent compared to only mature bulls. Bulls in new social groups engaged in more affiliative, agonistic, and submissive behaviors, and spent less time in proximity, than when they were in previously established social combinations. As more institutions house bulls socially, our results provide insights into factors that may affect bull social interactions.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5636/4/1/18animal welfaresocial behaviorgroup compatibilityelephant managementpachyderms |
| spellingShingle | Taylor S. Readyhough Maura Davis Sharon Joseph Anneke Moresco Amy L. Schreier Age and Social History Impact Social Interactions between Bull Asian Elephants (<i>Elephas maximus</i>) at Denver Zoo Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens animal welfare social behavior group compatibility elephant management pachyderms |
| title | Age and Social History Impact Social Interactions between Bull Asian Elephants (<i>Elephas maximus</i>) at Denver Zoo |
| title_full | Age and Social History Impact Social Interactions between Bull Asian Elephants (<i>Elephas maximus</i>) at Denver Zoo |
| title_fullStr | Age and Social History Impact Social Interactions between Bull Asian Elephants (<i>Elephas maximus</i>) at Denver Zoo |
| title_full_unstemmed | Age and Social History Impact Social Interactions between Bull Asian Elephants (<i>Elephas maximus</i>) at Denver Zoo |
| title_short | Age and Social History Impact Social Interactions between Bull Asian Elephants (<i>Elephas maximus</i>) at Denver Zoo |
| title_sort | age and social history impact social interactions between bull asian elephants i elephas maximus i at denver zoo |
| topic | animal welfare social behavior group compatibility elephant management pachyderms |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5636/4/1/18 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT taylorsreadyhough ageandsocialhistoryimpactsocialinteractionsbetweenbullasianelephantsielephasmaximusiatdenverzoo AT mauradavis ageandsocialhistoryimpactsocialinteractionsbetweenbullasianelephantsielephasmaximusiatdenverzoo AT sharonjoseph ageandsocialhistoryimpactsocialinteractionsbetweenbullasianelephantsielephasmaximusiatdenverzoo AT annekemoresco ageandsocialhistoryimpactsocialinteractionsbetweenbullasianelephantsielephasmaximusiatdenverzoo AT amylschreier ageandsocialhistoryimpactsocialinteractionsbetweenbullasianelephantsielephasmaximusiatdenverzoo |