Birth statistics for African (Loxodonta africana) and Asian (Elephas maximus) elephants in human care: History and implications for elephant welfare

Zoo Biology

Volumn 29, Issue 2, 2010, Pages 87-103

  Dale, Robert H I ^a  

^a BUTLER UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

Elephant calf; Gestation; Height; Time of birth; Weight

Indexed keywords

ANIMAL; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; ANIMAL WELFARE; ARTICLE; ASIA; BIRTH WEIGHT; BREEDING; ELEPHANT; EUROPE; FEMALE; HISTORY; MALE; NEWBORN; NORTH AMERICA; PHYSIOLOGY; PREGNANCY; REPRODUCTION; SPECIES DIFFERENCE; ZOO ANIMAL;

ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; ANIMAL WELFARE; ANIMALS; ANIMALS, NEWBORN; ANIMALS, ZOO; ASIA; BIRTH WEIGHT; ELEPHANTS; EUROPE; FEMALE; HISTORY, 19TH CENTURY; HISTORY, 20TH CENTURY; HISTORY, 21ST CENTURY; MALE; NORTH AMERICA; PREGNANCY; PREGNANCY, ANIMAL; REPRODUCTION; SPECIES SPECIFICITY;

ELEPHANTIDAE; ELEPHAS MAXIMUS; LOXODONTA; LOXODONTA AFRICANA;

EID: 77954590037     PISSN: 07333188     EISSN: 10982361     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1002/zoo.20234     Document Type: Article

References (109)

1. Alexander S. 2000. The astonishing elephant. New York: Random House. 320p.
2. Arstingstall G. 1882. Breeding of elephants in captivity. J Comp Med Surg 3:146-153.
3. Bates LA, Sayialel KN, Njiraini NW, Poole JH, Moss CJ, Byrne RW. 2007. African elephants have expectations about the locations of out-of-sight family members. Biol Lett 4:34-36.
4. Bellinge WHS, Woodley FW. 1964. Some notes on the rearing of young African elephants. East Afr Wildl J 2:71-74.
5. Belterman R. 2007. European studbook 2007: Asian elephants (Elephas maximus). Rotterdam, Netherlands: Rotterdam Zoo.
6. Bradshaw GA, Schore AN, Brown JL, Poole JH, Moss C. 2005. Elephant breakdown. Nature 433:807.
7. Brown JL. 1880. Mr. Sclater on the birth of an elephant. Proc Sci Meet Zool Soc Lond 15:222-223.
8. Brown JL. 2000. Reproductive endocrine monitoring of elephants: an essential tool for assisting captive management. Zoo Biol 19:347-367.
9. Buss IO, Smith NS. 1966. Observations on reproduction and breeding behavior of the African elephant. J Wildl Manage 30:375-388.
10. Charif RA, Ramey RR, Langbauer WR, Payne KB, Martin RB, Brown LM. 2005. Spatial relationships and matrilineal kinship in African savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana) clans. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 57:327-338.
11. Clubb R, Mason G. 2001. A review of the welfare of zoo elephants in Europe: a report commissioned by the RSPCA. Oxford: University of Oxford. 300p.
12. Cohn JP. 2006. Do elephants belong in zoos? Bioscience 56:714-717.
13. Corse J. 1799. Observations on the manners, habits, and natural history of the elephant. Philos Trans R Soc Lond 89:31-55.
14. Dale RHI. 2008. The spatial memory of African elephants (Loxodonta africana): durability, interference, and response biases. In: Innis NK, editor. Reflections on adaptive behavior: essays in honor of J. E. R. Staddon. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. p 143-169.
15. Doyle C, York B, Whiteley A. 1999. A survey of Asian elephant births from 1962-1998. J Ele Managers Assoc 10:146-148.
16. Dublin HT. 1983. Cooperation and reproductive competition among female African elephants. In: Kasser SK, editor. Social behavior of female vertebrates. New York: Academic Press. p 291-313.
17. Edgerton F. 1931. The elephant-lore of the Hindus. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. 148p.
18. Ehlers B, Dural G, Marschall M, Schregel V, Goltz M, Hentschke J. 2006. Endotheliotropic elephant herpesviruses, the first betaherpesvirus with a thymidine kinase gene. J Gen Virol 87:2781-2789.
19. Emanuelson K. 2006. Neonatal care and hand rearing. In: Fowler ME, Mikota SK, editors. Biology, medicine, and surgery of elephants. Oxford, UK: Blackwell. p 223-241.
20. Eriksen E. 1978. Geburten von Asiatischen Elefanten (Elephas maximus) in Zoologischen Garten von Kopenhagen. Zool Garten 48:421-432.
21. Faust LJ, Thompson SD, Earnhardt JM. 2006. Is reversing the decline of Asian elephants in North American zoos possible? An individual-based modeling approach. Zoo Biol 25:201-218.
22. Freeman EW, Weiss E, Brown JL. 2004. Examinations of the interrelationships of behavior, dominance status, and ovarian activity in captive Asian and African elephants. Zoo Biol 23:431-448.
23. Garai ME, Kurt F. 2006. Sozialisation und das Wohlbefinden der Elefanten. Z Kölner Zoo 49:85-96.
24. Goodwin GG. 1925. The first living elephant in America. J Mammal 6:256-263.
25. Gowers W. 1947. The African elephant in warfare. Afr Aff 46:42-49.
26. Hargis B. 2003. The history of Knoxville Zoo and the first two African elephant (Loxodonta africana) births in the Western Hemisphere. J Ele Managers Assoc 14:14-17.
27. Hermes R, Saragusty J, Schaftenaar W, Goritz F, Schmitt DL, Hildebrandt TB. 2008. Obstetrics in elephants. Theriogenology 70:131-144.
28. Hildebrandt TB, Goritz F, Hermes R, Reid R, Dehnhard M, Brown JL. 2006. Aspects of the reproductive biology and breeding management of Asian and African elephants (Elephas maximus and Loxodonta africana). Int Zoo Yearbook 40:20-40.
29. Hoage RJ, Roskell A, Mansour J. 1996. Menageries and zoos to 1900. In: Hoage RJ, Deiss WA, editors. New worlds, new animals: from menageries to zoological park in the nineteenth century. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. p 8-18.
30. Hollister-Smith JA, Poole JH, Archie EA, Vance EA, Georgiadis NJ, Moss CJ, Alberts SC. 2007. Age, musth and paternity success in wild male African elephants, Loxodonta africana. Anim Behav 74:287-296.
31. Hutchins M, Thompson SD. 2008. Zoo and aquarium research: priority setting for the coming decades. Zoo Biol, published online.
32. Iverson E. 1993. The domestication of the African elephant in the 20th Century. Proceedings of the 14th annual elephant managers conference, Vallejo, CA, October 16-19.
33. Jayewardene J. 1999. Pinnawela elephant orphanage in Sri Lanka. J Ele Managers Assoc 10:219-222.
34. Keele M. 1996. North American Asian elephant birth statistics: what are the numbers telling us? J Ele Managers Assoc 7:29-32.
35. Keele M. 2007. Asian elephant (Elephas maximus): North American regional studbook update. Retrieved on February 12, 2009, from: http://www.elephanttag.org/Professional/2007%20Asian%20Elephant%20Studbook%20Update.pdf
36. Koebner L. 1994. Zoo book: the evolution of wildlife conservation centers. New York: Tom Doherty Associates. 192p.
37. Kisling Jr VN. 2001a. Ancient collections and menageries. In: Kisling Jr VN, editor. Zoo and aquarium history: ancient animal collections to zoological gardens. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. p 1-47.
38. Kisling Jr VN. 2001b. Zoological gardens of the United States. In: Kisling Jr VN, editor. Zoo and aquarium history: ancient animal collections to zoological gardens. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. p 147-180.
39. Kirk RE. 2008. Statistics: an introduction, 5th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. 672p.
40. Koehl D. 2008. Elephant database. Retrieved on July 10, 2008, from: http://www.elephant.se
41. Kurt F. 2006. Die Geschichte der Haltung von Elefanten in Menschenobhut. Z Kölner Zoo 49:59-74.
42. Kurt F, Garai ME. 2007. The Asian elephant in captivity: a field study. Delhi: Foundation Books. 360p.
43. Kurt F, Mar KU. 1996. Neonate mortality in captive Asian elephants (Elephas maximus). Z Saugetierkd 61:155-164.
44. Lahiri-Choudhury DK. 1992. History of elephants in captivity in India and their use. Proceedings of the 13th international elephant workshop, Atlanta, GA, November 4-7, p 17-25.
45. Lash SL. 1982. Captive elephant population of North America: 1982 update. Elephant 2:147-150.
46. Lee PC, Moss CJ 1999. The social context for learning and behavioral development among wild African elephants. In: Box HO, Gibson KR, editors. Mammalian social learning: comparative and ecological perspectives. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. p 102-125.
47. Leighty KA, Soltis J, Leong K, Savage A. 2008. Antiphonal exchanges in African elephants (Loxodonta africana): collective response to a shared stimulus, social facilitation, or true communicative event? Behaviour 145:297-312.
48. Leuthold W. 1976. Group size in elephants of Tsavo National park and possible factors influencing it. J Anim Ecol 45:425-439.
49. Maberry MB. 1962. Breeding Indian elephants (Elephas maximus) at Portland Zoo. Int Zoo Yearbook 4:80-83.
50. Mann WM. 1944. Wild animals in and out of the zoo. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution. 380p.
51. Mar KU. 2002. The studbook of timber elephants of Myanmar with special reference to survivorship analysis. In: Baker I, Kashio M, editors. Giants on our hands. Proceedings of the international workshop on the domesticated Asian elephant, Bangkok, Thailand, February 5-10, 2001. Bangkok: FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. Retrieved on January 11, 2008, from: http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/ad031e/ad031e00.HTM.
52. Martin RD, Genoud M, Hemelrijk CK. 2005. Problems of allometric scaling analysis: examples from mammalian reproductive biology. J Exp Biol 208:1731-1747.
53. McCormick W. 2003. How enriching is training? Proceedings of the fifth annual symposium on zoo research. Winchester, UK: Marwell Zoological Park. p 7-8.
54. Meyer JM, Walker SL, Freeman EW, Steinetz BG, Brown JL. 2004. Species and fetal gender effects on the endocrinology of pregnancy in elephants. Gen Comp Endocrinol 138:263-270.
55. Morgan BJ, Lee PC. 2003. Forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis) stature in the Réserve de Faune du Petit Loango, Gabon. J Zool Lond 259:337-344.
56. Moss CJ. 1983. Oestrous behaviour and female choice in the African elephant. Behaviour 8:167-196.
57. Moss CJ. 1988. Elephant memories: thirteen years in the life of an elephant family. New York: Fawcett Columbine. 336p.
58. Moss CJ. 2001. The demography of an African elephant (Loxodonta africana) population in Amboseli, Kenya. J Zool Soc Lond 255:145-156.
59. Moss CJ, Poole JH. 1982. Relationships and social structure of African elephants. In: Hinde RA, editor. Primate social relationships: an integrated approach. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer. p 315-325.
60. Nair PV. 1989. Development of nonsocial behaviour in the Asiatic elephant. Ethology 82:46-60.
61. Naughton L, Rose R, Treves A. 1999. The social dimensions of human-elephant conflict in Africa: a literature review and case studies from Uganda and Cameroon. Report to the African Elephant Specialist, Human-Elephant Conflict Task Force, of the IUCN, Glands, Switzerland.
62. Niemuller C, Brown J, Hodges K. 1999. Elephants. In: Knobil E, Neill JD, editors. Encyclopedia of reproduction. Vol. 1. New York: Academic Press. p 1018-1029.
63. Oerke A-K, Heistermann M, Hodges K. 2006. Duration of pregnancy and its relation to sex of calf and age of cow in the European population of Asian and African elephants. Proceedings of the international elephant conservation and research symposium 2006, p 125-131.
64. Olson D, editor. 2004. Elephant husbandry resource guide. Azle, TX: International Elephant Foundation. 285p.
65. Olson D, editor. 2008. North American region studbook for the African elephant (Loxodonta africana), April. 144 p. Retrieved on February 12, 2009, from: http://www.elephanttag.org/Pro-fessional/2008_African_elephant_Studbook4-24-2008.pdf
66. Olson D, Wiese RJ. 2000. State of the North American African elephant population and projections for the future. Zoo Biol 19:311-320.
67. Poole JH. 1994. Sex differences in the behaviour of African elephants. In: Short RV, Balaban E, editors. The differences between the sexes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p 331-346.
68. Rapaport L, Haight J. 1987. Some observations regarding allomaternal caretaking among captive Asian elephants (Elephas maximus). J Mammal 68:438-442.
69. Rees PA. 2003a. Asian elephants in zoos face global extinction: should zoos accept the inevitable? Oryx 37:20-22.
70. Rees PA. 2003b. The welfare and conservation of Asian elephants-a reply to Sukumar. Oryx 37:25.
71. Rees PA. 2003c. PSPCA elephant welfare recommendations would compromise zoo breeding programmes. Int Zoo News 50. Retrieved on May 24, 2008, from: http://www.zoonews.ws/IZN/323/IZN-323.htm.
72. Reynolds R. 2007. Retrieved on January 27, 2008, from: http://bucklesw.blogspot.com/2007/07/barnum-bailey-greatest-show-on-earth-10.html.
73. Richman LK, Montali RJ, Garber RL, Kennedy MA, Lehnhardt J, Hildebrandt T, Schmitt D, Hardy D, Alcendor DJ, Hayward GS. 1999. Novel endotheliotropic herpesviruses fatal for Asian and African elephants. Science 283:1171-1176.
74. Rothfels N. 2002. Savages and beasts: the birth of the modern zoo. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. 280p.
75. Ryan SJ, Thompson SD. 2001. Disease risk and inter-institutional transfer of specimens in cooperative breeding programs: herpes and the elephant species survival plans. Zoo Biol 20:89-101.
76. Schmid J. 1998. Status and reproductive capacity of the Asian elephant in zoos and circuses in Europe. Int Zoo News 45:341-351.
77. Schmidt MJ 1999. Calving elephants (normal). In: Fowler ME, Miller RE, editors. Zoo and wild animal medicine: current therapy. Vol. 4. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders. p 521-522.
78. Schmitt D. 2003. Proboscidea (elephants). In: Fowler ME, Miller RE, editors. Zoo and wild animal medicine, 5th ed. Saint Louis, MO: W. B. Saunders. p 541-550.
79. Schwammer HM. 2003. History of Asian elephants in Europe. J Ele Managers Assoc 14:10-12.
80. Schwammer HM, Stoerger-Horwath AS. 2005. The history of the African elephant in Europe. J Ele Managers Assoc 14:35-37.
81. Sharma R, Krishnamurthy KV. 1984. Behavior of a neonate elephant. Appl Anim Behav Sci 13:157-161.
82. Shoshani SL. 1986. Captive elephant population of North America: 1986. Elephant 2:123-130.
83. Shoshani SL. 1987. Captive elephant population of North America: 1987. Elephant 2:73-75.
84. Shoshani SL. 2000. Captive elephant population of the world: 1988-1999, and notes on other captive elephants elsewhere in the world. Elephant 2:63-71.
85. Shyne A. 2006. Meta-analytic review of the effects of enrichment on stereotypic behavior in zoo mammals. Zoo Biol 25:317-337.
86. Siebert C. 2006. An elephant crackup? The New York Times Magazine, October 8, p 42-49, 64, 71-72.
87. Siegel S. 1956. Nonparametric statistics for the behavioral sciences. New York: McGraw-Hill. 312p.
88. Slotow R, van Dyk G, Poole J, Page B, Klocke A. 2000. Older bull elephants control young males. Nature 408:425-426.
89. Smuts GL. 1975. Reproduction and population characteristics of elephants in the Kruger National Park. J South Afr Wildl Manage Assoc 5:1-10.
90. Stevenson MF, Walter M. 2006. Management guidelines for the welfare of zoo animals. Elephants: Loxodonta africana and Elephas maximus, 2nd ed. London: British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums. 217p.
91. Strehlow H. 2001. Zoological gardens in Western Europe. In: Kisling Jr VN, editor. Zoo and aquarium history: ancient animal collections to zoological gardens. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. p 75-116.
92. Sukumar R. 2003a. The living elephants: evolutionary ecology, behavior, and conservation. New York: Oxford University Press. 496p.
93. Sukumar R. 2003b. Asian elephants in zoos-a response to Rees. Oryx 37:23-24.
94. Sukumar R, Krishnamurthy V, Wemmer C, Rodden M. 1997. Demography of captive Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) in southern India. Zoo Biol 16:263-272.
95. Swaisgood RR, Shepherdson DJ. 2005. Scientific approaches to enrichment and stereotypies in zoo animals: what's been done and where should we go next? Zoo Biol 24:499-518.
96. Szdzuy K, Dehnhard M, Strauss G, Eulenberger K, Hofer H. 2006. Behavioural and endocrinological parameters of female Asian and African elephants, Loxodonta africana and Elephas maximus, in the peripartal period. Int Zoo Yearbook 40:41-50.
97. Taylor JI. 1955. The rearing of an African elephant in captivity. Vet Rec 67:301-302.
98. Taylor VJ, Poole TB. 1998. Captive breeding and infant mortality in Asian elephants: a comparison between twenty western zoos and three eastern elephant centers. Zoo Biol 17:311-332.
99. Terkel AS. 2000. History, update, and the "baby boom" of elephants in 1987 at the Zoological Center, Ramat Gan, Israel. Elephant 2:37-47.
100. Terkel AS. 2003. Zoological Center Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan. Retrieved on April 30, 2008, from: http://www.zoonews.ws/IZN/IZN-322.htm# annual.
101. Veasey J. 2006. Concepts in the care and welfare of captive elephants. Int Zoo Yearbook 40:63-79.
102. Veltre T. 1996. Menageries, metaphors, and meanings. In: Hoage RJ, Deiss WA, editors. New worlds, new animals: from menageries to zoological park in the nineteenth century. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. p 19-29.
103. Vidya TNC, Sukumar R. 2005. Social and reproductive behaviour in elephants. Curr Sci 89:1200-1207.
104. Watson R. 1990. King Leopold's elephants. New Sci 128:25-27.
105. Wiedenmayer C. 1998. Food hiding and enrichment in captive Asian elephants. Appl Anim Behav Sci 56:77-82.
106. Wiese RJ. 2000. Asian elephants are not selfsustaining in North America. Zoo Biol 19:299-309.
107. Wiese RJ, Willis K. 2006. Population management of zoo elephants. Int Zoo Yearbook 40:80-87.
108. Wittemyer G, Getz WM. 2007. Hierarchical dominance structure and social organization in African elephants, Loxodonta africana. Anim Behav 73:671-681.
109. Woodford MH. 1970. Fostering a baby elephant. East Afr Wildl J 8:204-205.