Intro
There is a lot of controversy surrounding whether it is ethical to keep Elephants in captivity due to their specific needs & the lack of space they may have. Elephants in the wild may migrate hundreds of miles in a herd to find water and food, they do this every year or more. Therefore the space in zoos restricts this natural behaviour in the elephants, however, due to zoos always providing water and food, the elephants may not have a need for this behaviour.
Legislation
The idea is to design an enclosure with enough space so that the Elephants can roam and explore as they would in the wild, as well as ensuring there is adequate shelter to cool in during hot weather and during the winter, when it’s cold. This will ensure the enclosure is within code of legislation when keeping captive elephants. A large pool for them to cool down in as well as for young elephants to swim and play will provide enrichment and ensure the elephants won’t get restless or stressed which could negatively impact their health.
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Welfare
There are many cases of serious diseases such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection among captive elephants due to them living in such close proximity to each other.To prevent this, the enclosure will include an isolation area with a separate shelter, outside area and pool for the affected elephant/s. However to prevent further stress to the animal from being separated from the herd, they will still be able to see and come close to the other elephants as will the rest of the herd be able to see the ill. The elephant will be separated for the shortest amount of time possible to prevent any extra unnecessary harm or captivity-induced stress to the individuals.
According to AZA standards for Elephant Management and care, elephants must be able to cool themselves therefore sand and mud will be provided on the river bank, aiding with thermoregulation.
For the indoor areas, a poured rubber flooring will be used as studies show traditional concrete increase signs of discomfort in elephants and increase the occurrence of stereotypical behaviours such as swaying or pacing. Oregon Zoo found that the benefits of rubber flooring were that the elephants appeared to show fewer signs of discomfort as the rubber flooring may be more comfortable and beneficial to their joints, in addition to this, they also found elephants showed more typical behaviour that they would display in the wild such as when they are sleeping.
Lindburg found, where welfare was concerned, that there are severe problems surrounding elephants being kept indoors for 16 hours or more a day, especially during winter, due to being kept in colder, wetter countries unlike their usual habitat. Therefore, the indoor area should be reasonably spacious in order for each individual in the herd, at a group size of at least 3 or more, to be able to move around freely and lie down.
Lack of exercise and body weights beyond the norm have become an increasing problem in Captive Asian elephants around the world. Hardjanti stated, from observation, that London Zoo’s Asian elephants were heavier compared to those at Whipsnade Animal Park, regardless of the amount they were fed. He suggested this could be due to the fact the Asian Elephants had a larger enclosure, were taken on daily walks and their food was placed up high, meaning they had to stretch and work to get their food.
Signs of Stress
To reduce the possibility that the elephants will show stereotypical behaviour when indoors, the barns will have shrubbery covering the walls to make the environment more natural and comforting for them as opposed to grey concrete walls which could induce stress. In addition to increase the amount of sunlight they get when indoors each barn will have skylights, this also decreases the use of unnatural, artificial light.
Conclusion
Six Asian elephants at the Oregon Zoo were observed to determine the effects of a poured rubber flooring substrate on captive Asian elephant behavior. Room utilization also was evaluated in seven rooms used for indoor housing, including Front and Back observation areas. Data were collected in three phases. Phase I (Baseline Phase) examined elephant behavior on old concrete floors. In Phase II (Choice Phase), elephant behavior was observed in the Back observation area where room sizes were comparable and when a choice of flooring substrates was available. Phase III (Final Phase) examined elephant behavior when all rooms in both observation areas, Front and Back, were converted to rubberized flooring. Room use in both observation areas remained stable throughout the study, suggesting that flooring substrate did not affect room use choice. However, there was a clear pattern of decreased discomfort behaviors on the new rubber flooring. Normal locomotion as well as stereotypic locomotion increased on the new rubber flooring. In addition, resting behavior changed to more closely reflect the resting behavior of wild elephants, which typically sleep standing up, and spend very little time in lateral recumbence. Overall, these findings suggest that the rubber flooring may have provided a more comfortable surface for locomotion as well as standing resting behavior. It is suggested that poured rubber flooring may be a beneficial addition to similar animal facilities.
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