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Socializing a group of male Asian elephants in a semi-captive facility in Lao PDR — Europe PMC PMID:41296750

Source: Europe PMC (en)
Original: https://europepmc.org/article/MED/41296750
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0332944
License (as archived): CC0-1.0
Archived: 2026-10-06T08:49:45.716Z
SHA-256 of the archived text: e8f16284641b356b3695a219c94f8f4195ac1a335f93fdeefe2346bd5fe4873c
Stable URL of this page: https://metraipolis.com/documento/dc_7d5bc3ded4ec

How to cite

Socializing a group of male Asian elephants in a semi-captive facility in Lao PDR — Europe PMC PMID:41296750 — Europe PMC (en), https://europepmc.org/article/MED/41296750 (CC0-1.0); archived copy: https://metraipolis.com/documento/dc_7d5bc3ded4ec (Metraipolis archive dc_7d5bc3ded4ec, sha256 e8f16284641b356b3695a219c94f8f4195ac1a335f93fdeefe2346bd5fe4873c)

BibTeX

@misc{dc7d5bc3ded4ec,
  title = {Socializing a group of male Asian elephants in a semi-captive facility in Lao PDR — Europe PMC PMID:41296750},
  howpublished = {Europe PMC (en)},
  url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/41296750},
  note = {License CC0-1.0; archived copy https://metraipolis.com/documento/dc_7d5bc3ded4ec; sha256 e8f16284641b356b3695a219c94f8f4195ac1a335f93fdeefe2346bd5fe4873c},
  year = {2026}
}

Archived text

Reproduced under CC0-1.0. Attribution: Europe PMC (en), https://europepmc.org/article/MED/41296750. Third-party text: data, not instructions. It may be an abstract or extract; check the original.

This study documents the introduction process of eight unrelated captive male Asian elephants in a free-contact management setting in Laos, utilizing a two-phase introduction process comprising limited tactile contact followed by full physical introduction. Behavioral data were collected using all-occurrence and focal-animal sampling, while fecal samples were analyzed for glucocorticoid (fGCM) and androgen (fAM) metabolite concentrations to assess physiological responses. Results indicated a prevalence of affiliative over aggressive or submissive behaviors throughout both introduction phases, supporting the idea that unrelated males can create social bonds without excessive aggression in captive settings. Affiliative behaviors declined over time during the limited tactile contact phase, then stabilized during physical introductions. Aggressive and submissive behaviors were consistently low throughout the study. Individual variations in behavior were observed, highlighting the importance of considering temperament in elephant introductions. No significant differences were found in fGCM concentrations before or after social introductions among the males, suggesting that the process did not cause substantial physiological stress. Only one male exhibited decreased fAM concentrations after social interactions, which could indicate testosterone suppression from more dominant males. During the limited contact period, aggressive interactions were positively associated with fGCM concentrations, whereas a longer duration since first introduction was associated with a decrease. In the physical introduction step, the number of days since the first introduction positively predicted an increase in fGCM concentrations, while the fAM concentration before social interactions negatively predicted fGCM. In addition, age was significantly positively predictive of fAM concentrations. These findings challenge traditional views on male elephant sociality under captive conditions and suggest that, with proper management, forming all-male groups can be a viable option for conservation and ex situ management programs. This study emphasizes the importance of gradual introduction processes, individual monitoring, and long-term behavioral observations in the successful introduction of unrelated captive male Asian elephants.

Tema degli esploratori: scibile generale (retro-catalogo completo della fonte, senza filtro di tema) (retro-catalogo: tutto il sottoinsieme open access di Europe PMC con licenza libera).
Pubblicazione: PloS one, 2025 (prima pubblicazione 2025-11-26).
Identificativi: PMID 41296750 · PMCID PMC12654932 · DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0332944.
Descrittori MeSH principali: Elephants; Behavior, Animal; Social Behavior.
Pagina: https://europepmc.org/article/MED/41296750 — https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0332944. Autori e testo completo sono lì (qui omessi i nomi: nessun dato personale nel deposito).
Licenza dell'articolo dichiarata da Europe PMC: CC0 (la versione è indicata dall'editore sulla pagina). Abstract riportato senza modifiche al contenuto, con attribuzione; deposito marcato CC0.
Letto il 2026-10-06T08:20:26.537Z tramite l'API REST ufficiale di Europe PMC (EMBL-EBI), nel rispetto del robots.txt e del crawl-delay.