Knysna Elephant Park | Knysna Activity on the Garden Route | Plettenberg Bay Elephant Tour

Our elephants’ contribution to science and research has been consistent over the years. Numerous research projects have been conducted at Knysna Elephant Park to learn more about wild elephants and certain dynamics that will undoubtedly assist in their management in the future. Famous Harry has spent time at other ecosystems, giving researchers the opportunity to observe his preference in edible vegetation, providing invaluable insight into elephant populations possibly inhabiting these ecosystems in the future.

However, Knysna Elephant Park recently identified that there is a serious lack of research done on captive elephants in South Africa, particularly with respect to their welfare and husbandry, within their own unique environments. With this in mind, we established the first captive elephant research unit dedicated to captive elephants. The African Elephant Research Unit (AERU) was established at KEP in September 2009. The objectives of AERU are the following:

1. To conduct and facilitate research studies of the elephants based at the Knysna Elephant Park and other captive elephant operations in South Africa.
2. To promote ethical and non-harmful research of captive elephants in South Africa.
3. To guide management of captive elephant operations through science.
4. To provide information relevant to wild elephants to improve their protection and conservation.
5. “Conservation through education”

To start, the primary aim of AERU will be to collect information on all the elephants based at KEP. This includes the recording of biological, anatomical, veterinary, physiological, behavioural and dietary data for each individual animal in its care. These will be used to co-ordinate and assimilate multidisciplinary research on the behaviour, ecology, anatomy and physiology of these large mammals, as well as providing valuable information that may be used to improve the future management of captive elephants.

Captive elephants provide us with a valuable opportunity for participation in research and education programmes, often allowing for the collection of data not readily available from wild animals. The value of the KEP elephants, from a research perspective, includes two main factors:

1. They are not strictly captive animals. At KEP we operate a “controlled, free-range” system, where our elephants still maintain a certain amount of their free-ranging nature, showing ‘choice’ in what they eat, where the move, who they socialise with and how they behave. On the other hand, their training and management allows for them to be closely observed and monitored, consequently allowing for research initiatives not easily carried out on elephants in the wild. This will enable AERU to formulate a variety of research programmes for comparative purposes, both with wild and captive populations.
2. The age-size-sex composition of the group allows for vital insight into assessment of behaviour, socialisation, physiology and other biological factors for a wide spectrum of animals.

Research initiatives of AERU, will concentrate on, but not be limited to, the collection and assessment of base-line data, for each individual elephant, the ‘herd’ as a whole, as well as the park in general. It is anticipated that baseline data collection will fall into the following categories:

1. BEHAVIOUR / SOCIAL

Daily activity budgets are conducted regularly for each elephant. During this monitoring of daily activity, we collect data on feeding, movements, interactions with other elephants, guides and guests as well as general behaviour. This is viewed as long-term study to investigate possible seasonal and/or age influences. Recording of such data has already proved vital in monitoring changes in behaviour of different elephants and ways in which management can be adjusted to improve certain aspects of the elephants in the field. In addition, the records have also provided important insight into the relationships between animal behaviour and medical, reproductive and other biological and/or environmental factors.

1. DIET AND NUTRITION

Elephants at KEP eat a variety of plants, fruit, vegetables and pellet food. Dietary studies conducted at the Park are aimed at assessing and monitoring the nutritional status of the animals. Their diet and feeding patterns are recorded in relation to season, distribution and preferred grazing areas and vegetation types. Observations attempt to identify preferred species in the field, monitor quantities of food being fed to the animals by guests and the amount of browse (Acacia spp.) being offered to the elephants. The age and sex composition of our ‘herd’ will also provide information on how diet changes with age and reproductive condition.

3. ANATOMY

In order to accurately monitor growth and development, as well as nutritional condition and overall health of the KEP elephants, measurements of morphological condition are conducted on a regular basis. These include height, length, girth, foot diameter and tusk development. Training is underway to make sure our baby elephants are weighed regularly, so that we make sure their development is progressing properly. Standard photographic assessments of physical condition are also conducted regularly for each elephant.

4. PHYSIOLOGY

Physiological assessments of the elephants are conducted using blood, urine and dung samples. Standard blood tests are vital for investigating not only the overall health of the animal but also the relationship between physiology and diet, age, sex and reproductive condition. Hormonal analyses offer an indication of reproductive activity and how it develops with age in our elephants; and how it compares to other populations. The endocrinology data will also be assed in terms of behaviour and social data and to investigate further behavioural changes associated with changes in reproductive status. Other hormone tests also offer insight into how the physiology (and associated behaviour) of elephants is affected by different tourism-related activities.

1. TOURISM

Due to the nature of activities at KEP, the elephants at this facility are exposed to thousands of visitors each month. AERU aims to identify any influences these people-elephant interactions may have on the animals – both positive and negative. By guiding management through science, AERU hopes to optimise the relationships between elephants and tourists, for the benefit of both. Data recorded for this part of the study include number of visitors, number of elephant rides, nature of elephant/tourist interactions and response of elephant to interaction. By correlating these data with individual behaviour and physiology we can better assess the inter-relationship between humans visiting the park and elephant inhabitants.

1. ENVIRONMENTAL

All base-line data collected cannot be assessed accurately without taking environmental influences into account. To this end, environmental data for KEP is recorded on a daily basis. This includes temperature, rainfall, wind speed and direction and cloud cover. In order to fully assess the dietary and distribution data, a botanical survey of KEP is ongoing. This is identifying plant species in the park, their distribution and abundance and will give insight into the reasons for ‘preferred’ grazing areas.

FUTURE RESEARCH PROJECTS / FIELDS OF STUDY

1. COMMUNICATION OF ELEPHANTS
2. CHEMICAL COMMUNICATION
3. COMPOSITION OF TEMPORAL GLAND SECRETIONS IN RELATION TO AGE, SEX, BEHAVIOUR. IDENTIFICATION AND INFLUENCE OF POTENTIAL STRESSORS.
4. LEARNING AND BEHAVIOUR ENRICHMENT
5. PREGNANCY AND PARTURITION
6. MATERNAL BEHAVIOUR, CALF DEVELOPMENT, ALLO-MOTHERING

Data collected by AERU and its research partners forms an important part of the KEP management and education programmes. We hope that, through its activities, AERU can offer valuable insight into the lives of the KEP elephants and provide information that may be used to improve and upgrade the management of captive elephants.

Sampling and data collection will be implemented and standardised, first at the KEP facility. Following this, there are opportunities for us to expand the research programme to include other captive elephant institutions, which will allow us to include and compare a larger number of animals, in a wider variety of habitats. To this end, we hope that AERU’s research may provide data and information useful for elephant facilities throughout South Africa and the world; and potentially wild elephant populations.

Since the inception of AERU, important research relationships with both local and international elephant researchers have already been established. These have led to us working with several visiting researchers and students from the USA, France, England and Germany. Internationally-affiliated research includes studies on behaviour, indices of nutritional condition, sleep studies, the influence of enrichment on stereotypical behaviour, movements of elephants, reproductive physiology and the development of vaccines for population and musth control in elephants. We look forward to expanding on these relationships in the future.

 How can you get involved?

For us to make the most of the resources, which our elephants present us with, we would like to take this opportunity to invite you to participate in our research. There are a number of ways in which you can do this:

• You can become a volunteer at KEP and help out in a number of ways.
• If you are a University student and would like to do an This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or a short term project with us, please contact us with a few details and we can organise for you to join AERU…
• This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (Universities, Laboratories, Zoos)…If you would like to partner with AERU for the purposes of providing students with projects, generating data for comparative purposes and/or sharing skills and information, please contact us.

The availability of a captive ‘herd’ such as the one at KEP offers opportunities for research not easily found elsewhere. Every attempt should be made to use this factor to its best advantage. Factors which make our elephants invaluable to the setting up of research proposals include:

2. • Nine ‘trained’ elephants in a controlled free-range environment
   • Known age-sex composition of the ‘herd’
   • Elephants can be observed 24 hours a day
   • Dietary intake directly observed
   • ‘Hands – on’
   • Samples for physiological analysis readily available
   • Potential for long-term studies
   • Future access to elephants in other facilities for comparative purposes

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