Cited by 65Animal Behavior and Welfare StudiesWildlife Ecology and ConservationPrimate Behavior and Ecology

Walking behavior of zoo elephants: associations between GPS-measured daily walking distances and environmental factors, social factors, and welfare indicators

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Holdgate, Matthew R., Meehan, Cheryl L., Hogan, Jennifer N., Miller, Lance J., Soltis, Joseph, Andrews, Jeff, Shepherdson, David J.·2016·PLoS ONE

Abstract

Research with humans and other animals suggests that walking benefits physical health. Perhaps because these links have been demonstrated in other species, it has been suggested that walking is important to elephant welfare, and that zoo elephant exhibits should be designed to allow for more walking. Our study is the first to address this suggestion empirically by measuring the mean daily walking distance of elephants in North American zoos, determining the factors that are associated with variations in walking distance, and testing for associations between walking and welfare indicators. We used anklets equipped with GPS data loggers to measure outdoor daily walking distance in 56 adult female African (n = 33) and Asian (n = 23) elephants housed in 30 North American zoos. We collected 259 days of data and determined associations between distance walked and social, housing, management, and demographic factors. Elephants walked an average of 5.3 km/day with no significant difference between species. In our multivariable model, more diverse feeding regimens were correlated with increased walking, and elephants who were fed on a temporally unpredictable feeding schedule walked 1.29 km/day more than elephants fed on a predictable schedule. Distance walked was also positively correlated with an increase in the number of social groupings and negatively correlated with age. We found a small but significant negative correlation between distance walked and nighttime Space Experience, but no other associations between walking distances and exhibit size were found. Finally, distance walked was not related to health or behavioral outcomes including foot health, joint health, body condition, and the performance of stereotypic behavior, suggesting that more research is necessary to determine explicitly how differences in walking may impact elephant welfare.

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  • Across 30 North American zoos, elephants walked only 5.3 km/day, far shorter than in the wild.

    “Holdgate et al. (2016), who gathered data on both African and Asian elephants across 30 North American zoos, concluded that elephants walked only a distance of 5.3 km/day, far shorter distances than in the wild.”

    From Continuing challenges of elephant captivity: the captive environment, health issues, and welfare implications (2024) · cites this paper as Holdgate et al., 2016

    The Results (Summary of walking data) report 56 African and Asian elephants at 30 zoos walking a mean of 5.3 km/day. But the Discussion places that mean at the lower end of a 5–10 km/day range for wild elephants; it does not support describing zoo elephants’ distances as far shorter. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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  • Overall, distances elephants walked in zoos were influenced most significantly by feed-related factors.

    “Holdgate et al. (2016) further determined that, overall, the distances elephants walked in zoos were influenced most significantly by feed-related factors.”
  • An important welfare issue for elephants is the amount of exercise they can experience, often measured by distance traveled.

    “an important welfare issue for elephants is the amount of exercise they can experience, which is often measured by distance traveled (Holdgate et al., 2016).”
  • Walking is important because it supports exploratory behavior and its information-gathering function may be rewarding outside of resource acquisition.

    “Finally, Holdgate et al. (2016)contend that walking is important because it supports exploratory behavior and its information-gathering function may be rewarding outside of the acquisition of resources.”

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Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. [33]Langley RB. Dilution of precision. GPS World. 1999; 10(5): 52– 59.
  2. [52]Mason GJ. Sterotypies: A critical review. Anim Behav. 1991; 41: 1015– 1037.
  3. [59]Brown JL. Reproductive endocrine monitoring of elephants: An essential tool for assisting captive management. Zoo Biol. 2000; 19: 347– 368.

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Authors
Holdgate, M. R., Meehan, C. L., Hogan, J. N., Miller, L. J., Soltis, J., Andrews, J., & Shepherdson, D. J.
Affiliations
  • Portland State University (US)
  • Brookfield Zoo Chicago (US)
Corresponding author
Holdgate, Matthew R.
Venue
PLoS ONE
Published
2016-07-14
Volume
11
Issue
7
Pages
e0150331
ISSN
1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2463924906
Cited by
65
References
64
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 9
FWCI
14.30
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
Institute of Museum and Library Services (LG-25-10-0033-10)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Veterinary › Small Animals › Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Primate Behavior and Ecology
Keywords
zoo elephants, walking behavior, animal welfare, Loxodonta africana, Asian elephant, feeding schedule, social grouping, stereotypy, foot health, joint health, body condition, GPS tracking
MeSH terms
Animals, Animal Welfare, Animals, Zoo, Behavior, Animal, Elephants, Environment, Female, Social Environment, Stereotyped Behavior, Walking

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