Abstract

Declining wild populations combined with accumulating captive populations of e.g. livestock, pets, draught and zoo animals have resulted in some threatened species with substantial proportions of their populations in captivity. The interactions animals have with humans in captivity depend on handler familiarity and relationship quality and can affect animal health, growth and reproduction with consequences for the success of conservation programmes. However, assessments of how specific human–animal relationships affect a range of physiological and behavioural outcomes are rare. Here, we studied semi-captive Asian elephants with detailed records of elephant–handler (mahout) relationships and veterinary management, allowing assessment of multiple welfare indicators in relation to specific mahout–elephant relationship lengths and mahout experience. These included measures of physiological stress (faecal glucocorticoid metabolite [FGM], heterophil:lymphocyte ratio [H:L]), muscle damage (creatine kinase [CK]), immunological health (total white blood cell count [TWBC]) and behaviour (response to mahout verbal commands). We found no evidence that FGM or H:L related to aspects of the mahout–elephant relationship. Longer overall mahout experience (i.e. years of being a mahout) was linked to increased muscle damage and inflammation, but the lengths of specific mahout–elephant relationships were inversely associated with muscle damage in working-age elephants. Elephants responded more to familiar mahouts in behavioural tasks and faster to mahouts they had known for longer. In summary, our results found little evidence that the mahout–elephant relationship affects physiological stress in this population based on FGM and H:L, but mahout experience and relationships were linked to other physiological responses (CK, TWBC), and elephants require behavioural adjustment periods following mahout changes.

中文翻译：

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饲养员关系和经验对半圈养亚洲象健康参数、糖皮质激素反应和行为的影响

摘要

野生种群数量的减少加上家畜、宠物、役用动物和动物园动物等圈养动物数量的不断增加，导致一些受威胁物种的种群中很大一部分处于圈养状态。圈养动物与人类的互动取决于饲养员的熟悉程度和关系质量，并可能影响动物的健康、生长和繁殖，从而影响保护计划的成功。然而，对特定的人与动物关系如何影响一系列生理和行为结果的评估却很少。在这里，我们研究了半圈养的亚洲象，并详细记录了大象与驯象人（象夫）关系和兽医管理，从而可以评估与特定象夫与大象关系长度和象夫经验相关的多个福利指标。这些包括生理应激（粪便糖皮质激素代谢物 [FGM]、异嗜细胞：淋巴细胞比率 [H:L]）、肌肉损伤（肌酸激酶 [CK]）、免疫健康（白细胞总数 [TWBC]）和行为（对驯象员口头命令的反应）。我们没有发现任何证据表明女性生殖器切割或 H:L 与象夫与大象关系的各个方面有关。较长的整体象夫经验（即担任象夫的年数）与肌肉损伤和炎症的增加有关，但特定象夫与大象关系的长度与工作年龄大象的肌肉损伤呈负相关。大象在行为任务中对熟悉的象夫反应更多，对他们认识时间更长的象夫反应更快。总之，我们的结果几乎没有证据表明驯象师与大象的关系会影响基于 FGM 和 H:L 的该群体的生理压力，但驯象师的经验和关系与其他生理反应（CK、TWBC）相关，并且大象需要行为调整象夫变更后的时期。