Social relationships of wild juvenile Asian Elephants Elephas maximus in the Udawalawa National Park, Sri Lanka

The illegal wildlife trade is considered one of the major threats to global biodiversity. Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) have been highly valued by various cultures for use in religious and spiritual contexts, as a draft animal, and more recently, as a tourist attraction. Thus, the demand for captive elephants is high. Wild Asian elephants are taken from the wild, often illegally, to maintain these captive populations due to the unviability of captive breeding programs. For the first time, we documented the extent to which wild elephants are being illegally captured and traded in Sri Lanka between January 2008 and December 2018. We collected data from case records maintained by the Sri Lanka court system where the suspects of illegal elephant trade were prosecuted in addition to information gathered by archives and interviews with various stakeholders. We documented 55 cases where elephants were illegally traded. This is probably an underestimate due to the mortality rate of elephants during capture operations, and challenges in collecting data on this highly organized illicit trade. Nearly equal numbers of male and female elephants were traded and more than 50% of them were juveniles, aged ≤5 years. Significantly more elephants were found to be seized in 2014–2015 than in the other time periods combined. We found evidence of the illegal capture of wild elephants from wildlife protected areas and state forests. More importantly, we identified evidence of corruption of wildlife officers, involvement of politicians and other high-ranking personnel in the illegal wildlife trade, and lack of active enforcement of wildlife law as major challenges to overcome if the illegal capture and domestic trade of wild elephants in Sri Lanka are to be halted. Based on our study, we make a series of recommendations that should result in implementing policy to reduce the trafficking of Asian elephants in Sri Lanka and improve the conservation management of the species.

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Social behaviour and breeding physiology of a group of Asian elephants Elephas maximus at the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, Sri Lanka

International Zoo Yearbook ◽

10.1111/j.1748-1090.1997.tb01224.x ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 35 (1) ◽

pp. 297-310 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

T. B. POOLE‘ ◽

V. J. TAYLOR ◽

S. B. U. FERNANDO ◽

W. D. RATNASOORIYA ◽

A. RATNAYEKE ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sri Lanka ◽

Social Behaviour ◽

Elephas Maximus ◽

Asian Elephants

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Demonstration of 2-unsaturated C19-steroids in the urine of female Asian elephants, Elephas maximus, and their dependence on ovarian activity

Reproduction ◽

10.1530/rep.0.1210475 ◽

2001 ◽

pp. 475-484 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

M Dehnhard ◽

M Heistermann ◽

F Goritz ◽

R Hermes ◽

T Hildebrandt ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Relationships ◽

Luteal Phase ◽

Additional Data ◽

Solid Phase ◽

Ovarian Cycle ◽

Elephas Maximus ◽

Ovarian Activity ◽

Cycle Duration ◽

Asian Elephants ◽

Volatile Substances

Air-borne volatile substances have been demonstrated to signal oestrus, induce ovulation and synchronize ovarian activity in different mammals. An oestrous-related pheromone of the female Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) is known to induce behavioural responses in elephant bulls. Additional data revealed that timing of oestrus in females with close social relationships tends to be synchronized. Therefore, urine from female Asian elephants might be expected to contain luteal phase-dependent volatile substances, which may function as additional chemical signals in this species. The aim of the present study was to identify such compounds and to investigate their pattern of excretion throughout the ovarian cycle. Urine samples were collected three times a week during the follicular phase and one to three times a week during the luteal phase from five adult female Asian elephants from a total of 13 non-conception cycles and one conception cycle, including the first 72 weeks of pregnancy. A simple headspace solid-phase microextraction method has been developed for quantification of urinary volatile substances and analysis was performed by gas chromatography. The comparison of urine collected during the follicular and the luteal phase indicated the presence of two luteal phase-dependent substances. Mass spectrometry was used to identify one substance as 5alpha-androst-2-en-17-one and a second substance as the corresponding alcoholic compound 5alpha-androst-2-en-17beta-ol. The 5alpha-androst-2-en-17beta-ol and -17-one profiles reflected cyclic ovarian activity with clear (10-20-fold) luteal phase increases. Furthermore, measurements of both compounds were correlated positively with the concentration of urinary pregnanetriol and indicated cycle duration (15.1 +/- 1.2 weeks) similar to that obtained from pregnanetriol measurements (15.2 +/- 1.6 weeks). The results demonstrate the presence of two luteal phase-specific steroidal volatile compounds in elephant urine. One of the substances, 5alpha-androst-2-en-17-one, has been demonstrated in human axillary bacterial isolates. The measurement of both volatile substances in elephant urine can be used for rapid detection of the stage of the ovarian cycle, as the analysis can be completed within 2 h.

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