Honolulu Zoo

This study, involving the entire population of 290 elephants housed in AZA zoos, will address the need to apply scientific techniques to the assessment of zoo elephant welfare, and to understand the relationship between environmental variables and physical and mental health. Using an epidemiological approach, data will be collected on a broad spectrum of input variables, such as enrichment, training, enclosure size, group size, and animal-based outcome variables, such as physiological status, social behavior, and keeper-animal relationships. Detailed behavioral data will also be collected at a subsample of zoos. Variables have been selected to assess both negative and positive welfare. This study will produce the first comprehensive measurements of elephant well-being and determine management changes to improve welfare. The model will also be generally applicable for other zoo species.