Changes in the activity budget of captive Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) after introducing an automatic feeder

Abstract

Introduction of feeding enrichment for captive elephants is necessary during the time zone (17:00 to 8:00 the next morning) when there are no staff working. The effects of an unmanned feeding device (automatic feeder) were verified for individuals housed and managed at the Kanazawa Zoological Gardens at Yokohama. The automatic feeder was designed such that, when activated, the branches and leaves that were hung from chains were fed in front of the indoor enclosure. The feeder was activated twice, once each in the night (18:00-20:00) and the early morning (5:00-7:00). Treatment 1 was performed at a fixed time and Treatment 2 was performed at varying times every day. In both treatments, no effect was observed at night. In the early morning, an increase in feeding and decrease in stereotypical behavior were observed, confirming the effectiveness of the automatic feeder. In addition, at night, the later the activation time of the automatic feeder, the less effective it was. Therefore, it was considered necessary to improve the timing of operation and the frequency of use for better efficiency of the automatic feeder.