Food hiding and enrichment in captive Asian elephants

Abstract

Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) kept in zoos usually spend less time foraging than their wild conspecifics. In order to increase foraging in a group of captive Asian elephants, peanuts were hidden above a distinctive outdoor enclosure structure, the stone border. It was expected that the elephants would learn this association and increase food searching in the outdoor enclosure. After training, the elephants searched more above the stone borders than during baseline, which indicates that they learned the relationship between stone borders and peanuts. But hiding food did not enhance searching behaviour. Therefore, this method of food hiding did not represent an environmental enrichment.