Ious organization name is Prairie Tide Chemical compounds Inc.).animalsArticleMonitoring Behaviour in African Elephants throughout Introduction into a new Group: Differences amongst Associated and Un1-Oleoyl-2-palmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-PC custom synthesis Related AnimalsFranziska H ner 1, , Ann-Kathrin Oerke two , Dennis W. H. M ler 3 , Uta Westerh 4 , Idu Azogu-Sepe five , Jiri Hruby six and Gela Preisfeld3 four 5Fakult f Mathematik und Naturwissenschaften, Zoologie und Didaktik der Biologie, University of Wuppertal, Gau tra 20, D-42119 Wuppertal, Germany; [email protected] Endocrinology Laboratory, German Primate Centre, Kellnerweg 4, D-37077 Goettingen, Germany; [email protected] Zoological Garden Halle (Saale), Fasanstr. 5a, D-06114 Halle (Saale), Germany; [email protected] Opel-Zoo Kronberg, Am Opel-Zoo three, D-61476 Kronberg im Taunus, Germany; [email protected] Serengeti-Park Hodenhagen, Am Safaripark 1, D-29693 Hodenhagen, Germany; [email protected] ZOO Dvur Kr ov Stef ikova 1029, C-544 01 Dvur Kr ovnad Labem, Czech Republic; [email protected] Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: 49-Citation: H ner, F.; Oerke, A.-K.; M ler, D.W.H.; Westerh , U.; Azogu-Sepe, I.; Hruby, J.; Preisfeld, G. Monitoring Behaviour in African Elephants through Introduction into a new Group: Variations among Related and Unrelated Animals. Animals 2021, 11, 2990. https:// doi.org/10.3390/ani11102990 Academic Editors: Angela S. Stoeger and Anton Baotic Received: 31 August 2021 Accepted: 14 October 2021 Published: 18 OctoberSimple Summary: African elephants are hugely social animals that perform a so-called Greeting Ceremony in the wild when meeting elephants they are familiar with but haven’t observed for any particular timespan. Till now, it has not been identified whether zoo elephants also show this unique behaviour. Therefore, this study was made around the reunifications of two mother aughter pairs that had been separated for two and 12 years, and two unifications of unrelated elephants, as a comparison. 1st get in touch with was carried out in a protected setting, i.e., there was a fence among the animals to stop possible fighting. Signs on the Greeting Ceremony shown by the elephants, the distance they kept for the separating fence, and the time till the elephants’ trunks touched for the initial time were observed. The outcomes demonstrate that the associated elephants VU0152099 References showed all behavioural characteristic of the Greeting Ceremony, kept close for the fence, and touched trunks after only a handful of seconds, though elephants that had been not acquainted with each other did not show a full Greeting Ceremony, stayed further in the fence, and touched trunks for the first time only soon after many minutes upon meeting. This study testifies that zoo elephants show the identical common social behaviour identified from wild elephants (namely the Greeting Ceremony) and, consequently, behave species-specific. In addition, it confirms the powerful loved ones bonds of elephants and the cognitive skills of elephants, particularly their long-term social memory. Abstract: The introduction of elephants into new groups is needed for breeding programmes. Nevertheless, behavioural research around the reactions of those animals initially encounters are missing. In the present study, female African elephants (Loxodonta africana) living in zoos had been observed in the course of unifications with unfamiliar elephants (introduction of two to 1 females and a single to two females; n = six) and reunifications with related elephants (two mother aughter-pairs; n = 4) that have been separated fo.
