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Science 12 December 2008:
Vol. 322. no. 5908, p. 1649
DOI: 10.1126/science.1164298
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Brevia

Compromised Survivorship in Zoo Elephants

Ros Clubb,1 Marcus Rowcliffe,2 Phyllis Lee,3,4 Khyne U. Mar,2,5 Cynthia Moss,4 Georgia J. Mason6*

We analyzed data from over 4500 elephants to show that animals in European zoos have about half the median life span of conspecifics in protected populations in range countries. This discrepancy is clearest in Asian elephants; unlike African elephants in zoos, this species' infant mortality is very high (for example, twice that seen in Burmese timber camps), and its adult survivorship in zoos has not improved significantly in recent years. One risk factor for Asian zoo elephants is being moved between institutions, with early removal from the mother tending to have additional adverse effects. Another risk factor is being born into a zoo rather than being imported from the wild, with poor adult survivorship in zoo-born Asians apparently being conferred prenatally or in early infancy. We suggest stress and/or obesity as likely causes of zoo elephants' compromised survivorship.

1 Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), Wilberforce Way, Southwater, West Sussex, RH13 9RS, UK.
2 Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, London NW1 4RY, UK.
3 Psychology Department, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK.
4 Amboseli Trust for Elephants, Post Office Box 15135, Nairobi, Kenya.
5 Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK.
6 Animal Sciences Department, University of Guelph, Guelph N1G 2M7, Canada.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: gmason{at}uoguelph.ca

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)