ArticleRoyal Society open science2016
Foot pressure distributions during walking in African elephants (
Article in Royal Society open science, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 43 citations in OpenAlex.
- Improving Mobility: A Case Report on the Rehabilitation of a Gait Anomaly in an Asian Elephant at a Thai Elephant Conservation Center.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2025Article
- Evaluating Gait Abnormalities in Asian Elephants Using Inertial Measurement Unit-Based Vertical Movement Symmetry Analysis: A Pilot Study.Veterinary sciences · 2025Article
- Comparative study of the body proportions in Elephantidae and other large herbivorous mammals.Journal of anatomy · 2025Article
- Obesity Prevalence and Associated Factors in Captive Asian Elephants (Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2024Article
- pressuRe: an R package for analyzing and visualizing biomechanical pressure distribution data.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Shape variation in the limb long bones of modern elephants reveals adaptations to body mass and habitat.Journal of anatomy · 2023Article
- Article
- Softening the steps to gigantism in sauropod dinosaurs through the evolution of a pedal pad.Science advances · 2022Article
- Farm vehicles approaching weights of sauropods exceed safe mechanical limits for soil functioning.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2022Article
- First tracks of newborn straight-tusked elephants (Palaeoloxodon antiquus).Scientific reports · 2021Article
- The evolutionary biomechanics of locomotor function in giant land animals.The Journal of experimental biology · 2021Article
- Article
- Can skeletal surface area predict in vivo foot surface area?Journal of anatomy · 2020Article
- 3-D radar imaging unlocks the untapped behavioral and biomechanical archive of Pleistocene ghost tracks.Scientific reports · 2019Article
- How moles walk; it's all thumbs.Biology letters · 2019Article
- Article
- Novel treatment for chronic pododermatitis in an Indian elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) with Mohs' paste.The Journal of veterinary medical science · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Elephants, the largest living land mammals, have evolved a specialized foot morphology to help reduce locomotor pressures while supporting their large body mass. Peak pressures that could cause tissue damage are mitigated passively by the anatomy of elephants' feet, yet this mechanism does not seem to work well for some captive animals. This study tests how foot pressures vary among African and Asian elephants from habitats where natural substrates predominate but where foot care protocols differ. Variations in pressure patterns might be related to differences in husbandry, including but not limited to trimming and the substrates that elephants typically stand and move on. Both species' samples exhibited the highest concentration of peak pressures on the lateral digits of their feet (which tend to develop more disease in elephants) and lower pressures around the heel. The trajectories of the foot's centre of pressure were also similar, confirming that when walking at similar speeds, both species load their feet laterally at impact and then shift their weight medially throughout the step until toe-off. Overall, we found evidence of variations in foot pressure patterns that might be attributable to husbandry and other causes, deserving further examination using broader, more comparable samples.
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Registered trials
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