ArticleProceedings. Biological sciences2019
Long-term trends in wild-capture and population dynamics point to an uncertain future for captive elephants.
Article in Proceedings. Biological sciences, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed.
- Article
- Multivariate signals of population collapse in a high-throughput ecological experiment.Ecology · 2025Article
- Asian elephant calf physiology and mahout perspectives during taming in Myanmar.Royal Society open science · 2024Article
- Testosterone variation in a semi-captive population of Asian elephants in Myanmar.Conservation physiology · 2024Article
- Land-use change is associated with multi-century loss of elephant ecosystems in Asia.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Seasonal variation in molecular and physiological stress markers in Asian elephants.Conservation physiology · 2023Article
- Life history predicts global population responses to the weather in terrestrial mammals.eLife · 2022Article
- Female reproductive skew exacerbates the extinction risk from poaching in the eastern black rhino.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2022Article
- The Chemical Ecology of Elephants: 21st Century Additions to Our Understanding and Future Outlooks.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2021Review
- Handler familiarity helps to improve working performance during novel situations in semi-captive Asian elephants.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Influence of handler relationships and experience on health parameters, glucocorticoid responses and behaviour of semi-captive Asian elephants.Conservation physiology · 2021Article
- Milk Composition of Asian Elephants (Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2020Article
- Evaluating the Reliability of Non-Specialist Observers in the Behavioural Assessment of Semi-Captive Asian Elephant Welfare.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2020Article
- Faecal Glucocorticoid Metabolites and H/L Ratio are Related Markers of Stress in Semi-Captive Asian Timber Elephants.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2020Article
- Seasonal variation of health in Asian elephants.Conservation physiology · 2020Article
- Asian elephants exhibit post-reproductive lifespans.BMC evolutionary biology · 2019Article
- Capture from the wild has long-term costs on reproductive success in Asian elephants.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2019Article
- Long-term trends in wild-capture and population dynamics point to an uncertain future for captive elephants.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Maintaining sustainable populations in captivity without supplementation through wild-capture is a major challenge in conservation that zoos and aquaria are working towards. However, the capture of wild animals continues for many purposes where conservation is not the primary focus. Wild-capture hinders long-term conservation goals by reducing remaining wild populations, but the direct and long-term indirect consequences of wild-capture for captive population viability are rarely addressed using longitudinal data. We explored the implications of changes in wild-capture on population dynamics in captivity over 54 years using a multi-generational studbook of working Asian elephants ( Elephas maximus) from Myanmar, the largest remaining captive elephant population. Here we show that population growth and birth rates declined between 1960 and 2014 with declines in wild-capture. Importantly, wild-caught females had reduced birth rates and a higher mortality risk. However, despite the disadvantages of wild-capture, the population may not be sustainable without it, with immediate declines owing to an unstable age-structure that may last for 50 years. Our results highlight the need to assess the long-term demographic consequences of wild-capture to ensure the sustainability of captive and wild populations as species are increasingly managed and conserved in altered or novel environments.
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