Division of Animal, Chester Zoo, Upton-by-Chester, Cheshire, UK.
Department of Science, Chester Zoo, Upton-by-Chester, Cheshire, UK.
Zoo Biol. 2020 Nov;39(6):397-404. doi: 10.1002/zoo.21568. Epub 2020 Sep 10.
Modern zoos strive to improve standards of animal management, husbandry and welfare of their animals as part of a continual evaluation process. Elephants (Elephantidae) have received particular attention in recent years due to the challenge of providing environments which promote natural behavior and opportunities for social interaction. A number of measures have been proposed to measure wellbeing, with sleep quality increasingly being used. Sleep is a vital aspect of life for cell replenishment as well as optimal development of young. Sleep deprivation can lead to immunosuppression and illness; therefore animal managers have a responsibility to ensure they reduce the potential for disturbance through noise, light, or other environmental factors. The social environment also plays an essential role in wellbeing, particularly for species that live in multi-generational family units. In this study the nocturnal behavior of a multi-generational captive herd was observed to determine impacts of husbandry changes on sleep duration and bout length (measured as recumbent rest). As expected, average total duration of sleep was higher in younger elephants and rates were comparable to those reported in other studies of Asian elephants. Overnight access to an outdoor paddock in warmer weather increased overall average bout length of sleep in the herd. Average total duration of sleep also increased for the herd following the movement of an unrelated adult female who had previously shown weak bonds with other herd members. This indicates that social compatibility is a vital component of elephant welfare, impacting not only behavioral interactions but sleep quality and duration.
现代动物园致力于提高动物管理、饲养和福利的标准，作为持续评估过程的一部分。近年来，由于提供促进自然行为和社交互动机会的环境具有挑战性，大象（象科）受到了特别关注。已经提出了许多衡量福利的措施，越来越多地使用睡眠质量。睡眠是细胞补充以及年轻个体最佳发育的生命至关重要的方面。睡眠剥夺会导致免疫抑制和疾病；因此，动物管理人员有责任通过噪声、光线或其他环境因素来确保减少潜在的干扰。社会环境也对福利起着至关重要的作用，特别是对于生活在多代家族群体中的物种。在这项研究中，观察了多代圈养象群的夜间行为，以确定饲养变化对睡眠持续时间和睡眠（以卧姿休息衡量）的影响。正如预期的那样，年轻大象的平均总睡眠时间较高，且与亚洲象的其他研究报告的睡眠时间相似。在温暖的天气中，夜间可进入户外围场，增加了象群的整体平均睡眠时长。在一头与其他象群成员关系较弱的成年雌性大象被转移后，象群的平均总睡眠时间也增加了。这表明社交兼容性是大象福利的重要组成部分，不仅影响行为互动，还影响睡眠质量和时长。
