The behaviours implied in the manipulation of food items by African elephants were correlated with the shape and size of these items. Despite a common ethogram, all the elephants showed different frequencies in the use of at least one behaviour.
In this recently published study, researchers created a behavioural repertoire in order to describe the use of the trunk in six captive female African elephants of savannah (Loxodonta africana) at the Zooparc of Beauval. The repertoire included 65 behaviours implying the trunk. Focusing on feeding behaviour, 19 behaviours were described. The study revealed the influence of the size and shape of the food on the performed behaviours as well as the variability of the strategy used to manipulate a given type of food.
Manipulative strategies and inter-individual behavioural variability are well described in primates due to their hands and their complex grasping abilities. However, the large degree of freedom in the movements of the Proboscideans' trunk, its high precision and the substantial number of muscles in this organ make a good model out of it to study manipulative strategies.
The results emphasized a correlation between the type of food item and the grasping strategy. Some behaviours were involved in the manipulation of only one or a few types of item. This adaptation of the movement allows precise and efficient manipulation of the food and thus increases the speed of feeding and the quantity of ingested food.
The second part of the study focused on hay grasping and consumption and revealed an inter-individual variability in the use of the five main behaviours. Each elephant differed from the others in the frequency of at least one behaviour, and all the behaviours were used in a different proportion by at least two elephants. The selection of the different strategies did not seem to be related to the trunk morphology but more probably to learning and intrinsic preferences.
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Link to the Published Version of the article (quote this link in your story) : https://peerj.com/articles/9678/?
Citation to the article: 10.7717/peerj.9678
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For the authors:
Maëlle Lefeuvre
Email: maelle.lefeuvre@doctoral.uj.edu.pl
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4291-134X
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