The Asian Elephant in Captivity : A Field Study/Fred Kurt and Marion E.
Garai. New Delhi, Cambridge University Press, 2007, viii, 352 p., tables, figs., ISBN
81-7596-358-1.
The Asian Elephant in Captivity : A Field Study/Fred Kurt and Marion E.
Garai. New Delhi, Cambridge University Press, 2007, viii, 352 p., tables, figs., ISBN
81-7596-358-1.
Contents: Preface. Acknowledgements. 1. Introduction. 2. The Sri Lankan Elephant. 3. The Captive populations, keeping systems and health. 4. Food, tool use and sleep. 5. Musth, reproduction, social integration and stereotypy. 6. Captive elephants and conservation. 7. Base lines and proposals. Appendices. References. Photo gallery. Index.
"Today, one out of three Asian elephants lives in captivity. Although captive elephants have existed since 3,500 years, they have never been domesticated. The lack of fundamental knowledge about wild elephants induces anthropocentric actions and argumentation, but is of little help to the captive elephants. This book provides data on ecology and behaviour of captive elephants in relation to their wild conspecifics and recommendations on how to improve the living conditions of captive elephants." (jacket)