• Question: hi , I've got some questions for you 1. how do you know when an elephant is happy or distressed other than making a noise?

    Asked by Ruby red to Ellen on 16 Mar 2017.
    • Photo: Ellen Williams

      Ellen Williams answered on 16 Mar 2017:

      You can tell a lot about elephants from their behaviour and also through looking at physiological measures (specifically cortisol – a stress hormone). Stressed out animals might be performing things which we call ‘stereotypies’ or repetitive behaviours. You would expect ‘happy’ elephants to be engaging in lots of normal (for the species) activities – touching or playing with other elephants, eating, moving around the enclosure, investigating things, etc. Elephants may also change their behaviour if there is a change in their environment which makes them uncomfortable. Hope that answers your question 🙂

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