ORIGINAL_ARTICLE Providing good animal welfare standards is very important for wild animals in captivity, especially in zoos. Therefore, the aim of this study was to perform a welfare assessment of elephants in the Skopje Zoo using species-specific protocols. Two specific protocols were used for the welfare assessment and were combined for a more unified approach. These protocols focused on the assessment of the elephant’s day-time behaviour, including Qualitative Behaviour Assessment (QBA), as well as the following sections: nutrition, physical health, environment, behaviour and management. Data was collected from the Asian and African elephants that were housed together, in the Skopje Zoo. Both species were observed for three consecutive days, during which time QBA was performed and they were observed on their daytime behaviour. Feeding (42% African, 34% Asian elephant) and anticipatory (35% African, 22% Asian elephant) behaviour were predominantly observed daytime behaviours of both elephants, as well as stereotypic behaviour (30%) of the Asian elephant. Concerning the QBA, ‘uncomfortable’ (296 Asian, 234 African elephants) and ‘relaxed’ (271 Asian, 280 African elephants) were the most dominant descriptors for both elephants. The collected data indicated that the elephants were in good physical health. Regular feeding enrichment, as well as environmental enrichment was recommended. There is room for improvement concerning the management practices of the elephants. https://macvetrev.mk/Files/Article/2022/10.2478/macvetrev-2022-0019/macvetrev-2022-0019.pdf 2022-10-15 201 208 10.2478/macvetrev-2022-0019 animal welfare behaviour observation techniques zoo animals elephants Ena Dobrikj false 1 Animal Welfare Center, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine – Skopje, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, Lazar Pop-Trajkov 5-7, 1000 Skopje, North Macedonia AUTHOR Vlatko Ilieski false 2 Animal Welfare Center, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine – Skopje, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, Lazar Pop-Trajkov 5-7, 1000 Skopje, North Macedonia AUTHOR Ksenija Ilievska false 3 Animal Welfare Center, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine – Skopje, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, Lazar Pop-Trajkov 5-7, 1000 Skopje, North Macedonia AUTHOR Miroslav Kjosevski miro@fvm.ukim.edu.mk false 4 Animal Welfare Center, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine – Skopje, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, Lazar Pop-Trajkov 5-7, 1000 Skopje, North Macedonia LEAD_AUTHOR Schildkraut, R. (2006). Characteristation of positive welfare indices in captive african lions (Panthera leo) [master’s thesis]. [New South Wales]: Faculty of Veterinary Science, The University of Sydney. 1 Sjoberg, J. (2011). The effect of extra food simulation on Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) kept at Kolmården Zoo. [Bachelor’s thesis]. [Linkoping, Sweden]: Linkopings Universitet, Sweden 2 Veasey, J.S. (2006). Concepts in the care and welfare of captive elephants. Int Zoo Yearb. 40(1): 63-79. 3 10.1111/j.1748-1090.2006.00063.x Irie, N., Hasegawa, T. (2009). Elephant psychology: What we know and what we would like to know. Jpn Psychol Res. 51(3): 177-181. 4 10.1111/j.1468-5884.2009.00404.x Rees, P.A. (2009). The sizes of elephant groups in Zoos: implications for elephant welfare. J Appl Anim Welf Sci. 12(1): 44-60. PMid:19107664 5 10.1080/10888700802536699 Prado-Oviedo, N.A., Bonaparte-Saller, M.K., Malloy, E.J., Meehan, C.L., Mench, J.A., Carlstead, K., Brown, J.L. (2016). Evaluation of demographics and social life events of Asian (Elephas maximus) and African elephants (Loxodonta africana) in North American Zoos. PLoS One 11(7): e0154750. PMid:27415437 PMCid:PMC4945030 6 10.1371/journal.pone.0154750 Schulte, B.A. (2000). Social structure and helping behavior in captive elephants. Zoo Biol. 19(5): 447-459. 3.0.CO;2-# 7 10.1002/1098-2361(2000)19:5 Harris, M., Sherwin, C., Harris, S. (2008). The welfare, housing and husbandry of elephants in UK zoos. Final Report, University of Bristol. DEFRA Science and Research Project WC05007. London: Department of Food, The Environment and Rural Affairs. 8 Webber, C.E. (2017). A comparison of behavioural development of elephant calves in captivity and in the wild: implications for welfare [Dissertation]. [Stirling, Scotland]: University of Stirling. 9 Justice, W.S.M., O’Brien, M.F., Szyszka, O., Shotton, J., Gilmour, J.E.M., Riordan, P., Wolfensohn, S. (2017). Adaptation of the animal welfare assessment grid (AWAG) for monitoring animal welfare in zoological collections. Vet Rec. 181(6): 143. PMid:28487453 10 10.1136/vr.104309 Jones, C. (2018). Wild planet trust welfare auditing guidance document. EAZA Animal Welfare. c2018 [cited 2018 April 18]. https://www.eaza.net/assets/Uploads/Areas-of-Activity/Animal-welfare/Docs/Animal-Welfare-Assessment-English.pdf? 11 Yon, L., Williams, E., Harvey, N.D., Asher, L. (2019). Development of a behavioural welfare assessment tool for routine use with captive elephants. PloS One 14(2): e0210783. PMid:30726232 PMCid:PMC6364905 12 10.1371/journal.pone.0210783 Samelius, V. (2018). Zoo animal welfare assessment: a review of current research and protocols concerning welfare assessment and feasibility of application in a zoo environment [bachelor’s thesis]. [Uppsala]: Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. 13 European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) (2020). [Internet]. EAZA best practice guidelines for elephants, 2nd edition. Amsterdam: EAZA. https://www.eaza.net/assets/Uploads/CCC/BPG-2020/Elephant-TAG-BPG-2020.pdf 14 Olson, D. (2002). [Internet]. Elephant husbandry resource guide. American Zoo and Aquarium Association Elephant Taxon Group; Еlephant Managers Association; International Elephant Foundation. https://elephantconservation.org/iefImages/2015/06/CompleteHusbandryGuide1stEdition.pdf 15 Finch, K., Sach, F., Fitzpatrick, M., Masters, N., Rowden, L.J. (2020). Longitudinal improvements in zoo-housed elephant welfare: a case study at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo. Animals 10(11): 2029. PMid:33158053 PMCid:PMC7694121 16 10.3390/ani10112029 Mason, G. Clubb, R., Latham, N., Vickery, S. (2007). Why and how should we use environmental enrichment to tackle stereotypic behaviour?. Appl Anim Behav Sci. 102(3-4): 163-188. 17 10.1016/j.applanim.2006.05.041 Greco, B.J., Meehan. C.L., Hogan. J.N., Leighty, K.A., Mellen. J., et al. (2016). The days and nights of Zoo elephants: using epidemiology to better understand stereotypic behavior of African elephants (Loxodonta africana) and Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) in North American Zoos. PLoS One 11(7): e0144276. PMid:27416071 PMCid:PMC4944985 18 10.1371/journal.pone.0144276 Björk, K. (2011). The effect of extra feed supply on stereotypic behaviour in Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) [bachelor’s thesis]. [Linkoping, Sweden]: Linkopings University, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology. 19 AZA. (2012). AZA standards for elephant management and care. Approved March 2011, Revised April 2012. https://assets.speakcdn.com/assets/2332/aza_standards_for_elephant_management_and_care.pdf 20