Monitoring Behaviour in African Elephants during Introduction into a New Group: Differences between Related and Unrelated Animals

Simple Summary African elephants are highly social animals that perform a so-called Greeting Ceremony in the wild when meeting elephants they are familiar with but have not seen for a certain timespan. Until now, it has not been known whether zoo elephants also show this unique behaviour. Therefore, this study was designed around the reunifications of two mother–daughter pairs that had been separated for 2 and 12 years, and two unifications of unrelated elephants, as a comparison. First contact was conducted in a protected setting, i.e., there was a fence between the animals to prevent possible fighting. Signs of the Greeting Ceremony shown by the elephants, the distance they kept to the separating fence, and the time until the elephants’ trunks touched for the first time were observed. The results demonstrate that the related elephants showed all behavioural characteristic of the Greeting Ceremony, kept close to the fence, and touched trunks after only a few seconds, while elephants that were not familiar with each other did not show a full Greeting Ceremony, stayed further from the fence, and touched trunks for the first time only after several minutes upon meeting. This study testifies that zoo elephants show the same typical social behaviour known from wild elephants (namely the Greeting Ceremony) and, therefore, behave species-specific. It also confirms the strong family bonds of elephants and the cognitive abilities of elephants, specifically their long-term social memory. Abstract The introduction of elephants into new groups is necessary for breeding programmes. However, behavioural studies on the reactions of these animals at first encounters are missing. In the present study, female African elephants (Loxodonta africana) living in zoos were observed during unifications with unfamiliar elephants (introduction of two to one females and one to two females; n = 6) and reunifications with related elephants (two mother–daughter-pairs; n = 4) that were separated for 2 and 12 years, respectively. First encounters of the elephants were observed and recorded by scan sampling. The parameters measured were (a) signs of the characteristic Greeting Ceremony, (b) distance to the fence separating the elephants during first contact, and (c) time until trunks touched for the first time. The data were statistically analysed with SPSS. The results showed that related elephants performed a full Greeting Ceremony on reunifications. Unrelated elephants only expressed a minor greeting. During first encounters, related elephants predominantly showed affiliative behaviour (p = 0.001), whilst unrelated elephants expressed more agonistic behaviour (p = 0.001). The distance to the fence was significantly smaller for related elephants than for unrelated elephants (p = 0.038). first contact of trunks occurred on average after 3.00 s. in related elephants and 1026.25 s. in unrelated elephants. These findings indicate that related elephants recognise their kin after up to 12 years of separation, meet them with a full Greeting Ceremony during reunification, and seek contact to the related elephant, while unrelated elephants are hesitant during unifications with unfamiliar elephants and express more agonistic behaviour. The results testify that zoo elephants show the same species-specific social behaviour as their conspecifics in the wild. It also confirms the cognitive abilities of elephants and the significance of matrilines for breeding programmes.