Asian elephants distinguish sexual status and identity of unfamiliar elephants using urinary odours

Biol Lett. 2023 Dec;19(12):20230491. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2023.0491. Epub 2023 Dec 20.ABSTRACTDespite the ubiquity of odours in mammals, few studies have documented the natural olfactory abilities of many 'non-model' species such as the Asian elephant. As Asian elephants are endangered, we may apply odours to more effectively manage threatened populations. We implemented a habituation-discrimination paradigm for the first time in Asian elephants to test the ability of elephants to discriminate between unfamiliar male elephant urine, hypothesizing that elephants would successfully distinguish non-musth from musth urine and also distinguish identity between two closely related individuals. We conducted two bioassay series, exposing three female and three male zoo-housed elephants to the same urine sample (non-musth urine in the first series, and urine from an unfamiliar individual in the second) over 5 days. On the sixth day, we simultaneously presented each elephant with a novel sample (either musth urine or urine from a second unfamiliar individual) alongside the habituated urine sample, comparing rates of chemosensory response to each sample to indicate discrimination. All elephants successfully discriminated non-musth from musth urine, and also urine from two unfamiliar half-brothers. Our results further demonstrate the remarkable olfactory abilities of elephants with promising implications for conservation and management.PMID:38115746 | PMC:PMC10731322 | DOI:10.1098/rsbl.2023...

Source: Biology Letters - December 20, 2023 Category: Biology Authors: Chase A LaDue Rebecca J Snyder Source Type: research