Page 15 - Ratel 2023 Summer

Ratel volume 50, issue number 2

that they remain free of debris. The elephants at Noah’s Ark are prone
to cutting themselves through either sparring or from their browse. As
this is a tight area that will become ‘sweaty’, a cut could become infected
if left untreated. For the most part, a routine clean will be enough and
no further action is required. However, if an infection arises, the area is
then cleared of any debris, flushed out, dried, flushed again with diluted
iodine to sterilise the area, dried for the second time, before a sterile
honey wound dressing (Manuka honey) is applied. Manuka honey has
been proven to work on this area previously with Shaka and Janu, on
their tough dry skin, healing wounds quite nicely.

Tail Soaks - The hair on an elephants tail is important to swat away any
flies from their rear end and is an area of their body that they typically
don’t maintain themselves. Environmental features allow the elephants
to scrub off any dirt and dead skin, however, their tails are a thin bony
structure and the elephants are more likely not to scratch off any dead
Figure 10. Cueing an elephant to prostrate.
skin. Keepers at Noah’s Ark will help maintain their tails through
weekly ‘scrubs.’ Firstly, the tip of their tail is placed into a bucket of
warm water which has been mixed with anti-septic soap solution, and
kept soaking for around ten minutes. Whilst the tail is soaking, keepers
will rub the end of their tail to stimulate the hair follicles (Fig.7). Once
the ten minutes is up, the keepers will check for any ingrown hairs
(removing any that need it), before moving on to scrub the rest of the
tail to remove any dirt or dead skin. This itself will allow for new hair
growth to push through. Moisturising aqueous cream is applied after-
wards to keep the skin supple and to promote ongoing hair growth.

Promoting Elephant Welfare

Noah’s Ark is committed to providing the highest level of care for its
elephants. In doing so, Noah’s Ark regularly contributes data to the
Elephant Welfare Project that has been created by a dedicated team at
the University of Nottingham. The Elephant Welfare Project collabo-
Figure 11. Cueing foot presentation.
rates with national and international elephant facilities that strives to
improve the welfare of captive elephants by identifying and sharing
practices that support good welfare. Using a developed tool called the
Elephant Behavioural Welfare Assessment Tool (EBWAT), routine
behavioural assessments are conducted to monitor the welfare of
Shaka, Janu and Sutton over a period of three days every three months,
totalling four weekly assessments over the year. Nocturnal activity is
also recorded from 6pm until 8am on one of the observation days. This
data has been collected for the past nine years and has helped the zoo
and scientists to identify changes to improve the welfare of their
elephants over time. In addition, the physical condition of the elephants
bodies and feet, and their locomotion, is recorded quarterly and submit-
ted to the Elephant Welfare Group. This body, who have a record of
all previous locomotion/body/foot scoring for every UK elephant
collection, holds each zoo up to the highest of welfare standards.

Caring for the largest land mammal on Earth is a remarkable opportu-
Figure 12. Carrying out sole-paring in protected contact. nity and honour. Noah’s Ark has provided its bachelor herd with a large
modern enclosure that ensures unpredictability, changeable compo-
nents, staff and elephant safety, and the best possible care. It is a great
undertaking that would not be possible without dedication and passion
and Noah’s Ark looks forward to continuing its mission of providing a
home for bull elephants and supporting the African elephant EEP into
the future.

Noah’s Ark has historically, up until recently, contributed to conserva-
tion on a smaller scale, with each animal section supporting a chosen
species-specific animal charity annually. Since becoming a charity in
April 2023, the zoo aims to fulfil a progressive conservation pro-
gramme going forward. Noah’s Ark also has a dedicated award-winning
education programme that offers fun, hands-on learning experiences
that follows the national curriculum alongside informative signage
around the zoo and educational keeper talks.

Connor Dennis is an Elephant Keeper at Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm.
Figure 13. Nail filing in protected contact.
15