Abstract

Since 2003, the First European Elephant Management School takes place at Tierpark Hagenbeck in Hamburg, Germany and will be held on an annual basis. This 9-day course results out of the idea of Elephant Business and Hagenbeck’s Tierpark. Its goal is to teach husbandry, medical care and training techniques on free-contact and protected-contact elephants and also to be able to exchange experiences among professional elephant people from all over the world.

The curriculum covers a broad variety of important subjects and is divided up into theoretic lectures and a large scale of practical experiences with the animals themselves. The main emphasis of this program is to teach through learning by doing.

Hagenbeck’s Tierpark has been keeping and taking care of elephants for more than one century. Hagenbeck keeps 10 Asian cows under full-contact and one mature bull under protected-contact conditions. This special environment provides the participants with the opportunity to compare and interact with these forms of husbandry. The differences in safety, husbandry and handling are important matters that need to be outlined. Besides that, the major topics of the daily routine (care, safety, training) are discussed as well as foot care, medical problems, reproductive tasks, training, conservation and transport. Therefore, a special selection of international experts assembles in Hamburg to provide the participants with a broad spectrum of information.

The course is meant for professional elephant keepers, elephant curators, zoo veterinarians and zoo directors. The curriculum consists of the following.

General Tasks

• Problems and danger of “hands on” and “hands off” elephant management
• Elephant management in Europe and in the United States (current situation)
• Future strategies of the EAZA/AZA

Elephant Management

• Elephant program design
• Working routines (morning wash routine, exercise routines)
• Facility design (exhibit design, natural breeding facilities, elephant bull handling, etc.)
• Facility and equipment maintenance
• Appearance (uniforms, general appearance, dialogue)
• Vision and goals of a proper elephant program
• Handling (restraint, commands, hook usage, rope slicing and knot tying, chaining, target training, shows and demonstrations)
• Behavioural enrichment

Medical Topics

• Medical prevention techniques and body hygiene (foot care, skin care, tusks and teeth, ears and eyes, tail care, trunk care, bed and pressure sore treatment, sleeping strategies, medical training, veterinary inspections (e.g., skin mapping)
• Medical procedures (foot problems, immobilization, tooth extraction)
• Diseases (herpes, tuberculosis, pox)

Breeding and Reproduction

• Herd dynamics
• Fertility control
• Cycle monitoring
• Ultrasound
• Semen collection
• Artificial insemination
• Birth (preparations, protocols, Caesarean, births within elephant group, handling and training of baby elephants)

Conservation

The next course will take place in November 2004 at Tierpark Hagenbeck in Hamburg. For further information please visit: www.elephant-management.com. (VIN editor: This link was not accessible as of 2-8-21.)