Wild elephants vary in their attraction to novelty across an anthropogenic landscape gradient
Research on how wild animals respond to novelty is becoming more relevant as the overlap between natural habitats and human-dominated landscapes increases. Wild Asian elephants spend more time in anthropogenic landscapes as their habitat is converted to agriculture. Greater neophilia and exploration...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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The Royal Society
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Royal Society Open Science |
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| Online Access: | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.250896 |
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| author | Sarah L. Jacobson Sangpa Dittakul Mananya Pla-ard Supang Sittichok Marnoch Yindee Joshua M. Plotnik |
| author_facet | Sarah L. Jacobson Sangpa Dittakul Mananya Pla-ard Supang Sittichok Marnoch Yindee Joshua M. Plotnik |
| author_sort | Sarah L. Jacobson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Research on how wild animals respond to novelty is becoming more relevant as the overlap between natural habitats and human-dominated landscapes increases. Wild Asian elephants spend more time in anthropogenic landscapes as their habitat is converted to agriculture. Greater neophilia and exploration may allow elephants to successfully access agricultural resources, which may cause negative interactions with people. We compared wild elephant reactions to novel objects in two different landscapes in Thailand (near agriculture and deep inside a protected sanctuary). We also assessed consistency in measures for individuals exposed to different objects to determine whether their reactions could be considered personality traits. Elephants tested near agriculture were more neophilic and exploratory than those inside the sanctuary. However, the limited sample of elephants exposed to both novel objects did not demonstrate consistency in their reactions, and thus we could not determine whether neophilia or exploration were personality traits in this population. Neophilic and exploratory elephants likely benefit from high-quality agricultural resources, but at a potential cost to both elephants and humans. Knowledge about the elephants’ behaviour and attraction to particular landscapes could aid in human–elephant conflict mitigation efforts that consider the needs of both species and aim for more stable coexistence. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-92d0db7ce9214bc8b27b2c6780f1067c |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2054-5703 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | The Royal Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Royal Society Open Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-92d0db7ce9214bc8b27b2c6780f1067c2025-08-20T03:18:06ZengThe Royal SocietyRoyal Society Open Science2054-57032025-07-0112710.1098/rsos.250896Wild elephants vary in their attraction to novelty across an anthropogenic landscape gradientSarah L. Jacobson0Sangpa Dittakul1Mananya Pla-ard2Supang Sittichok3Marnoch Yindee4Joshua M. Plotnik5Department of Psychology, Hunter College, City University of New York, New York, USAGolden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation, Chiang Rai, ThailandGolden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation, Chiang Rai, ThailandGolden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation, Chiang Rai, ThailandAkkhraratchakumari Veterinary College, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat, ThailandDepartment of Psychology, Hunter College, City University of New York, New York, USAResearch on how wild animals respond to novelty is becoming more relevant as the overlap between natural habitats and human-dominated landscapes increases. Wild Asian elephants spend more time in anthropogenic landscapes as their habitat is converted to agriculture. Greater neophilia and exploration may allow elephants to successfully access agricultural resources, which may cause negative interactions with people. We compared wild elephant reactions to novel objects in two different landscapes in Thailand (near agriculture and deep inside a protected sanctuary). We also assessed consistency in measures for individuals exposed to different objects to determine whether their reactions could be considered personality traits. Elephants tested near agriculture were more neophilic and exploratory than those inside the sanctuary. However, the limited sample of elephants exposed to both novel objects did not demonstrate consistency in their reactions, and thus we could not determine whether neophilia or exploration were personality traits in this population. Neophilic and exploratory elephants likely benefit from high-quality agricultural resources, but at a potential cost to both elephants and humans. Knowledge about the elephants’ behaviour and attraction to particular landscapes could aid in human–elephant conflict mitigation efforts that consider the needs of both species and aim for more stable coexistence.https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.250896personalityneophiliaexplorationAsian elephantcoexistencehuman–elephant conflict |
| spellingShingle | Sarah L. Jacobson Sangpa Dittakul Mananya Pla-ard Supang Sittichok Marnoch Yindee Joshua M. Plotnik Wild elephants vary in their attraction to novelty across an anthropogenic landscape gradient Royal Society Open Science personality neophilia exploration Asian elephant coexistence human–elephant conflict |
| title | Wild elephants vary in their attraction to novelty across an anthropogenic landscape gradient |
| title_full | Wild elephants vary in their attraction to novelty across an anthropogenic landscape gradient |
| title_fullStr | Wild elephants vary in their attraction to novelty across an anthropogenic landscape gradient |
| title_full_unstemmed | Wild elephants vary in their attraction to novelty across an anthropogenic landscape gradient |
| title_short | Wild elephants vary in their attraction to novelty across an anthropogenic landscape gradient |
| title_sort | wild elephants vary in their attraction to novelty across an anthropogenic landscape gradient |
| topic | personality neophilia exploration Asian elephant coexistence human–elephant conflict |
| url | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.250896 |
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