The influence of personality and cognition on savannah elephant (Loxodonta africana) behaviour

性格和认知对草原象（Loxodonta africana）行为的影响

• 批准号: 2891179
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Portsmouth
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2891179
• 关键词: influence; personality; cognition; savannah; elephant

The conflict between human and animals will worsen as the human population increases. Strategies to help prevent such conflict often rely on blanket approaches across all individuals within a species. Yet, little research has been carried out to understand the individual motivation, and ultimately personality, of animals who actively approach human settlements. In Botswana, villages in the Mkgadikgadi pans suffer with frequent human-elephant conflict (HEC), as savannah elephants frequently cross the river from the National Park to crop-raid. Currently, local authorities are constructing fences along the park border. Determining if fences are likely to mitigate HEC, or if alternative solutions need to be implemented, is integral to prevent greater conflict arising in this area. As such, our project aims to quantify whether personality predicts the cognitive expression of African savannah elephants, as a tool to understand the individual idiosyncrasies of the elephants. Exposing the elephants to a puzzle-box featuring three doors: a push-door (easiest), a slide (medium difficulty) or pull-chain (hardest) to access a fruit reward, will assess both their personality (bold or shy in approaching and exploring the novel object), and problem-solving ability (which door do they access first, how many attempts to open them). We shall also assess if personality and problem-solving differs between: a) wild and captive savannah elephants, b) Asian and African elephants, and c) an individuals' response to the puzzle-box and fences. Overall, this predictive measure to determine how our elephants will react to the fences [novelty], will aid the development of tailored conservation strategies.

随着人口的增加，人与动物之间的冲突将恶化。有助于防止这种冲突的策略通常依靠一个物种中所有个体的笼统方法。然而，几乎没有进行研究以了解积极接近人类定居点的动物的个人动机，最终的性格。在博茨瓦纳（Botswana），由于萨凡纳大象经常从国家公园到农作物狂欢，萨凡纳大象经常越过河流。目前，地方当局正在公园边界建造篱笆。确定围栏是否可能减轻HEC，或者是否需要实施替代解决方案，这是防止在这一领域引起的更大冲突的组成部分。因此，我们的项目旨在量化人格是否预测非洲萨凡纳大象的认知表达，作为了解大象个人特质的一种工具。将大象暴露在带有三扇门的拼图盒中：推门（最简单），滑梯（中等难度）或拉链（最难）获得果实奖励，将评估其个性（大胆或害羞地接近和探索新颖的对象），以及解决问题的能力（他们首先访问了哪些门，有多少次访问他们的操作）。我们还将评估人格和解决问题之间的不同之处在于：a）野生和俘虏的萨凡纳大象，b）亚洲和非洲大象，以及c）一个人对拼图盒和围栏的反应。总体而言，这种预测措施以确定我们的大象将如何对围栏做出反应[新颖性]，将有助于制定量身定制的保护策略。