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Blackpool Zoo has been using an unconventional method to tell if an elephant is pregnant – feeding them edible glitter.
The zoo is monitoring the reproductive cycles of its female Asian elephants, Tara, Noorjahan and Esha, after following recommendations from the European Endangered Species Programme.
This is done by hormone analysis of their faeces, but leaves staff facing the problem of ‘whose poo is which?’.
Enter the glitter.
Each elephant is given food containing a different colour of edible glitter, which helps staff identify whose poo belongs to whom.
The samples are then collected twice a week and sent over to Chester Zoo, where researchers use their cutting-edge research laboratory to analyse them.
The results enable the keeper team to track the females’ reproductive cycles, which last 13-16 weeks, and can determine whether or not they are pregnant.
Adam Kenyon, section head at Blackpool Zoo, said: ‘Project Elephant Base Camp was our largest ever investment, and from the earliest stages of planning our aim was to develop a programme for the successful care and management of a multi-generational elephant herd.
‘We have used edible glitter to track hormone levels of many of our animals, so it is a tried and tested method for these types of investigations.
‘The team at Chester Zoo have been working hard to analyse the samples through a science called faecal endocrinology and we are hoping to get the findings soon.’
Residents of the elephant camp include Kate, the first moved to the facility in 2017, Minbu, Noorjahan, Tara and Esha, who all joined in 2018, and the zoo’s first male elephant, Emmett, who arrived in 2019.
The hope is to increase numbers through a successful breeding programme – hence the glitter.
How to tell the difference between Asian and African elephants
- African elephants have much larger ears while Asian elephants have smaller, round ears
- African elephants have rounded heads, while Asian elephants have a twin-domed head (with a line running through the head – also known as a divot line)
- Both male and female African elephants can have tusks, but only male Asian elephants can grow them
- African elephants are more wrinkled with rougher skin
‘In 2020 we announced the successful integration of all six of our elephants and we have been continually monitoring their social development. With the help of science, we now hope this will lead to breeding success,’ said Mr Kenyon.
‘This highly intelligent and complex species is endangered in the wild, and by collaborating, sharing research, and exchanging ideas, zoos play a crucial role in the global effort to protect and conserve these majestic animals.’
Asian elephants have been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 1986.
Over the last three generations, around 60-75 years, the population has declined by at least 50%, with threats including loss of habitat, habitat degradation, fragmentation and poaching.
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