Asian elephants have been an important part of wildlife ecotourism in Thailand for over two decades. Elephants in tourist camps are exposed to a variety of management styles and daily activities that can potentially affect health and welfare. This study investigated relationships between a novel welfare biomarker, immunoglobulin A (IgA), and daily camp activities, and compared results to glucocorticoid (GC) measures. Often no-riding camps are portrayed as providing better welfare than camps that offer riding. Therefore, we predicted that elephants at no-riding camps would have lower GC and higher IgA concentrations, and a low GC/IgA ratio. Forty-four female elephants from six elephant camps were divided into three groups based on riding activities: saddle-riding, bareback-riding, and no-riding. Fecal and salivary samples were collected monthly for 1 year along with evaluations of body condition, foot health, and wounding. Camp environment and management varied among camps, although the major difference was in riding activities. Concentrations of GCs and IgA varied among the working groups, but not always consistently between sample matrices. Overall fecal glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations were lowest in the saddle-riding group. Only in one bareback-riding camp did the elephants exhibit a potentially positive welfare response with a low GC/IgA ratio over time. Other results varied between the two biomarkers, with considerable variability across camps, suggesting there is more to good welfare than whether elephants participate in riding or not. Several other human-induced stressors, like chaining, ankus use, and limited social opportunities are likely to be impacting well-being and should be considered to ensure management practices meet physical and psychological welfare needs.

Oxidative stress is a pathological condition that can have adverse effects on animal health, although little research has been conducted on wildlife species. In this study, blood was collected from captive Asian elephants for the assessment of five serum oxidative status markers (reactive oxygen species (ROS) concentrations; malondialdehyde, MDA; albumin; glutathione peroxidase, GPx; and catalase) in healthy (n = 137) and sick (n = 20) animals. Health problems consisted of weakness, puncture wounds, gastrointestinal distress, eye and musculoskeletal problems, and elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus hemorrhagic disease (EEHV-HD). Fecal samples were also collected to assess glucocorticoid metabolites (fGCMs) as a measure of stress. All data were analyzed in relation to age, sex, sampling season, and their interactions using generalized linear models, and a correlation matrix was constructed. ROS and serum albumin concentrations exhibited the highest concentrations in aged elephants (>45 years). No sex differences were found for any biomarker. Interactions were observed for age groups and seasons for ROS and catalase, while GPx displayed a significant interaction between sex and season. In pairwise comparisons, significant increases in ROS and catalase were observed in summer, with higher ROS concentrations observed only in the adult female group. Lower catalase activity was exhibited in juvenile males, subadult males, adult females, and aged females compared to subadult and adult elephants (males and females) in winter and the rainy season. There was a positive association between catalase activity and fGCMs (r = 0.23, p < 0.05), and a number of red blood cell parameters were positively associated with several of these biomarkers, suggesting high oxidative and antioxidative activity covary in red cells (p < 0.05). According to health status, elephants with EEHV-HD showed the most significant changes in oxidative stress markers, with MDA, GPx, and catalase being higher and albumin being lower than in healthy elephants. This study provides an analysis of understudied health biomarkers in Asian elephants, which can be used as additional tools for assessing the health condition of this species and suggests age and season may be important factors in data interpretation.

Elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus hemorrhagic disease (EEHV-HD) is a virulent disease that causes severe hemorrhage and sudden death in Asian elephant calves. A change in hematology profiles is one indicator of infection before clinical signs appear; however, to be effective, individual baselines and age-matched reference values are needed. Stress has been speculated to be a factor in clinical EEHV cases, but relationships have not been demonstrated empirically. This study evaluated blood hematology and several stress response markers—salivary cortisol, fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGM), salivary Immunoglobulin A (SIgA), and fecal IgA (FIgA) in samples collected for 1 year from three healthy calves with no EEHV history (non-EEHV), and six that had previously been infected, developed clinical signs and survived (prior-EEHV). Hematology values between non-EEHV and prior-EEHV elephants were not different and within published reference ranges. Concentrations of salivary cortisol, FGM, SIgA, and FIgA also were variable and showed seasonal differences, but no relationships to prior EEHV status. One of the prior EEHV calves became re-infected, developed hemorrhagic disease (HD), and died during the study period. That calf exhibited lymphocytopenia, monocytopenia, and thrombocytopenia. Additionally, all stress biomarker concentrations were lower in the 12 days before viremia was observed. Thus, as in other studies, changes in hematology occur with EEHV infection, while preliminary data in one calf suggests that stress-response measures might also be informative and should be studied further.

Every year, ten thousand Sunda Pangolins (Manis javanica) are rescued and confiscated from the illegal trade around Southeast Asia, including Thailand. Most of them are usually moribund and need intensive veterinary interventions to recover their health before being released to the wild. However, a lack of reliable haematology and clinical biochemistry references for Thai confiscated Sunda pangolins is a major difficulty for reaching this goal. The aim of this study was to establish a standard panel of haematology and serum biochemistry profiles used for confiscated pangolins in Thailand. Coccygeal venepuncture of 52 confiscated pangolins was performed. Haematology and serum biochemistry data acquisitions were made using automated blood analysers. The lower and upper limits at 90% confidence interval were calculated. The means of all parameters were calculated and then compared with those in two previous studies (p < 0.005). Blood corpuscle morphometry was done manually. All blood corpuscles in females were bigger than males. There were differences of haematologic and biochemical parameters among this study and previous studies in some aspects. Wide scientific discussion was made to explain these variations. A panel of haematology and serum biochemistry profiles for Thai confiscated Sunda pangolin has been established. Veterinarians can refer to all parameters to evaluate the animals’ health and diseases.