Updated July 17, 2024:
We have updated the information with further details. Please see here for more information.
　

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Ueno Zoo houses three Asian Elephant: Surya (female, born in 1994), Uthai (female, born in 1998), and Arun (male, born in 2020, Uthai's offspring).

We began separating the enclosures for Utai and Arun, the mother and child, on July 9, 2024, and we would like to explain the circumstances behind this change.

Uthai and Arun, mother and son, had always gotten along well together since Arun was born. However, once Arun turned two years old, Uthai began exhibiting increasingly aggressive behavior towards Arun. While there could be several reasons for this, one possible explanation is that after weaning, Arun started eating the same food as Uthai, making them competitors for food.

Furthermore, Asian Elephant are naturally herd animals that raise their young in groups, and baby elephants grow up spending time with various elephants other than their mothers within the herd. However, it is thought that the prolonged one-on-one relationship between Uthai and Arun may have had an impact. This is not unique to Uthai and Arun, and is a phenomenon that is sometimes seen in zoos where it is difficult to keep animals in herds.

As this situation continues day by day, Uthai is finding it increasingly difficult to deal with Arun, who has grown larger and whose fangs have become more prominent. Therefore, we have decided to implement a new management approach: "Separate their enclosures during the day, allowing them to interact through a fence, while allowing them to spend time together as usual indoors where they spend long periods of time." This management is also a training phase towards Arun's eventual independence as a male (*).

*In the wild, males leave the group and live solitary lives once they reach sexual maturity.

Currently, the animals' living spaces are divided between the sandy area of the second enclosure and the paddock within the second enclosure. The paddock is an indoor room that the animals can freely enter and exit, making it cooler than the outdoors, and they also bathe indoors. In the afternoon, the animals are switched between the sandy area and the paddock, so they never spend an entire day without sand or a pool.

Even though Arun has grown up, the mother-child relationship hasn't deteriorated; for example, Uthai always stays close to Arun while he sleeps at night. Uthai sometimes looks at Arun with concern because they are not yet used to being kept in separate enclosures. Managing them in separate enclosures is one way to help Uthai and Arun live together better, so we may change the management method depending on the situation in the future.

We will continue to carefully observe the relationships between the elephants and work to determine the best way to care for them, so we ask for your continued warm support.

[Ueno Zoo East Garden Animal Care and Exhibition Staff]


Asian Elephant "Arun" (photographed on April 24, 2024)

July 17, 2024 Update: Growth of Asian Elephant, the Asian elephant (Further Report)

As Arun grew, we began to see competition for food with his mother, Uthai. To reduce the burden on Uthai, we tried exhibiting them separately from July 9th, but we have temporarily suspended this and resumed exhibiting them together as before.

At first, Uthai seemed concerned about Arun, but his daytime routine didn't change much from usual. However, as he seemed to understand that he was being separated from Arun, his behavior showing concern for Arun became more noticeable as the days went by.

The original purpose was to alleviate the stress caused by mothers and children being constantly together one-on-one. However, at this point, we have determined that the stress caused by separating their living spaces is still greater, and therefore, we have temporarily suspended the exhibition with mothers and children separated.

For Arun, this is a training stage in preparation for the independence he will need in the future. Also, in zoos, there are times when it is urgently necessary to separate and manage animals, such as when one of the animals contracts an infectious disease. This time, we have resumed cohabitation with Arun considering Utai's condition, but we will continue to take every opportunity to increase our methods of animal care so that we can respond to various situations.

[Ueno Zoo East Garden Animal Care and Exhibit Section]

◎Related News
・ Regarding the cohabitation of three Asian Elephant in their enclosure. (September 2, 2023)

(July 11, 2024)
(July 17, 2024: Updated with further information)