Picky eaters or desultory foragers?: semi-captive Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) foraging preferences in Siem Reap, Cambodia

Abstract

This study explores the foraging behavior of six semi-captive Asian elephants at Kulen Elephant Forest in Cambodia, analyzing the relationship between walking time and plant preference. I hypothesized that the elephants would walk further to find specific forage items, meaning that the elephants were willing to expend energy to acquire food items which may be "preferred". I also predicted that these relationships between foraging movement and forage materials would vary across 3 timescales (10-, 60-, and 120-minute intervals)—specifically, that preference would be more apparent during micro-time scales. Data were collected over nine days in April 2023 and recorded at two-minute intervals during a two-hour window between 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., analyzing the plants' anatomical part, form, and family consumed, as well as the walking time preceding each feeding. Single factor ANOVA tests were conducted for each of the study groups (plant form, plant part eaten, and plant family) for each of the 3 time scales, and Tukey’s HSD tests were conducted for ANOVA models with p<0.05. Results indicated that only plant form and plant family has significant correlations during a micro-timescale (10-minute intervals). These findings suggest that elephants preferentially target plants with higher nutritional value and easier digestibility, supporting the hypothesis that walking time correlates with foraging effort for more preferred plants. This study contributes to the broader understanding of the foraging behavior of Asian elephants, with recommendations for conservation and management practices in reforestation areas. Further research is ultimately needed to explore the impact of plant preferences on Asian elephant energetic budgets and foraging behavior tradeoffs.