Development and application of an olfactory discrimination paradigm for Asian elephants (Elephas maximus)

摘要: The sense of smell plays an important role in regulating the behavior Asian elephants but until now, no behavioral test to systematically assess olfactory capabilities this species existed. Using a voluntary, food-rewarded two-alternative operant conditioning procedure, three female were successfully taught discriminate between rewarded and unrewarded odors also succeeded intramodal stimulus transfer tasks which either odor, or both exchanged simultaneously for new odors. animals readily mastered initial task within only 120 contacts, demonstrating rapid learning performing at least as good rodents dogs even better than other species, including nonhuman primates, tested similar studies before. When presented with pairs structurally related odorants, discrimination performance decreased increasing structural similarity still significantly discriminated aliphatic acetic esters when they differed by one carbon chain length. demonstrated excellent long-term odor memory remembered reward value previously learned stimuli after two, four, eight 16 weeks recess testing. paradigm developed applied present study proved be useful elephants.