Captive elephants experience stress suggesting the need to minimise their participation in processions and religious activities and also during their work for the forest department.
A study, led by G Umapathy, principal scientist, laboratory for the conservation of endangered species, CSIR- Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad, examined the physiological stress of captive Asian elephants, a press release from CCMB said on Saturday.
The centre studied the health of elephants under different working conditions.
The researchers checked for stress hormones levels in 870 dung samples of 37 captive elephants (24 males and 13 females) in Mysore Zoo, Mysore dusshera camp, Mudumalai elephant camp and Bandhavgarh elephant camp, the release said.
Elephants involved in public procession in Mysore dussehra festival had elevated stress hormones compared to their counterparts at the Mysore zoo, it said.
Elephants born in the wild and females had significantly higher stress-level when exposed to various physical activities and different husbandry practices, it said.
A previous study by the research group had demonstrated that chronic stress affected female reproductivity cycle and thus reproduction in elephants.
The study suggests minimising the participation of elephants in religious activities, processions and forest department activities", the release said.
