[LUM#8] Elephants on maternity leave

[LUM Magazine] - Published on December 4, 2018 in Science-Society

Introducing maternity leave for... domesticated elephants in Laos: this is the very serious suggestion of biologist Gilles Maurer, from the Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive(CEFE). The measure is designed to compensate elephant owners for the loss of income during their animal's gestation period, and, according to the researcher, could well help to save the endangered species.

" If nothing changes, the Asian elephant will simply disappear from the territory within the next fifty years," warns Gilles Maurer. In Laos, the opening up to the market economy at the end of the 90s was accompanied by a sudden intensification in the work of domestic pachyderms, mainly for skidding rosewood, now destined for export. " Transporting trees from the felling site to temporary depots is a very physical operation, particularly incompatible with female gestation ", explains the researcher.

Falling birth rate

In this context, breeding elephants quickly became associated with the loss of income it generates for their owners. " Gestation tires the female, making her less efficient at physical work. And when the calf is born, it hinders its mother's movements, making her difficult to approach and very protective," explains the founder of ElefantAsia.ElefantAsia founder.

Throughout the country, owners of domesticated elephants quickly gave up breeding their animals, preferring the income generated by logging and, more recently, tourism. In addition, the decline in forest habitat has forced owners to keep their elephants tethered, making it impossible for them to breed with wild males. As a result, the pachyderm birth rate has plummeted since the 1990s, so much so that Laos, nicknamed the "land of a million elephants", now boasts just 800 specimens (Conservation of the Asian elephant through the study of interactions between humans and wild and semi-captive elephant populations: genetic, economic and socio-culturalG.Maurer, June 2018).

Compensatory logic

" Compensating elephant owners for lost earnings during their animal's long gestation period (22 months) and nursing period (2 years) would make it possible to dissociate pachyderm demographics from economic considerations, and could boost the birth rate ," says Gilles Maurer, who is currently advocating the introduction of Western-style maternity leave in Laos for the benefit of elephants and their owners.

Until recently unknown in the country, the concept of "maternity leave" already seems to be appealing to owners of domesticated elephants. In a country where the payment of taxes is still uncertain, however, they are wondering about the practicalities of its implementation and - above all - how it will be financed in practice. In Laos, Elephas Maximus faces a new threat: its unbridled export to neighboring China. While Laos has no more than 10 calf births a year, 5% of the elephant population is now sold to China each year for tourism.

Key words : Ecology, LUM#8, LUM Magazine