Table 1.
Ethogram of Myanma Timber Enterprise (MTE) elephant behaviour during the object pick up task.
| (a) General behaviour | |
| Behaviour | Description |
| Trunk swing | Directional swinging of trunk with a back and forth motion, including side to side or forward and back |
| Trunk curl | Curling or coiling of the trunk (without immediate collapsing) |
| Trunk curl-drop | Trunk is partially raised, curled around itself and collapsed down |
| Trunk in mouth | Trunk is put into or held in the elephant’s mouth |
| Ear flap | Both ears are fully extended in a rapid movement (ear movements caused by riding mahouts not counted) |
| Tail flick | Tail is flicked in one direction with the tip exceeding 90º from resting position |
| (b) Object-directed behaviour | |
| Behaviour | Description |
| Object pick up | Object is picked up at least once with the elephant’s trunk |
| Object in mouth | Object is put into or held in the elephant’s mouth |
| Throw/flick | Throwing or flicking of the object with the elephant’s trunk (excluding when object is dropped) |
| Stand on/kick | Object is stood on or kicked |
| Object test with trunk | Trunk is extended towards the object and then removed |
| Object test with foot | Foot is extended towards the object and then removed |
| Testing time | Duration an elephant is exposed to the object without picking it up |
| Holding time | Duration an elephant is holding the object with its trunk or mouth |