Impacts of Tourism on Elephant Behavior in a Protected Area: Thresholds for Sustainable Wildlife Viewing

1. Wildlife tourism can support conservation but also imposes stress on wildlife, particularly cognitively complex and social species like Asian elephants (Elephas maximus), highlighting the need for science-based management guidelines. 2. We assessed the behavioral responses of wild Asian elephants in Kuiburi National Park, Thailand, to varying levels of tourism pressure using standardized scan and focal sampling methods over multiple years, including during park closures. 3. Tourism pressure was measured at two scales: sighting tourism pressure (STP; people, vehicles, distance, and noise at each elephant sighting) and daily tourism pressure (DTP; total tourist activity in the park per day). 4. Elevated STP significantly increased rates of stress-related, vigilance, and passive aggressive behaviors, while reducing affiliative behavior and prompting retreat movements, particularly under High and Extreme STP conditions. 5. The most influential anthropogenic predictors of behavior were number of vehicles, number of people, proximity to humans, and noise level, with affiliative behavior emerging as the most sensitive indicator of disturbance. 6. Behavioral thresholds were identified for ‘ideal’ and ‘acceptable’ tourism conditions: >100 m/125 m viewing distance, <4/<8 vehicles, <10/<21 people, and noise <32/<42 dB, beyond which negative behavioral responses increased significantly. 7. Following park re-openings, elephant detections declined, especially for cow–calf groups, indicating spatial avoidance behavior and vulnerability of socially cohesive groups to tourism presence. 8. These results support the implementation of evidence-based regulations for wildlife tourism, including the use of buffer zones, quiet viewing areas, vehicle and visitor caps, guide training, and adaptive seasonal closures. Integrating empirically derived behavioral thresholds into protected area and national policies provides a scalable and transferable model to reduce disturbance, improve animal welfare, and promote ethical and sustainable elephant tourism in Thailand and beyond. Supplementary Material File (main document_impacts of tourism on elephant behavior in a protected area- thresholds identified for sustainable wildlife viewing_updated.docx) - Download - 1.85 MB Information & Authors Information Version history Peer review timeline Published Ecology and Evolution Version of Record12 Jan 2026Published Copyright This work is licensed under a Non Exclusive No Reuse License. Collection

Authors Metrics & Citations Metrics Article Usage 426views 189downloads Citations Download citation Brooke Friswold, Antoinette Van de Water, Ave Owen, et al. Impacts of Tourism on Elephant Behavior in a Protected Area: Thresholds for Sustainable Wildlife Viewing. Authorea. 14 July 2025. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22541/au.175249855.56924075/v1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.22541/au.175249855.56924075/v1 If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download. For more information or tips please see 'Downloading to a citation manager' in the Help menu.