Regular foot care in zoo elephants:
a practical guidance
Written by Christian & Linda Schiffmann (Edit. Willem Schaftenaar)
Definition
Regular foot care means the functional trimming of an elephant's distal limb to prevent overgrowth of its key structures, including nail, pad, and cuticle).
Aims
Prevent overgrowth and the resulting changes. Maintain the foot structures in their physiological shape to support normal function, especially proper weight bearing and distribution).
Figure 1. Conditions to be avoided through regular foot care:
a) overgrown nails;
b) overgrown pad;
c) narrow interdigital space;
d) overgrown and frayed cuticles
Preconditions & tools
Conditions and tools required: comfortable position for elephant and keeper/vet (Fig. 2), adequate light conditions, tools (Fig. 3), time and staff (at least two persons).
Figure 2. Proper positioning of the foreleg (a) and hindleg (b) under the conditions of protected contact.
Note: The custom-made constructions out of steel (a), or out of steel & wood (b) are facilitating a position enabling access to every aspect of the foot.
Figure 3. Appropriate tools for regular foot care:
a) rasp
b) hoof knives in various shapes
c) Swiss hoof knife, only to be used with great care!
d) side cutter pliers
e) set of wood carving knives
e)
General notes:
Be aware of the potential harmful aspect of any tool. In particular less experienced persons are at risk of cutting too deep into the horn layer. This risk is increased by using the Swiss hoof knife due to its angle. Before using any tool on an elephant´s foot, the person doing the trim should have become familiar with the tool handling.
We discourage the use of an electric angle grinder. Due to the high power of this tool, only experienced persons (if even) will be able to use it safely. In addition it has been speculated whether the occurring heat may have a negative impact on the tissues (Wendler et al. 2021). If applied despite this warning, an adjustable rotation speed and a serrated washer with appropriate grain size (“40” corresponding to a metric size of the grains of around 0.62mm) are of utmost importance to reduce heat development and the risk of injuries.
Foot pedicure
Always start a pedicure session by thoroughly cleaning the foot. By getting rid of as much dirt as possible, the tools will remain sharp for longer. Thorough cleaning can be accomplished by the use of a brush.
There are four steps of pedicure in accordance with the four critical structures of the elephant foot:
-
the nail
-
the pad
-
the interdigital space
-
the cuticle
The sequence of these steps is not mandatory, although a systematic approach is strongly recommended.
Step 1 - Nails
Shorten the solar part of the nails, check the surface of the horn wall, and bring the nail in its specific shape.
Sole part of the nail: what to go for?
(Tools: rasp, hoof knife)
Figure 4. The solar aspect of the nail must be shortened as far as possible (a) to avoid weight bearing in standing position (b). The color and consistence of the solar horn of the nail are indicative of the appropriate depth. The deeper you go, the paler & softer the nail tissue becomes. Stop at a level where the solar horn is still firm upon palpation and no bleeding occurs. By trimming carefully, you will recognize the small vessels shining through the solar horn before bleeding occurs. a) P4 in right hind foot of a female Asian elephant, 39 yr-old; b) right hind foot of an adult Asian elephant © PS
Nail wall: what to go for?
(Tools: rasp, hoof knife)
Figure 5. The superficial layer of the nail wall should be visually checked for discolorations that are indicative of underlying issues. The surface layer should not be removed (do not rasp!). Keep the nail in its physiological shape by only rasping/cutting the solar part of the nail (see also Step 3 on the interdigital space). Avoid rounding the edge of the nail, as that may make the white line thinner (P3 in right forefoot of a male Asian elephant, 3 yr-old).
Step 2 - Pad
Check the pad and eliminate flaps if required (and if feasible with respect to the nails). The natural profile of the pad as seen in healthy free-ranging elephants should be the goal (figure 6c).
Pad: what to go for?
(Tools: hoof knife (Swiss knife))
Figure 6. a) Trimmed pad (right hind foot) of a 39 yr-old female Asian elephant kept in a zoo. Only a minimum of sulci with a pattern of sulci is present. b) Right hind foot of a 10 yr-old male Asian elephant, cleaned to ensure there is no debris or undetermined tissue remaining. In a healthy elephant pad a clear profile covers the entire surface of the pad. c) right hind foot of a semi-captive female Asian elephants kept on natural forest grounds; note the extreme difference between the pads of the zoo-kept elephant (6a and 6b) and the pad of an elephant kept under natural environmental conditions!
When conditions as seen in a & b are present, the management conditions regarding floor and substrate need urgent improvement (e.g. replace concrete by sand).
Step 3- Interdigital spaces
Clean and widen the interdigital spaces till you can put one finger between the nails (both the solar and the wall side) and widen the interdigital spaces (both the solar and the cranial aspect)
Interdigital space: what to go for?
(Tools: hoof knife, rasp)
Figure 7. A wide, clean and dry interdigital space in both the solar (a) and wall (b) aspect.
a) P3/P4 of the right hindfoot of a 41 yr-old female Asian elephant; b) P2/P3 of the right forefoot of a 10 yr-old female African elephant. Note: The edges of the nails in b) are more rounded than we recommend here. Rounding may weaken the white line of the nail.
Step 4 - Cuticles
Shorten the cuticle and remove debris and dirt from the nail bed.
Cuticles: what to go for?
(Tools: hoof knive, small wood carving knife)
Figure 8. Evenly trimmed cuticle and clean nail bed area. P3 of the right hindfoot in a 10 yr-old male Asian elephant.
Step 5 - Evaluation
Check all structures while the elephant is standing and walking. In particular make sure that the nail wall is not weight bearing while standing and the joint movements during the walking phase are smooth. In case you are not happy with the result, go back to Step 1-4 depending on your observation.
Figure 9. After completion of a foot trim, take the time to check thoroughly every structure while the elephant is standing and walking. Be particularly focused on the weight distribution. (hindfeet of an 18 yr-old female Asian elephant, right foot trimmed). Note: The edges of the nails of the right foot are more rounded than we recommend here. Rounding may weaken the white line of the nail.
Step 6 - Record keeping
Accurate documentation of each elephant’s foot condition is strongly recommended. It supports reassessment and helps confirm progress, especially during long-term treatment or when changes occur. Species-specific documentation forms were provided by Benz (2005), and a more objective method for scoring and monitoring foot health was described by Ertl et al. (2020). A thorough routine documentation of each nail and the pad is recommended (see Fig. 10).
Examination form for African elephant feet (Benz, 2005)
Click here to download the form
Examination form for Asian elephant feet (Benz, 2005)
Click here to download the form
Practical notes:
-Always keep your tools clean and sharpened.
-When trimming the nails, consider the specific shape of each nail and the corresponding differences between front and rear foot.
-In case of bleeding: keep calm and ensure disinfection with a wound disinfectant (e.g. chlorhexidine or povidone iodide).
-Keep in mind that pedicure might not always be fun for the elephant. Therefore, do your very best to make the procedure as comfortable as possible for the elephant and make use of positive reinforcement training (Fig. 11).
Figure 11. Foot care tools ready for use.
Note: A variety of rewards can be very helpful in a training approach based on positive reinforcement.
Additional recommendations to continuously ensure foot health in zoo elephants:
-Do twice daily thorough washing (using moderate pressure) of the distal limb covering the four critical structures (nail, pad, interdigital space, cuticle) in order to reduce the negative impact of urine contamination. Elephant urine is a keratolytic substance and may cause significant alterations particularly in the pad. This negative impact can be significantly reduced through a consistent moderate pressure washing routine. In addition, this routine ensures daily monitoring of an elephant’s foot conditions.
-Conduct daily inspection of all foot structures (ideally after pressure washing)
-Encourage normal wearing of the foot structures through natural behaviors: walking on soft substrates, limited walking on abrasive surfaces, digging, processing of browse/branches (Fig. 12).
-Avoid extended standing on hard substrates (e.g. feeding places, night quarters).
-Provide soft substrates for lying rest of adequate duration.
Figure 12. Digging in a sandy substrate enables a very natural wear & peeling of the horn wall, the interdigital space and the cuticles.
References
-
Benz A (2005). The elephant´s hoof: Macroscopic and microscopic morphology of defined locations under consideration of pathological changes. Veterinär-Anatomisches Institut der Vetsuisse-Fakultät. Zürich, Switzerland, Universität Zürich. Inaugural-Dissertation.
-
Ertl N, Wendler P, Sós E, Flügger M, Schneeweis F, Schiffmann C, Hatt JM, Clauss M (2020) Theory of medical scoring systems and a practical method to evaluate Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) foot health in European zoos. Animal Welfare 29:163-176.
-
Wendler P, Ertl N, Flügger M, Sós E, Clauss M, Hatt JM (2021) Foot care in Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) in European zoos. Der Zoologische Garten 89:103-119.