Body Condition Scoring System: A BTEH Lab Experience
Since 2019, Bring The Elephant Home’s Elephant Research Program has studied wild Asian elephants and human-elephant coexistence around Kuiburi National Park. Through the BTEH Lab, supervised by PhD student Ave Owen, 14 remote interns have developed vital field tools and research protocols since September 2025. In the blog below, intern Laura Griffith shares her experiences and explains how she helped Ave create a Body Condition Scoring System for Asian elephants!
Staying Connected
Nearly a year after my time in Thailand with Bring The Elephant Home (BTEH), I’ve had the chance to continue contributing to elephant welfare through a remote internship with The BTEH Lab, supervised by PhD Candidate, Ave Owen. This experience has allowed me to stay connected to the elephants and communities that shaped my understanding of conservation, while also developing practical tools that support long‑term welfare monitoring.
Body Condition Scoring System
My primary project during this internship has been developing a Body Condition Scoring System for Asian elephants. Body Condition Scoring is a widely used method in animal welfare science. Unfortunately, standardized systems for elephants, especially those tailored to Asian elephants, remain limited. My work focused on creating a clear, accessible scoring framework based on visual indicators of fat distribution, musculature, and overall physical condition. The goal is to support conservation organizations in tracking health trends over time, identifying early signs of malnutrition or obesity, and improving individualized care.
What inspired this project?
This project grew directly out of what I witnessed in Thailand. Seeing elephants up close and observing their daily routines, social bonds, and the physical demands of their environments made it clear how essential accurate welfare assessment tools are. Elephants are long‑lived, highly social, and deeply sensitive animals. Their well‑being depends not only on veterinary care but also on understanding the subtle changes in their bodies and behavior that signal stress, aging, or shifting needs.
What continues to stand out to me a year later is the complexity of human–elephant coexistence. In Thailand, I saw firsthand how communities navigate the challenges of living alongside such large, intelligent animals. Conservation isn’t just about protecting elephants; it’s about supporting people and landscapes in ways that allow both species to thrive. This perspective has shaped how I approach my work with BTEH. Recognizing that welfare tools like the body condition scoring system ultimately contribute to broader coexistence efforts by promoting healthier, more resilient elephant populations.
The Recipe for Success
This internship has strengthened my belief that conservation is most impactful when it blends science, community engagement, and long‑term care. I’m grateful for the opportunity to continue supporting BTEH’s mission and to contribute to tools that can make a meaningful difference for Asian elephants. I look forward to carrying these lessons into the next steps of my conservation journey!
Join Us!
Join Bring The Elephant Home in strengthening the scientific foundations of elephant health monitoring and improving how we assess elephant well-being across landscapes! You can now help us to assign body condition scores to Asian elephants by viewing pictures using the community science platform Zooniverse. The project can be completed by anyone, regardless of age, education level, or experience! Every contribution helps strengthen health-monitoring protocols and supports evidence-based conservation of endangered Asian elephants. You can find more information on this page.
Register to participate by completing the form below:
https://forms.gle/aAftF57hx5MKScxn9
Thank you Laura!
A big thanks from us to Laura for her work with the BTEH Lab on the Body Condition Scoring System! We wish you all the best in your future endeavors!
Are you interested in joining the BTEH Lab? You can find more information on this page. Please review Bring The Elephant Home’s work in Thailand and complete the Google Form to provide your registration information. Questions about The BTEH Lab can be sent to ave@bteh.org.
We are looking forward to hearing from you!
