Oct
To help three grieving African elephants, Warsaw Zoo in Poland is giving them CBD oil treatment, after the eldest and largest female member of the herd passed away.
Sadly, the zoo’s elephants were showing symptoms of anxiety, stress and depression, and like humans, elephants grieve, cry and even hold funerals for the ones they’ve lost. So Dr Czujkowska, head of the zoo’s Animal Rehabilitation Department, wanted to see if treating them with CBD oil could help ease their symptoms. Dr Czujkowska believes there’s nothing to worry about in terms of any serious side effects as “It’s not very potent. The only side effect will be some behavioural changes,” and the zoo will “have to manage these to achieve the results we want.”
Said to be one of the first trials, the beginning of the experiment is done, where zookeepers kept an eye on the elephants’ behaviour and checked their cortisol levels – a hormone animals and humans make when they’re stressed. This will be compared before and after receiving the CBD oil treatment.
Going through grief is an awful experience, and we hope this treatment could open the door to new possibilities of supporting other animals overcome similar symptoms. We’ll keep you posted on any updates Warsaw Zoo gives on the three elephants.