The AZA Standards for Elephant Care and Management states:

“Standing water in indoor floor areas can cause foot problems and become a breeding ground for bacteria.  Floors must therefore be impervious to water, quick to dry, and sloped to a drain.  Floor surfaces must be relatively smooth, but not enough so that they become slippery when wet.  Conversely, very rough surfaces may cause excessive wear or irritate footpads.”

Concrete can act as a heat sink, causing elephants lying directly on the concrete to chill in cold weather if not provided a rubber mat or a bed of straw or sawdust.  In very warm climates or during very warm times of the year, concrete can act as a heat sink in a positive way, helping elephants release heat built up during the day. The majority of elephant holding buildings built in the last 5-10 years have installed heating systems underneath the floor. Hot water pipes laid in the concrete floor have proven the most successful.  Floor areas should be available without the heating components to allow the elephants to move away in case of overheating.

Some institutions use barn stall mats, straw, or shavings for insulation and/or to provide a softer surface for elephants to stand or lie on.  A number of institutions are experimenting with the use of sand in place of some cement stall floor surfaces.  In new construction and renovations, consideration should be made for incorporation of natural changeable substrates indoors or other surface coverings.

Thus, an elephant facility should take into account a variety of elements when considering indoor flooring needs.  Climates and time spent inside on flooring are two factors to be considered.
 
Recently, and with varying degrees of success, some facilities have installed newly developed rubberized compounds or polymer aggregate topping over the concrete floors to add cushioning.

Below are the links to some companies whose products have had positive results in AZA institutions:

• Specialty Coatings Solutions
• Lay-a-Weigh Rubber by Sydney Flooring Solutions