Use of a tri-axial accelerometer for automated recording and classification of goats’ grazing behaviour
The suitability of an inexpensive tri-axial accelerometer for the automated recording of goats’ activities at pasture was tested on a slightly undulating pasture in Central Germany (52h of registry) and on a rugged mountainous pasture in northern Oman (70h of registry). The logger was either mounted onto a chest belt, a dog harness or a […]
Increasing Activity in Captive Orangutans: Provision of Manipulable and Edible Materials
The purpose of this research was to explore the impact of the provision of manipulable and edible materials on the activity level of captive orangutans. The effects of three environmental conditions—bare exhibit, manipulables present, and manipulables plus edibles present—on the gross motor activity of four captive orangutans were compared using a multielement design. Results indicated […]
Estimating daily walking distance of captive African elephants using an accelerometer
Two central concerns for elephant husbandry and management are whether zoological enclosures are appropriately sized and the degree to which naturalistic exercise and activity are observed in such enclosures. In order to address these issues, accurate data on the daily walking distance of elephants both in situ and ex situ are necessary. We used an […]
Mink with Divergent Activity Levels have Divergent Reproductive Strategies
Stable individual differences in activity levels within populations have been linked to differences in reproductive rate or parental care in several species, including American mink (Neovison vison). Fur-farmed mink are good models for studying such effects because they yield large sample sizes and readily allow investigations into maternal behaviour, reproductive success, offspring performance and the […]
A Survey of Diabetes Prevalence in Zoo-housed Primates
In humans, type II diabetes mellitus is a condition in which the pancreas is capable of producing insulin but cells do not appropriately respond to insulin with an uptake of glucose. While multiple factors are associated with type II diabetes in humans, a high calorie diet and limited exercise are significant risk factors for the […]