Using behavioral observations and keeper questionnaires to assess social relationships among captive female African elephants
Abstract 10.1002/zoo.20249.abs Free-ranging African elephants are highly social animals that live in a society where age, size, kinship, and disposition all contribute to social rank. Although captive elephant herds are small and largely comprises of unrelated females, dominance hierarchies are common. The goal of this study was to delineate how the behavior of captive female […]
Examination of the interrelationships of behavior, dominance status, and ovarian activity in captive Asian and African elephants
Abstract 10.1002/zoo.20025.abs Ovarian inactivity has been identified in captive African (Loxodonta africana) and Asian (Elephas maximus) elephants and is thought to be mediated in part by social influences. Thus, a survey was conducted to determine how behavior and dominance status relate to each other and to ovarian cyclicity. For both Asian and African elephants, dominance […]
Living in a dangerous world decreases maternal care: A study in serotonin transporter knockout mice
Adverse early experiences can profoundly influence the adult behavioral profile. When pregnant and lactating mice are confronted with soiled bedding of unfamiliar males (UMB), these stimuli signal the danger of infanticide and thus simulate a “dangerous world”. In a previous study, offspring of UMB treated mothers were shown to display increased anxiety-like behavior and reduced […]
Assessing the effectiveness of environmental enrichment in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)
Environmental enrichment is often used to improve well-being and reduce stereotyped behaviors in animals under human care. However, the use of objects to enrich animal environments should not be considered to be effective until its success has been scientifically demonstrated. This study was conducted at Asterix Park in France in April 2009. The study investigated […]