Automatic detection of stereotypical behaviors of captive wild animals based on surveillance videos of zoos and animal reserves

The timely detection of the depressive and stereotypical behaviors often observed in captive wild animals and the subsequent intervention can contribute to improving their living environment in enclosures, which is crucial for safeguarding animal welfare, enhancing animal husbandry practices, regulating human–animal relationships. Several studies have analyzed factors that influence animal stereotypical behaviors and identified preventive […]

Captive animal liability: 19th century foundations and 20th century modifications

Abstract 10.1002/zoo.10087.abs Two important legal milestones concerning liability for keeping animals in captivity occurred in the years 1879–1881. These were the publication of The Common Law by Oliver Wendell Holmes, and the United States Supreme Court’s decision in The Congress and Empire Spring Company v. Ann P. Edgar. Holmes declared that the liability one incurs […]

Animal play and animal welfare

Play has long been identified as a potential welfare indicator because it often disappears when animals are under fitness challenge and because it is thought to be accompanied by a pleasurable emotional experience. But animal play is a vexing behavioural phenomenon, characteristically flexible and variable within and between species, with its proximate mechanisms and ultimate […]

Patterns of aggression among captive american flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber)

Many species of flamingo are endangered in the wild but common in zoos, where successful captive breeding programs are a management priority. Unlike their counterparts in the wild, captive flamingo individuals are easy to mark and follow, facilitating longitudinal data collection on social dynamics that may affect reproduction. We studied a captive group of American […]