Getting to the Meat of It: The Effects of a Captive Diet upon the Skull Morphology of the Lion and Tiger
Zoo animals are crucial for conserving and potentially re-introducing species to the wild, yet it is known that the morphology of captive animals differs from that of wild animals. It is important to know how and why zoo and wild animal morphology differs to better care for captive animals and enhance their survival in reintroductions, […]
Are Dolphins Kept in Impoverished Environments?
Numerous studies have demonstrated the negative effects of impoverished environments versus the positive effects of enriched environments on animals’ cognitive and neural functioning. Recently, a hypothesis was raised suggesting that conditions for dolphins in zoological facilities may be inherently impoverished, and thus lead to neural and cognitive deficits. This review directly examines that hypothesis in […]
A Protocol to Assess the Welfare of Patagonian Huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus) in Conservation Centers
Animal-welfare-assessment protocols are important for identifying welfare problems in conservation programs. This study aimed to develop a baseline welfare protocol for the assessment of the welfare of Patagonian huemuls (Hippocamelus bisulcus) in conservation centers. This protocol is based on the Welfare Quality® (WQ) framework for cattle and was developed with the consideration of the available […]
Influence of enclosure size on the distances covered and paced by captive tigers (Panthera tigris)
In the wild, tigers live in large individual territories ranging from 7 to 1000km2 depending on the region and prey abundance. However, in captivity, the animal’s environment is strongly reduced, and the size of the enclosure provided varies between zoos. It has been shown that animals occupying large territories in the wild, like tigers, are […]
Behavioural effects of noise on Linnaeus’s two-toed sloth (Choloepus didactylus) in a walk-through enclosure
Anthropogenic noise has been related to stress in captive animals; despite this there have been few studies on animal welfare assessment in walk-through zoo enclosures. We aimed to investigate the behavioural effects of noise on a male-female pair of two-toed sloths (Choloepus didactylus), housed in a walk-through enclosure in a zoo in the UK. The […]
Promoting Good Nonhuman Primate Welfare outside Regular Working Hours
Promoting good primate welfare outside of daylight hours is an important task. The responsibility to provide a complex environment and environmental enrichment is an essential element of primate wellbeing programs that should be approached from a 24-h perspective and planned according to the species and individual needs, including giving animals the ability to interact with […]
Review of the Effects of Enclosure Complexity and Design on the Behaviour and Physiology of Zoo Animals
The complexity of the habitat refers to its physical geometry, which includes abiotic and biotic elements. Habitat complexity is important because it allows more species to coexist and, consequently, more interactions to be established among them. The complexity of the habitat links the physical structure of the enclosure to the biological interactions, which occur within […]
The effects of the addition of two environmental enrichments on the behavior and fecal cortisol levels of three small felids species (Caracal caracal, Leptailurus serval, Leopardus pardalis) in captivity
Scientific evidences support the fact that environmental enrichment, when effective, can affect the behavior of animals in captivity in a way suggestive of an improvement in their quality of life. In the internationally published literature about enrichment in captive conditions, some species, such as primates, appear to have received much more attention than others, such […]
Gut microbiota of skywalker hoolock gibbons (Hoolock tianxing) from different habitats and in captivity: Implications for gibbon health
The gut microbiota plays an integral role in the metabolism and immunity of animal hosts, and provides insights into the health and habitat assessment of threatened animals. The skywalker hoolock gibbon (Hoolock tianxing) is a newly described gibbon species, and is considered an endangered species. Here, we used 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing to describe the […]
American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) weight gain in captivity and implications for captive reptile body condition
The body condition of an animal is an indicator of health status and is dependent upon many factors, some of which can vary between wild and captive settings. Despite this, there have not been many studies on how captivity affects body condition relative to wild animal populations. This study explores the body condition of captive […]