The effects of choice-based design and management on the behavior and space use of zoo-housed amur tigers (Panthera tigris altaica)
Choice-based design allows animals in human care opportunities to move at will between multiple interconnected spaces. Some evidence suggests providing environmental choice confers benefits to animals, but there is a dearth of research in this area with large carnivores. To understand the effects of this design strategy on large felids, behavioral and space use data […]
Access to Multiple Habitats Improves Welfare: A Case Study of Two Zoo-Housed Black Bears (Ursus americanus)
Using various forms of enrichment, animal care specialists encourage species-specific behaviors and discourage stereotypic behaviors. Within the zoo community, bears (Ursids spp.) are commonly housed, yet are prone to exhibiting stress-related behaviors. Here, we assess the effect of access to multiple habitats, including areas of off guest view, on the welfare of two American black […]
An Approach to Assessing Zoo Animal Welfare in a Rarely Studied Species, the Common Cusimanse Crossarchus obscurus
Objective welfare assessments play a fundamental role in ensuring that positive welfare is achieved and maintained for animals in captivity. The Animal Welfare Assessment Grid (AWAG), a welfare assessment tool, has been validated for use with a variety of both domestic and exotic species. It combines both resource- and animal-based measures but relies heavily on […]
An Approach to Assessing Zoo Animal Welfare in a Rarely Studied Species, the Common Cusimanse Crossarchus obscurus
Objective welfare assessments play a fundamental role in ensuring that positive welfare is achieved and maintained for animals in captivity. The Animal Welfare Assessment Grid (AWAG), a welfare assessment tool, has been validated for use with a variety of both domestic and exotic species. It combines both resource- and animal-based measures but relies heavily on […]
The Effects of Choice-Based Design and Management on the Behavior and Space Use of Zoo-Housed Amur Tigers (Panthera tigris altaica)
Choice-based design allows animals in human care opportunities to move at will between multiple interconnected spaces. Some evidence suggests providing environmental choice confers benefits to animals, but there is a dearth of research in this area with large carnivores. To understand the effects of this design strategy on large felids, behavioral and space use data […]
Reported livestock guarding dog-wildlife interactions: Implications for conservation and animal welfare
Livestock depredation by carnivores is a key cause of detrimental human-wildlife interactions around the world. Recently, the use of livestock-guarding dogs (LGDs) to reduce livestock depredation has been challenged in terms of their impact on wild animal welfare and survival, but the prevalence of LGD-wildlife interactions is poorly understood. Using data for 225 LGDs on […]
Decision making in plant selection during the faecal-marking behaviour of wild wolves
The function of wolf, Canis lupus, faeces in chemical communication and the selection of raised and conspicuous substrates to increase their effectiveness as visual scent marks are well documented. Therefore, I hypothesized that faecal marks are not placed randomly on plants, and that wolves will select specific plants according to characteristics that enhance faeces as […]
The effect of randomly altering the time and location of feeding on the behaviour of captive coyotes (Canis latrans)
Captive carnivores appear highly susceptible to the negative effects of predictable feeding routines. Current research and reviews suggest feeding unpredictably may increase species typical behaviour, but positive results have been limited to a few species. Our objectives were to determine whether randomly altering the time and location of feeding increased species typical behaviour, or affected […]
Captivity effects on wide-ranging carnivores
Some species — ring-tailed lemurs and snow leopards, for example — apparently thrive in captivity, whereas others, such as Asian elephants and polar bears, are prone to problems that include poor health, repetitive stereotypic behaviour and breeding difficulties. Here we investigate this previously unexplained variation in captive animals’ welfare by focusing on caged carnivores, and […]
Movement Patterns and Food Habits of Four Sympatric Carnivore Species in Belize, Central America
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