The origins of the scientific study and classification of giraffes
Giraffes have been known for many thousands of years from rock art and Egyptian artefacts, displayed by Roman emperors at games and triumphs between 46BC and AD 274, and briefly exhibited in the zoos of the Italian City States in the 15th Century, yet they remained in the realm of mythology until, in 1764, Ryk […]
Positive psychology progress- empirical validations of interventions
Positive psychology has flourished in the last 5 years. The authors review recent developments in the field, including books, meetings, courses, and conferences. They also discuss the newly created classification of character strengths and virtues, a positive complement to the various editions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (e. g., American Psychiatric […]
On describing relationships
(1) The study of inter-individual relationships requires a descriptive basis. Description, however, must be guided with respect to the ultimate goals of the investigator-understanding the dynamics of relationships, prognosis, specification of necessary conditions, etc. (2) The nature of inter-individual relationships, how they can be described, and the nature of their stability, are discussed briefly. (3) […]
Using behavior to determine immature life-stages in captive western gorillas
Ontogenic development is divided into infant, juvenile, adolescent and adult life-stages. Although the developmental trajectory of an individual is a flexible entity, which differs within species, environment and sex, life-stage classifications are generally structured, age-based systems. This invariably leads to rigidity within a dynamic system and consequently hampers our understanding of primate life history strategies. […]
Risk Factor Analysis May Provide Clues to Diarrhea Prevention in Outdoor-Housed Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta)
Seventy-five percent of rhesus macaques at national primate research centers are housed outside. Annually, 15–39% of these animals experience diarrhea and require veterinary treatment for dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, or weight loss. An estimated 21–33% of these patients will die or be euthanized. Many studies have explored the various infectious etiologies of non-human primate diarrhea. However, […]
The backtest in pigs revisited—Inter-situational behaviour and animal classification
Since the introduction of the backtest for the early detection of coping strategies in piglets by Hessing in the 1990s, this behavioural test has been intensively investigated with ambiguous results. One possible explanation for this lack of consistency might be the different classification methods used in many studies, so the first aim of this research […]