Early life adversities and lifelong health outcomes: A review of the literature on large, social, long-lived nonhuman mammals
Social nonhuman animals are powerful models for studying underlying factors related to lifelong health outcomes following early life adversities (ELAs). ELAs can be linked to lifelong health outcomes depending on the species, system, sensitive developmental periods, and biological pathways. This review focuses on the literature surrounding ELAs and lifelong health outcomes in large, social, relatively […]
Costs and benefits of living in a vegetated, compared with non‐vegetated, enclosure in male Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata)
Improving captive environments for primates has been an important tool to enhance animal welfare. One method has been to provide primates with naturalistic vegetated enclosures to promote species-specific behaviors, enhancing interactions with their social and natural environment, such as an increase in feeding, foraging, and positive social behaviors such as play. To investigate the benefits […]
Environmental enrichment impacts discrimination between familiar and unfamiliar human odours in snakes (Pantherophis guttata)
Environmental enrichment has been found to significantly influence the cognitive abilities of a variety of mammalian and avian species, with effects ranging from positive to negative, however, these effects have been little studied in reptiles. This is problematic given their increasing popularity as pets and the wide variation in their care. Therefore, the aim of […]
The 2020 Five Domains Model: Including Human–Animal Interactions in Assessments of Animal Welfare
Throughout its 25-year history, the Five Domains Model for animal welfare assessment has been regularly updated to include at each stage the latest authenticated developments in animal welfare science thinking. The domains of the most up-to-date Model described here are: 1 Nutrition, 2 Physical Environment, 3 Health, 4 Behavioural Interactions and 5 Mental State. The […]
Potential Impact of Construction Noise on Selected Zoo Animals
In anticipation of a major construction project in an urban New Zealand zoo, a study was initiated to assess the response to construction noise of selected animal species (elephant, giraffe, emu and alligator) previously observed to be sensitive to this kind of noise. The overall aim was to detect any signs of aversive responses to […]
Welfare of feral cats and potential influencing factors
The aim of the study was to investigate the habitat, characteristics, and the health status of cat colonies under supervision of a trap-neuter-return program, the distance of the cats maintained with respect to their caregivers as a measure of the animals’ fear of or confidence in humans, and relationships between these factors with regard to […]
Chicken welfare is influenced more by housing conditions than by stocking density
Intensive broiler (meat) chicken production now exceeds 800 million birds each year in the United Kingdom and 2 1010 birds worldwide1, but it attracts accusations of poor welfare2, 3. The European Union is currently adopting standards for broilers aimed at a chief welfare concern—namely, overcrowding—by limiting maximum ‘stocking density’ (bird weight per unit area). It […]
Animal models of behavioral dysfunctions: Basic concepts and classifications, and an evaluation strategy
In behavioral neurosciences, such as neurobiology and biopsychology, animal models make it possible to investigate brain–behavior relations, with the aim of gaining insight into normal and abnormal human behavior and its underlying neuronal and neuroendocrinological processes. Different types of animal models of behavioral dysfunctions are reviewed in this article. In order to determine the precise […]
Paleoenvironmental basis of cognitive evolution in great apes
A bias favoring tree-dominated habitats and ripe-fruit frugivory has persisted in great ape evolution since the early Miocene. This bias is indicated by fossil ape paleoenvironments, molar morphology, dental microwear, the geographic pattern of extinctions, and extant apes’ reliance on wooded settings. The ephemeral aspect of high-quality fruit has placed a premium on cognitive and […]
Habitat Use and Structural Preferences of Captive Western Lowland Gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla): Effects of Environmental and Social Variables
Exhibit naturalism has become the architectural standard for new zoo exhibits, yet our scientific understanding of how animals interact with naturalistic environments is very limited. Given the expense incurred in building new exhibits, it is essential that more information on animal-environment interactions be obtained and that it be incorporated at the outset into exhibit designs. […]