Judgement Bias in Miniature Donkeys: Conditioning Factors and Personality Links
Expectation-related bias may configure individuals’ perception of their surrounding environment and of the elements present in it. This study aimed to determine the repercussions of environmental (weather elements) or subject-inherent factors (sex, age, or personality features) on judgment bias. A cognitive bias test was performed in eight Miniature jennies and four jacks. Test comprised habituation, […]
Behavioral interactions and glucocorticoid production of Somali wild ass (Equus africanus somaliensis) mothers and foals
Somali wild ass (Equus africanus somaliensis) are the most endangered species of wild equid, and little is known about their reproductive biology. Here, we describe social interactions and glucocorticoid production of five pairs of Somali wild ass females and their foals, which were born within a two-month period at the Saint Louis Zoo. Behavioral data […]
Equid Assessment, Research and Scoping (EARS): The Development and Implementation of a New Equid Welfare Assessment and Monitoring Tool
The assessment of animal welfare poses numerous challenges, yet an emerging approach is the consolidation of existing knowledge into new frameworks which can offer standardised approaches to welfare assessment across a variety of contexts. Multiple tools exist for measuring the welfare of equids, but such tools have typically been developed for specific contexts. There is […]
Patterns of excretion of fecal estradiol and progesterone and urinary chorionic gonadotropin in Grevy’s zebras (Equus grevyi): Ovulatory cycles and pregnancy
Abstract The ovulatory cycle and pregnancy of the endangered Grevy’s zebra (Equus grevyi) was characterized by analyzing excretion patterns of fecal estradiol and progesterone. Pregnancy was further described by assay of urinary equine chorionic gonadotropin. Courtship and mating behavior were similar to that seen in the domestic horse, but cycle length was longer, ranging from […]
Feeding behaviour affects nursing behaviour in captive plains zebra (Equus burchellii)
Equids spend more than half of the day feeding. Lactation is a very demanding form of maternal investment. In an environment such as a zoo, where no grass but several feeding sites are present, conflict between suckling behaviour of the foal and feeding behaviour of the lactating mother should occur. We observed 20 foals of […]
Estrous cycle synchronization in the Persian onager (Equus hemionus onager)
The endangered Persian onager (Equus hemionus onager) has experienced significant population declines over the past century due to poaching, habitat destruction, and resource competition. Remaining animals in zoos and the wild are regionally isolated. Artificial insemination (AI) may be particularly useful as a means of aiding in global genetic management of these isolated populations. The […]
Characterization of estrous cycles and pregnancy in Somali wild asses (Equus africanus somaliensis) through fecal hormone analyses
Although reproduction in the domestic horse has been well described, less is known about reproduction in wild equids. This study describes endocrine patterns associated with estrous cycles and pregnancy for Somali wild asses (Equus africanus somaliensis), an endangered African equid. Fecal samples were collected three times per week for more than 2 years from five […]