Modification of Domestic Animal Lameness Scales for Use in Asiatic Black Bears (Ursus thibetanus)
Lameness in animals is a welfare concern as it can be an indicator of pain. A standardized bear lameness scale would significantly improve the ability of facilities that house bears to monitor, manage, and treat lameness in their animals. The Animals Asia bear rescue center in Vietnam holds over 180 rescued bears with varying health […]
Locomotion as a Measure of Well-Being in Captive Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)
Locomotion in non-human primates, including walking, climbing, and brachiating among other types of movement (but not pacing), is a species-typical behavior that varies with age, social housing conditions, and environmental factors (e.g., season, food availability, physical housing conditions). Given that captive primates are typically observed to engage in lower levels of locomotor behaviors than their […]
Assessing chimpanzees’ fluency of movement: applications for monitoring health and welfare
With age, primates’ activity levels and ease of movement may decline and changes in locomotory behaviour may reflect changes in health. Thus, developing quick and reliable measures of movement has important applications for measuring recovery from disease, injury, or any age-related mobility declines. While behavioural observations can offer a rich understanding of primates’ activity budgets […]
Supporting Zoo Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus) Welfare and Herd Dynamics with a More Complex and Expanded Habitat
Ensuring good health and welfare is an increasingly important consideration for conservation of endangered species, whether free-ranging or managed to varying degrees under human care. The welfare-based design of a new habitat for Asian elephants at the Oregon Zoo focused on meeting the elephants’ physical, physiological, psychological, and social needs 24 h a day and […]
Estimates of locomotion in Asian elephants Elephas maximus using video monitoring at Dublin Zoo, Ireland
Welfare of elephants in zoos is a major concern within the public and zoo community. Asian elephants Elephas maximus are classified as endangered with one in three currently in human care. Elephants, in particular, are known to suffer from a number of health and behavioural issues when held in a zoo environment and physical activity […]
Effect of Enclosure Size and Complexity on the Behaviors of Captive Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)
Reports describing the implementation of innovative facility designs are important to both the primate caregiving community and policymakers reviewing current U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations. This study documents the changes in behavior of 5 adult chimpanzees that coincided with transfer from the Psychology Building Facility to the large and complex chimpanzee enclosure within the Chimpanzee […]
The Behavioral Ecology of Intermittent Locomotion
Most physiological and ecological approaches to animal locomotion are based on steady state assumptions, yet movements of many animals are interspersed with pauses lasting from milliseconds to minutes. Thus, pauses, along with changes in the duration and speed of moves, form part of a dynamic system of intermittent locomotion by which animals adjust their locomotor […]
Ontogeny of locomotory behaviour in the American locust, Schistocerca americana: from marathoner to broad jumper
Developmental changes in locomotory ability may affect many aspects of organismal behaviour and ecological success. While juvenile vertebrates have lower power output and endurance than older animals, the effects of ontogeny on locomotory performance in invertebrates are unknown. Among insects, grasshoppers serve as an ideal model to study ontogeny of locomotory behaviour. Ecological and behavioural […]
The effects of temporary cover on the behavior of socially housed stumptailed macaques (Macaca arctoides)
Abstract 10.1002/zoo.1430100605.abs To examine the effects of the provision of temporary cover on the behavior of stumptailed macaques (Macaca arctoides), a single group of 26 animals was observed during 25 testing periods over 7.5 months. During each testing period, the group was observed under two conditions. In the Cover condition, two solid temporary walls 9.6 […]
Behavioral patterns and communication in feral asses (Equus africanus)
The behavior of feral populations of the African wild ass (Equus africanus) were studied in the Northern Panamint Range of Death Valley National Monument for 20 months from 1970 to 1973 [Moehlman, P.D., 1974. Behavior and ecology of feral asses (Equus asinus). PhD dissertation, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 251 pp.; Moehlman, P.D., 1979. Behavior and […]