Inside out: heart rate monitoring to advance the welfare and conservation of maned wolves (Chrysocyon brachyurus)
Anthropogenic change is a major threat to individual species and biodiversity. Yet the behavioral and physiological responses of animals to these changes remain understudied. This is due to the technological challenges in assessing these effects in situ. Using captive maned wolves (Chrysocyon brachyurus, n = 6) as a model, we deployed implantable biologgers and collected physiological data […]
A comparative approach to the study of Keeper–Animal Relationships in the zoo
Abstract 10.1002/zoo.20289.abs Research on intensively farmed animals over the past 25 years has shown that human-animal interactions, by affecting the animal’s fear of humans, can markedly limit the productivity and welfare of farm animals. This article begins to explore some of the factors that need to be considered to investigate Keeper–Animal Relationships (KARs) in the […]
Behavioral and physiologic responses to environmental enrichment in the maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus)
Abstract 10.1002/zoo.20138.abs The ex situ population of maned wolves is not self-sustaining due to poor reproduction, caused primarily by parental incompetence. Studies have shown that environmental enrichment can promote natural parental behaviors in zoo animals. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of environmental enrichment on behavioral and physiological responses of maned […]
Behavioral changes associated with introductions of male maned wolves (Chrysocyon brachyurus) to females with pups
Abstract 10.1002/(SICI)1098-2361(1999)18:33.3.CO;2-V Three male maned wolves were successfully introduced to their mates and 7- to 12-week-old pups at the Houston Zoological Gardens and Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in 1994 and 1995. The introductions took 3–7 weeks and had three stages: 1) allowing the male to see the female and pups through a chain-link panel or […]
Environmental enrichment for maned wolves (Chrysocyon brachyurus): group and individual effects
Procedures that increase foraging and exploratory behaviours are generally accepted as effective at improving welfare and reducing stereotypies in captive animals. To determine the effect of food and toy enrichment on the behaviour and hormonal levels of maned wolves (Chrysocyon brachyurus), 11 wolves were submitted to a baseline-enrichment-baseline schedule with four enrichment conditions: food scattering, […]
A Note on the Effect of the Full Moon on the Activity of Wild Maned Wolves, Chrysocyon brachyurus
It is well established in the scientific literature that animal prey species reduce their activity at times of high predation risk. In the case of nocturnal animals this occurs when there is a full moon; however, the response of predators to the changes in their prey behaviour is relatively unknown. Two responses are possible: (1) […]