A multi-enclosure study investigating the behavioural response of meerkats to zoo visitors
The scientific literature indicates that visitors may affect both the behaviour and welfare of zoo animals. Captive born slender-tailed meerkats, Suricata suricatta, at three exhibits were studied under two treatments (1) unregulated visitor behaviour and (2) regulated visitor behaviour, where signage was positioned requesting visitors to be quiet and not to interact with the animals. […]
Understanding impacts of zoo visitors: Quantifying behavioural changes of two popular zoo species during COVID-19 closures
Visitors are normally a prominent and constant feature in a zoo animals’ environment with more than 700 million people visiting zoos and aquariums worldwide, annually. Animal-visitor interactions can be enriching and stimulating and are now considered within the Five Domains of animal welfare assessment. Zoo closures as a result of COVID-19 provided a unique opportunity […]
Discrimination of Acoustic Stimuli and Maintenance of Graded Alarm Call Structure in Captive Meerkats
Animals living in human care for several generations face the risk of losing natural behaviors, which can lead to reduced animal welfare. The goal of this study is to demonstrate that meerkats (Suricata suricatta) living in zoos can assess potential danger and respond naturally based on acoustic signals only. This includes that the graded information […]
Understanding impacts of zoo visitors: Quantifying behavioural changes of two popular zoo species during COVID-19 closures
Visitors are normally a prominent and constant feature in a zoo animals’ environment with more than 700 million people visiting zoos and aquariums worldwide, annually. Animal-visitor interactions can be enriching and stimulating and are now considered within the Five Domains of animal welfare assessment. Zoo closures as a result of COVID-19 provided a unique opportunity […]
Understanding impacts of zoo visitors: Quantifying behavioural changes of two popular zoo species during COVID-19 closures
Visitors are normally a prominent and constant feature in a zoo animals’ environment with more than 700 million people visiting zoos and aquariums worldwide, annually. Animal-visitor interactions can be enriching and stimulating and are now considered within the Five Domains of animal welfare assessment. Zoo closures as a result of COVID-19 provided a unique opportunity […]
Validation of a fecal glucocorticoid assay to assess adrenocortical activity in meerkats using physiological and biological stimuli
In mammals, glucocorticoid (i.e. GC) levels have been associated with specific life-history stages and transitions, reproductive strategies, and a plethora of behaviors. Assessment of adrenocortical activity via measurement of glucocorticoid metabolites in feces (FGCM) has greatly facilitated data collection from wild animals, due to its non-invasive nature, and thus has become an established tool in […]
Mean fecal glucocorticoid metabolites are associated with vigilance, whereas immediate cortisol levels better reflect acute anti-predator responses in meerkats
Adrenal hormones likely affect anti-predator behavior in animals. With experimental field studies, we first investigated associations between mean fecal glucocorticoid metabolite (fGC) excretion and vigilance and with behavioral responses to alarm call playbacks in free-ranging meerkats (Suricata suricatta). We then tested how vigilance and behavioral responses to alarm call playbacks were affected in individuals administered […]
The effects of olfactory stimulation on the behaviour of captive meerkats (Suricata suricatta)
Olfactory stimulation has been demonstrated to enhance welfare in a range of captive species through increasing behavioural diversity or decreasing frequencies of abnormal behaviours. Despite meerkats being commonly kept in many animal collections, research into methods of enrichment for captive meerkats is minimal and to date, the effects of olfactory stimulation on the behaviour of […]