The Zone Overlap Index: A new measure of shared resource use in the zoo

It is important that the environment provided in the zoo is relevant to the species being housed and its suitability be easily assessed by personnel. As shared space and resources can overlap in a zoo’s enclosure a tool is required to measure the effects of such overlap between individual animals in a shared enclosure. This […]

Behavioural effects of a giraffe public feeding programme on Masai giraffe Giraffa tippelskirchi and plains zebra Equus quagga in a mixed-species exhibit

Animal-visitor interactions are widely available in zoos and aquariums, yet the effects of these programmes on the welfare of the animals involved have only recently begun to be studied. The impact of one type of animal-visitor interaction, public hand feeding experiences, on the welfare of the participating Masai giraffe Giraffa tippelskirchi and the plains zebra […]

Change of enclosure in langur monkeys: implications for the evaluation of environmental enrichment

Abstract 10.1002/zoo.10058.abs A group of Hanuman langurs (Presbytis entellus) was studied before and after it was moved from an old cage-style enclosure to a novel naturalistic environment at the London Zoo. Eating and locomotion occupied more of the langurs’ time in their new enclosure, whereas dozing, allogrooming, and aggression decreased, along with an increase in […]