Biological and environmental factors as sources of variation in nocturnal behavior of giraffe
Upon a drastic decline of the giraffe population in the wild, conservation efforts and therefore the role of zoos have become more important than ever. With their unique opportunities, zoos provide excellent conditions to study animal behavior, expanding the knowledge about the giraffe’s behavior repertoire and their ability to adapt. This study therefore examined the […]
24/7 behaviour and welfare of giraffes
Giraffes are known for their remarkable sleeping patterns. While this has received ample scientific attention, and interesting differences in nocturnal behaviour between giraffe subspecies have been recently recorded, results of these studies are not always related to animal welfare. Especially now that 24/7 welfare concepts are being applied to zoos, a better understanding of sleep […]
Why Aye-Ayes See Blue
The capacity for cone-mediated color vision varies among nocturnal primates. Some species are colorblind, having lost the functionality of their short-wavelength-sensitive-1 (SWS1) opsin pigment gene. In other species, such as the aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis), the SWS1 gene remains intact. Recent studies focused on aye-ayes indicate that this gene has been maintained by natural selection and […]
Assessment of Flooring Renovations on African Elephant (Loxodonta africana) Behavior and Glucocorticoid Response
Captive African (Loxodonta africana) and Asian (Elephas maximus) elephants can experience foot pathologies and arthritis. As a preventative measure against these pathologies and to alleviate the potential discomfort due to concrete substrates, some zoological institutions have renovated elephant housing to increase the amount of natural or shock-absorbent substrates. The objective of this study was to […]
Behavioral changes in female Asian elephants when given access to an outdoor yard overnight
Nocturnal behavior of orphaned Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) calves in Sri Lanka
Many animals exhibit circadian variation in behavior; thus, studying nocturnal behavior is important to fully understand species activity patterns. The nocturnal behavior of Asian elephants, and specifically calves, has received little previous study. We carried out observational study of the nocturnal behavior of orphaned Asian elephant calves at three age groups: “infant” (0–24 months), “young […]