The influence of feeding opportunities of six zoohoused Giraffa camelopardalis rothschild: The influence of feeding opportunities
Previous studies on captive giraffes have shown that an increase in foraging opportunities leads to reduced abnormal behaviour. This study evaluates the nocturnal behaviours of six captive giraffes, housed in Aalborg Zoo (N: 57.04°, E: 9.90°). The herd consists of one male giraffe (age 8), one male calf (age 1 ½), two femelle giraffe (age […]
How Can We Assess Positive Welfare in Ruminants?
Until now, most research has focused on the development of indicators of negative welfare, and relatively few studies provide information on valid, reliable, and feasible indicators addressing positive aspects of animal welfare. However, a lack of suffering does not guarantee that animals are experiencing a positive welfare state. The aim of the present review is […]
The use of dosed and herbage n-alkanes as markers for the determination of digestive strategies of captive giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis)
Abstract 10.1002/(SICI)1098-2361(1998)17:43.3.CO;2-0 Selected aspects of digestion in captive giraffes were investigated in two trials with a type of marker that is new for digestive studies in non-domestic species. N-Alkanes were used as internal and external markers. In Trial 1, diet composition, intake, and digestibility were directly measured and estimated with the marker. Six giraffes were […]
Serum concentrations of insulin-like growth factor-i and insulin-like growth factor binding protein-2 and -3 in eight hoofstock species
Abstract The somatotropic axis, which includes growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I, and IGF binding proteins (IGFBP), is involved in the regulation of growth and metabolism. Measures of the somatotropic axis can be predictive of nutritional status and growth rate that can be utilized to identify nutritional status of individual animals. Before the somatotropic axis […]
Effects of environmental pollutants on the reproduction and welfare of ruminants
Anthropogenic pollutants comprise a wide range of synthetic organic compounds and heavy metals, which are dispersed throughout the environment, usually at low concentrations. Exposure of ruminants, as for all other animals, is unavoidable and while the levels of exposure to most chemicals are usually too low to induce any physiological effects, combinations of pollutants can […]