Early life adversities and lifelong health outcomes: A review of the literature on large, social, long-lived nonhuman mammals
Social nonhuman animals are powerful models for studying underlying factors related to lifelong health outcomes following early life adversities (ELAs). ELAs can be linked to lifelong health outcomes depending on the species, system, sensitive developmental periods, and biological pathways. This review focuses on the literature surrounding ELAs and lifelong health outcomes in large, social, relatively […]
Immunoglobulin A and Physiologic Correlates of Well-Being in Asian Elephants
Zoological institutions aim to continually improve the lives of the animals under their stewardship. To this end, bull elephants are now increasingly maintained in all-male groups to mimic social conditions observed in the wild. While cortisol is the most frequently used “stress” biomarker, secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) as a measure of health and positive affect, […]
Longitudinal Improvements in Zoo-Housed Elephant Welfare: A Case Study at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo
Over the last two decades, criticisms were raised regarding the welfare experienced by elephants in European and North American zoos. Concerns regarding the welfare of zoo-housed elephants in the UK and Europe were consolidated in the publication of several key reports, and media interest peaked. Throughout this study we aim to outline the behavioural measures […]
Increasing browse and social complexity can improve zoo elephant welfare
While recent work has assessed how environmental and managerial changes influence elephant welfare across multiple zoos, few studies have addressed the effects of management changes within a single institution. In this paper, we examine how management changes related to social structure and diet affect the behavior of a group of zoo elephants over a 23‐month […]
Behavioural analysis of solitary versus socially housed snow leopards (Panthera uncia), with the provision of simulated social contact
Activity budgets of 18 captive snow leopards were analyzed in order to assess the behaviour of cats housed singly versus those housed socially. Six solitary snow leopards and 12 socially housed snow leopards were compared. Pacing and activity level were used as indicators of the potential welfare states of cats under these two conditions. Solitary […]
Presence of a privacy divider increases proximity in pair-housed rhesus monkeys
Use of a privacy panel in the home cage of female pair-housed rhesus monkeys has been reported to increase time spent in close proximity and time spent in affiliative behaviours. In the current study we measured these behaviours in more diverse populations; including male-male and male-female pairs of monkeys actively participating in cognitive experiments. We […]
The Striped Mouse (Rhabdomys pumilio) From the Succulent Karoo, South Africa: A Territorial Group-Living Solitary Forager With Communal Breeding and Helpers at the Nest
The authors studied the striped mouse (Rhabdomys pumilio) in the semiarid succulent karoo of South Africa. Mice forage alone, but they live in groups that share a common nest. Groups consist of 1 to 4 breeding females, 1 to 2 breeding males, and their offspring of both sexes, which remain in their natal group even […]
Benefits of pair housing are consistent across a diverse population of rhesus macaques
Introducing singly housed rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) into isosexual pairs is widely considered to improve welfare. The population of laboratory rhesus macaques is heterogeneous on a variety of factors and there is little literature available to directly evaluate the influence of many of these factors on the benefits of pair housing. Subjects were 46 adult […]
Social environment and agonistic interactions: strategies in a small social mammal
In group-living species, the development of agonistic interactions among conspecifics may be affected by socio-ecological factors, such as size and composition of social group, and availability of nests and food. We analysed the importance of size and composition of social groups on agonistic interactions among males in the Southern mountain cavy (Microcavia australis). We made […]
Behavioral responses to physical vs. social novelty in male and female laboratory rats
Most behavioral tests used with laboratory rodents involve measuring behavioral responses to physical novelty. However, laboratory rodents are often derived from highly social species for which novel social stimuli may induce different levels of fear or curiosity compared to novel physical objects. We hypothesized that behavioral responses will differ in response to novel physical vs. […]