Comparison between 28 zoological parks: stereotypic and social behaviours of captive brown bears
In the present study we compared 33 enclosures in 28 parks, with a total of 66 bears. We chose direct observation of behaviour rather than surveys. Each enclosure was observed during one day; stereotypies and social relationships were qualitatively noted in types and amount. The connections of behaviour with bears characteristics and types of management […]
Introducing a Semi-Naturalistic Exhibit As Structural Enrichment for Two Brown Bears (Ursus arctos). Does This Ensure Their Captive Well-Being?
In this study we used the daily activity pattern and use of space as indicators of change in the program of structural enrichment, implemented with 2 subjects of the species Ursus arctos in the Barcelona Zoo. We collected 930 sampling points in each study phase for each of the individuals: The samples were taken in […]
Frustrated Appetitive Foraging Behavior, Stereotypic Pacing, and Fecal Glucocorticoid Levels in Snow Leopards (Uncia uncia) in the Zurich Zoo
This study hypothesized that permanently frustrated, appetitive-foraging behavior caused the stereotypic pacing regularly observed in captive carnivores. Using 2 adult female snow leopards (Uncia uncia), solitarily housed in the Zurich Zoo, the study tested this hypothesis experimentally with a novel feeding method: electronically controlled, time-regulated feeding boxes. The expected result of employing this active foraging […]
A survey assessment of variables related to stereotypy in captive giraffe and okapi.
Stereotypic behavior has been investigated in a wide variety of animals, but little published information is available on this problem in captive exotic ungulates. A survey was used to gather information on the prevalence of stereotypic behavior in giraffe and okapi and to identify variables associated with these behaviors. Of the 71 institutions that received […]
Don’t Fence Me In: Managing Psychological Well Being for Elite Performance Horses
This article posits that stereotypical behavior patterns and the overall psychological well being of today’s performance horse could be substantially enhanced with care that acknowledges the relationship between domesticated horses and their forerunners. Feral horses typically roam in stable, social groups over large grazing territories, spending 16-20 hr per day foraging on mid- to poor-quality […]
A preliminary survey of behavioural stereotypes in captive primates
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Limitations on the effectiveness of environmental improvement in reducing stereotypic behaviour in bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus)
Bank voles (Clethrionotnys glareohs) from three age groups were transferred from conditions in which stereotypic behaviour reliably developed to conditions in which stereotypies rarely developed, to test if environmentally induced stereotypies become independent of their causal factors. Forty-eight voles were used, aged 2 months (Young: n = 18); 6 months (Mid: n = 14); and […]
Repetitive Backflipping Behaviour in Captive Roof Rats (Rattus Rattus) and the Effects of Cage Enrichment
Repetitive ‘stereotyped’ behaviours are often performed by both wild and domestic rodents in small laboratory cages. In this study, a behaviour resembling a backwards somersault or backflip is described and quantified in captive roof rats (ship or black rats, Rattus rattus). Videotapes of captive-bred rat pups showed that repetitive backflipping developed rapidly after weaning. In […]
Perseveration in a guessing task by laying hens selected for high or low levels of feather pecking does not support classification of feather pecking as a stereotypy
Feather pecking is a behaviour by which birds damage or destroy the feathers of themselves (self-pecking) or other birds (allo feather pecking), in some cases even plucking out feathers and eating these. The self-pecking is rarely seen in domestic laying hens but is not uncommon in parrots. Feather pecking in laying hens has been described […]