Allostatic Load Index Effectively Measures Chronic Stress Status in Zoo-Housed Giraffes
For giraffes, few standardized methods exist for quantifying chronic stress. Allostatic load index is quantified from a panel of multi-system stress biomarkers to estimate cumulative stress. Our objective was to determine whether a panel of biomarkers selected for their role in allostatic load would reflect the number of documented stress events experienced by giraffes. Cortisol, […]
Inside out: heart rate monitoring to advance the welfare and conservation of maned wolves (Chrysocyon brachyurus)
Anthropogenic change is a major threat to individual species and biodiversity. Yet the behavioral and physiological responses of animals to these changes remain understudied. This is due to the technological challenges in assessing these effects in situ. Using captive maned wolves (Chrysocyon brachyurus, n = 6) as a model, we deployed implantable biologgers and collected physiological data […]
Linking the roles of personality and stress physiology for managing the welfare of captive big cats
Animal welfare is important for the humane treatment of animals under our care. Zoos and rescue centres manage various charismatic animals such as big cats with limited resources. It is therefore essential for caretakers to understand the needs of an individual big cat to ensure its welfare. However, these needs may differ due to a […]
Negative affective states and their effects on morbidity, mortality and longevity
Mortality rates are often used in population-level animal welfare assessments because they are assumed to reflect rates of disease or injury and other problems likely to cause poor welfare. High mortality is thus assumed to correlate with factors likely to cause negative affective states. Here, we argue that negative affective states are also related to […]