The Effect of Visitor Number on the Behavior of Zoo-Housed Macropods
Free-range exhibits are used by zoos to allow visitors to experience or interact with animals in a semi-natural setting; close interactions with animals have been shown to increase empathy and contribute to conservation outcomes, and as such zoos are increasingly implementing free-range style exhibits to facilitate this goal. We aimed to investigate whether this close […]
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 […]
Social influences on vigilance behaviour in giraffes, Giraffa camelopardalis
Vigilance in ungulates is considered to have a predominantly antipredator function, with the frequency and duration of scans per individual decreasing with increasing group size. Social influences on vigilance scans have been overlooked in studies on ungulates, although studies in primates and birds show that conspecific scans are important determinants of vigilance behaviour. We investigated […]
Sexual segregation by Masai giraffes at two spatial scales
In this paper alternative explanations for observed patterns of sexual segregation by giraffes are examined at two spatial scales: within-habitats and within-landscape. Habitats are defined as recognizable plant associations and the landscape as the collection of all available habitat types. The study was conducted in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. At the within-landscape level, all sex […]
Cetacean sleep: An unusual form of mammalian sleep
Our knowledge of the form of lateralized sleep behavior, known as unihemispheric slow wave sleep (USWS), seen in all members of the order Cetacea examined to date, is described. We trace the discovery of this phenotypically unusual form of mammalian sleep and highlight specific aspects that are different from sleep in terrestrialmammals.Wefind that for cetaceans […]
Facultative control of avian unihemispheric sleep under the risk of predation
Birds and aquatic mammals are the only taxonomic groups known to exhibit unihemispheric slow-wave sleep (USWS). In aquatic mammals, USWS permits sleep and breathing to occur concurrently in water. However, the function of avian USWS has been unclear. Our study is based on the premise that avian USWS serves a predator detection function, since the […]
Sleep quantitation in common marmoset, cotton top tamarin and squirrel monkey by non-invasive actigraphy
Sleep quantitation data on the Neotropical primate species, apart from the squirrel monkey, are still sparse. As such, we have quantitated sleep in the common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus), cotton top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) and squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) reared in one primate facility simultaneously, by non-invasive actigraphy. The range in total sleep time/24h measured for […]
Vigilance during food handling in grey squirrels, Sciurus carolinensis
Foraging and vigilance conflict in animals that lower their head during food search and handling, but it is less clear whether these activities conflict in animals that handle food with the head raised. In these species, at least part of the foraging process is physically compatible with vigilance. Nevertheless, both vigilance and food handling require […]
Behavioral response of 12 ungulate species in captivity to the presence of humans
Abstract 10.1002/zoo.1430080308.abs Twelve species of captive ungulates were studied to determine behavioral responses to the presence of a zookeeper within the exhibit and in front of the exhibit, with and without zoo visitors present. Significant differences in behavior occurred between species for nearly all behaviors observed. A significantly greater occurrence of vigilance and approach behavior […]
Threat detection: Behavioral practices in animals and humans
In contrast to a perceptible threat that releases freezing, fleeing and fighting, abstract potential threat elicits anxiety and vigilance. The prevalent view is that the larger the animal groups the lower the individual vigilance. Vigilance is a reflection of anxiety, and here we show that anxiety is contagious in grouped social animals. In humans, anxiety […]