Feeding enrichment in an opportunistic carnivore: The red fox
In captive carnivores, species-specific behaviour is often restricted by inadequate feeding regimens. Feeding live prey is not feasible in most places and food delivery is often highly predictable in space and time which is considerably different from the situation in the wild. As a result, captive carnivores are often inactive, show little behavioural diversity and […]
Behavioural and physiological differences between silver foxes selected and not selected for domestic behaviour
The degree of domestication of an animal is difficult to estimate because the animal’s phenotype depends not only on its genetic make-up but also on its experiences during ontogeny. In addition, comparisons between wild and domestic animals suffer from the lack of a proper reference population. In this study, we compared the offspring of silver […]
Structural enrichment and enclosure use in an opportunistic carnivore: the red fox (Vulpes vulpes)
An increasing number of zoos keep their animals in natural-looking enclosures, but it is often unclear whether or not the species’ behavioural and ecological needs are being adequately met. For species that suffer predation in the wild, structural enrichment in captivity can play a crucial role in connection with enclosure use. Firstly, we examined the […]
Paternal care in canids
Paternal care has never been reported as absent in any canid species, and some form of care has been seen in 18 ofthe 36 species in the family. Food provisioning, active defense of the young, and protecting young by remaining at the den as the female forages appear to be the commonest forms of male […]