Effects of personality and rearing-history on the welfare of captive Asiatic lions (Panthera leo persica)
Publication Type: |
Journal Article |
Year of Publication: |
2020 |
Authors: |
Sitendu Goswami, Praveen C Tyagi, Pradeep K Malik, Shwetank J Pandit, Riyazahmed F Kadivar, Malcolm Fitzpatrick, Samrat Mondol |
Publication/Journal: |
PeerJ |
Keywords: |
asiatic lion, captivity, personality, rearing, welfare |
ISBN: |
2167-8359 |
Abstract:
The long-term success of ex-situ conservation programmes depends on species-appropriate husbandry and enrichment practices complemented by an accurate welfare assessment protocol. Zoos and conservation breeding programmes should employ a bottom-up approach to account for intraspecific variations in measures of animal welfare. We studied 35 (14:21) captive Asiatic lions in Sakkarbaug Zoological Garden, Junagadh, India to understand the implications of individual variations on welfare measures. We categorized the subjects based on personality traits (bold or shy), rearing history (wild-rescued or captive-raised), sex, and social-grouping. We explored the association of these categorical variables on welfare indices such as behavioural diversity, latency to approach novel objects, enclosure usage and aberrant repetitive behaviours. Further, we assessed the inter-relationships between different behavioural measures of welfare.