J. Zool. Bot. Gard., Volume 2, Issue 4 (December 2021) – 16 articles

Welfare assessments have been largely successful in improving management and quality of life for animals in human care. This has prompted an increased interest in their use for free-ranging wild animals to assess health, environment, and human-induced impacts that influence policy decisions. The North Atlantic Right Whale (NARW, Eubalaena glacialis) is one of the most endangered whale species. NARWs constantly face serious injuries and mortalities due to human activities, which poses both a species conservation and an individual welfare concern. Establishing a standardized welfare assessment for the NARW is a holistic way to understand the cumulative effects of anthropogenic activities at both the individual and population levels. To investigate the potential use of welfare assessments in NARWs, we performed a brief literature review to explore the history and utility of animal welfare assessments. Following the review, we developed a welfare assessment tool specific to the NARW. The goal is for biologists to apply this tool to understand NARW welfare in conjunction with research in the field. Ultimately, the information gained from this review can aid in public dissemination of the results of human impacts on NARW welfare and may help influence future conservation policies. Full article

Environmental enrichment has been shown to enhance the behavioural repertoire and reduce the occurrence of abnormal behaviours, particularly in zoo-housed mammals. However, evidence of its effectiveness in reptiles is lacking. Previously, it was believed that reptiles lacked the cognitive sophistication to benefit from enrichment provision, but studies have demonstrated instances of improved longevity, physical condition and problem-solving behaviour as a result of enhancing husbandry routines. In this study, we evaluate the effectiveness of food- and scent-based enrichment for three varanid species (Komodo dragon, emerald tree monitor lizard and crocodile monitor). Scent piles, scent trails and hanging feeders resulted in a significant increase in exploratory behaviour, with engagement diminishing ≤330 min post provision. The provision of food- versus scent-based enrichment did not result in differences in enrichment engagement across the three species, suggesting that scent is just as effective in increasing natural behaviours. Enhancing the environment in which zoo animals reside is important for their health and wellbeing and also provides visitors with the opportunity to observe naturalistic behaviours. For little known and understudied species such as varanids, evidence of successful (and even unsuccessful) husbandry and management practice is vital for advancing best practice in the zoo industry. Full article

Maintaining Gymnophiona in captivity provides opportunities to study the behaviour and life-history of this poorly known Order, and to investigate and provide species-appropriate welfare guidelines, which are currently lacking. This study focuses on the terrestrial caecilian Herpele squalostoma to investigate its sensitivity to disturbances associated with routine husbandry needed for monitoring and maintaining adequate wellbeing in captivity. Fossorial caecilians gradually pollute their environment in captivity with waste products, and substrate must be replaced at intervals; doing so disturbs the animals directly and via destruction of burrow networks. As inappetence is frequently associated with stress in amphibians, the percentage consumption of offered food types, river shrimp (Palaemon varians) and brown crickets (Gryllus assimilis), was measured as an indicator of putative stress following three routine substrate changes up to 297 days post-substrate change. Mean daily variation in substrate temperatures were also recorded in order to account for environmental influences on food consumption, along with nitrogenous waste in tank substrate prior to a substrate change and fresh top soil in order to understand the trade-off between dealing with waste accumulation and disturbing animals. We found a significant negative effect of substrate disturbance on food intake, but no significant effect of prey type. Variations in daily soil temperatures did not have a significant effect on food intake, but mean substrate temperature did. Additionally, substrate nitrogenous waste testing indicated little difference between fresh and tank substrate. In conclusion, this study provides a basis from which to develop further welfare assessment for this and other rarely kept and rarely observed terrestrial caecilian species. Full article

Long-term evaluations of whether modern zoological exhibits help to maintain variation in the behavior of zoo animals are lacking despite the hope that animals avoid falling into monotonous patterns of behavior or boredom. This study evaluated changes in behavior and habitat use over multi-year periods in nine individuals of five bear species at two zoological facilities. Behavioral data gathered over months to years were analyzed graphically for trends in the direction of change. The habitat use dynamics were assessed graphically by looking for trends in the entropy values over time. We found that the activity budgets remained diverse and were dynamic over time, more so in younger compared to older bears. Changes in behavior suggesting positive welfare were observed, while changes that may reflect declining welfare seemed more likely to be due to age or seasonality. The observed behavioral changes suggest that the bears did not become bored with their habitats; there was likely one to several hours of daily variation in behavior, and stereotypy was rare. The diversity in the habitat use decreased over time as the animals settled into patterns of use reflecting preferences for certain areas of their habitats. Full article

Visitors to zoos can have positive, neutral, or negative relationships with zoo animals. This makes human–animal interactions (HAIs) an essential component of welfare and an important consideration in species selection for zoo exhibits and in enclosure designs. We measured the effect of visitors on reptiles by comparing open and closed periods during the lockdowns in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK in a low-resolution dataset for thirteen species of reptiles and a high-resolution dataset focussing on just one of these. Scan sampling on thirteen reptile species (two chelonians and eleven squamates) showed species-specific differences in response to the presence/absence of visitors, with most taxa being only weakly affected. High-resolution scan sampling via video footage of an off-show and on-show enclosure was carried out for tokay geckos (Gekko gecko) over the open and closed periods. In this part of the study, tokay geckos were significantly more visible during zoo closure than when visitors were present on-exhibit, but there was no change in off-show animals, indicating the effect of visitors as opposed to other factors, such as seasonality, which applied equally to both on- and off-show animals. The high-resolution study showed that a significant effect was present for tokay geckos, even though the low-resolution suggested that they were more weakly affected than other taxa. Our results indicate that, for cryptic species such as this, more intensive sampling may be required to properly understand visitor effects. Our data do not allow the interpretation of effects on welfare but show that such assessments require a species-specific approach. Full article

Individual personalities affect animal experiences of zoo environments, impact on an animal’s coping ability and have potential implications for welfare. Keeper assessments have been identified as a quick and reliable way of capturing data on personality in a range of species and have practical application in improving animal welfare on an individual level. Despite widespread recognition of the importance of animal personality within a zoo environment, there is a paucity of research into tiger personality and the potential impact of this on tiger experiences within zoos. This research investigated the personality of 34 tigers (19 Amur and 15 Sumatran) across 14 facilities in the UK using keeper ratings and identified changes keepers made in animal husbandry to support tiger welfare. Reliability across keepers (n = 49) was established for nine adjectives and a principal component analysis identified three personality components: ‘anxious’, ‘quiet’ and ‘sociable’. When subspecies were combined, there was no relationship between tiger scores on the personality components and age or sex of tigers (p > 0.05). Subspecies of tiger was not related to scores on the ‘quiet’ or ‘sociable’ components (p > 0.05). Sumatran tigers scored more highly than Amur tigers on the ‘anxious’ component (mean ± SD, Sumatran: 3.0 ± 1.7, Amur: 1.8 ± 0.6, p < 0.05). Analysis within subspecies found that male Amur tigers were more sociable than females (mean ± SD, males: 5.5 ± 0.707; females: 4.15 ± 0.55). Amur tiger age was also negatively correlated with scores on the sociable personality component (R = −0.742, p < 0.05). No significant differences were seen in Sumatran tigers. Keepers reported a number of changes to husbandry routines based on their perceptions of their tigers’ personality/needs. However, there was no significant relationship between these changes and tiger personality scores (p > 0.05). Despite significant evolutionary differences between Amur and Sumatran tigers, there are no subspecies specific guidelines for zoo tigers. This research has highlighted the potential for these two subspecies to display personality differences and we advocate further research into this area. Specifically, we highlight a need to validate the relationship between tiger personality, management protocols and behavioural and physiological metrics of welfare. This will enable a fuller understanding of the impact of personality on zoo tiger experiences and will enable identification of evidence-based best practice guidelines. Full article

Characterising the people that work in zoos is a key element of understanding how zoos might better contribute to conservation activities. The purpose of this study was to investigate demographics, early life experiences and perceptions of zoo staff to the role of the modern zoo. This paper reports the key characteristics and qualitative themes emerging from study of international (European and Chinese) zoo professionals. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with eight Chinese and eight European zoo staff about aspects of zoological animal welfare, conservation and zoological practices. These qualitative data were thematically analysed, and themes generated. This paper describes interviewee demographics and two themes relating to ‘early life influences’ and ‘the role of the modern zoo’. This analysis indicates that demographic data and early life influences of zoo professionals were broadly similar between two culturally diverse regions, but that their views on the role of the modern zoo differed, particularly in terms of their perceptions of conservation activities, with European interviewees focussing on biodiversity conservation, and Chinese interviewees focussing on animal protection. Full article

Zoological collections are rapidly changing from a place of entertainment to centers of education. Many zoological collections run holiday and weekend clubs with activities aimed at inspiring and enthusing the next generation. The COVID-19 pandemic saw zoological collections across the world closing, leading a need for alternative educational content. Edinburgh Zoo, UK converted their summer school to a virtual provision. This provided a unique opportunity to determine the effectiveness of online zoological education by investigating if engagement levels differ for family groups when education is ‘live’, ‘recorded’ or ‘activity’ based. A total of 235 participants signed up for the Virtual Summer School, which comprised of 46 separate activities. Submissions, comments and polls were coded for content level and activity type. Results show that the overall engagement was higher for the live sessions compared to the recorded content; however, the content level was higher for activities. Content level increased over the week and there was a higher reported nature appreciation at the end of the Virtual Summer School. These findings provided evidence to suggest that online holiday zoo education can engage and inspire and gives insight on how to maximize the engagement and knowledge acquisition when using these online platforms. Full article

Free-choice learning occurs when individuals have autonomy in what and how they learn, and often takes place in informal settings such as zoos. To describe goal-setting and -achievement of biology undergraduates at a regional zoo, we primarily asked: (1) What types of learning goals do students set for themselves for a trip to the zoo?; and (2) What activities do students intend to engage in on a zoo trip? Participating students completed the first portion of a goal-setting assessment prior to entering the zoo, which asked students to develop learning and activity goals for themselves. At the conclusion of the zoo trip, students completed the second portion of this survey, which asked whether students achieved their goals, and if not, why. We found that most students devised learning goals related to gaining knowledge and identified passive interactions with animals as activities they hoped to engage in during their trip. Full article

Enrichment is essential for the welfare of many zoo-housed animals, yet the value of enrichment is not well understood for all taxa. As an intelligent, long-lived species, the southern ground hornbill (Bucorvus leadbeateri) is a good model for enrichment research. A pair of southern ground hornbills, housed at Beale Wildlife Park and Gardens, were observed during study periods in 2014, 2018, and 2019. Three types of enrichment were provided for the birds; these enrichment types were developed based on information on the habits of the species as found in natural history papers. The enrichment types consisted of a pile of twigs, small animal carcasses, and plastic mirrors. Overall, the carcass feeds and the mirrors resulted in the greatest changes in behavior, with hornbills engaging in long periods of food manipulation with carcasses. For the mirror condition, hornbills spent time stalking around and pecking at mirrors, similar to the ‘window smashing’ behavior seen in wild hornbills. Overall, the research suggests that not only can enrichment modify the behavior of southern ground hornbills, but non-nutritional enrichment may be equally valuable to the animals. Natural history papers may have some value in inspiring novel enrichment items for zoo-housed animals. Full article

Wild food plants (WFPs) are consumed by the indigenous communities in various parts of the world for food, nutrition, and medicinal purposes. They are usually collected from the wild and sometimes grown in the vicinity of the forests and the dwellings of the indigenous people in a way such that they are not far from their natural habitats. WFPs are important for the food and nutritional requirements of the indigenous communities. The WFPs are seasonal and collected from the wild whenever they are available. Therefore, the food menu of the tribal co mmunities changes with the seasons. A number of studies have demonstrated various WFPs consumed by indigenous communities including India. The results show that an enormous diversity of WFPs is consumed by the indigenous people of India. However, a few studies also suggest that the consumption of WFPs among the indigenous communities is declining along with the dwindling of traditional ethnobotanical knowledge linked to the collection, processing, cooking, storage, and limited cultivation of WFPs. India can leverage the network of its botanic gardens for the conservation of its wild food plant resources, the traditional and indigenous knowledge linked to it, and its popularization among the citizens within the framework of Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC). This article provided an overview of the need to focus on WFPs, limitations of current studies, and role of botanic gardens in the conservation of wild food plants through the implementation of GSPC. This article further provided a framework for the role of botanic gardens in the popularization of WFPs, increasing the awareness about their importance, documentation, and preservation of the traditional knowledge linked to various aspects of WFPs within the GPSC framework. Full article

Despite increasing studies focusing on the visitor experience in zoological collections, minimal attention has been paid to visitor activity when driving through safari parks. The dwell time of visitors at exhibits within a traditional zoo setting has offered a good method to measure exhibit and species popularity, but studying visitors on a safari drive offers a unique set of challenges, with factors such as road length skewing a basic dwell time measurement. Therefore, the current study proposes that average speed offers a robust means to investigate visitor activity on a safari drive. Average speed was found to be significantly different depending on species exhibited, with primates and felids eliciting slower speeds and bovids and cervids faster speeds. This result broadly mirrors that of traditional zoo studies where primates elicit longer dwell times. Future safari drive studies could help inform decisions made on a safari drive for aspects such a collection planning, drive layout and exhibit design. Harnessing tracking technology, e.g., GPS, alongside more diverse methodologies, such as questionnaires and multi-institutional approaches, would further allow more robust conclusions to be drawn. Full article

Marine mammals, now more than ever, are exposed to environmental and anthropogenic stressors. A better understanding of stress physiology in marine mammals is warranted in order to assist in conservation efforts. This study screened gene expression profiles (cytokines, stress-response markers) in blood samples collected opportunistically under controlled conditions from aquarium belugas during transport and introduction to a novel environment (T/NEnv), participation in out-of-water examinations (OWE) and from wild belugas during live capture–release health assessments (WLCR). Quantitative-PCR was used to measure gene expression involved in physiological and immune responses at different time scales. Linear mixed models with repeated measures and pairwise comparisons were used for analysis. Overall, a generalized down-regulation of relative gene expression when compared to samples collected under behavioral control from aquarium whales or to pre-assessment samples of wild whales was observed, with genes IFNγ, IL2, TGFβ and Nr3c1 displaying the largest significant (p < 0.05) changes. Significant (p < 0.05) negative associations of inflammatory gene expression with norepinephrine suggest inhibitory effects of catecholamines on the inflammatory response. Overall, this study contributes to our understanding of the physiological response to stressors at the molecular level in belugas, and the genes suggested here can further be utilized as additional tools in beluga health assessments and monitoring. Full article

To explore the potential macroscopic tissue effects of select remote biopsy tools to common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), carcasses were darted and their traumatic effects on the anatomy in target and non-target areas of the body were described. In total, 87 samples were collected (target area, n = 19; non-target area, n = 68) within standardized grid partitions from five carcasses of sub-adult to adult age classes with a range of body condition scores. We broadly classified impacts penetrating completely through the blubber into muscle or deeper internal tissues as over-penetrations (n = 51/87, 59%). For samples collected in the defined target area, there was a low number of over-penetrations (n = 5/51; 10%). However, for samples collected in the defined, non-target areas, a much higher number of over-penetrations occurred (n = 45/51 88%). A visual examination of some samples indicated that sample length and appearance may not be reliable guides to assess the penetration depth of the wounds. These preliminary results suggest samples collected in non-targeted areas could pose much higher risk to the individual. We encourage other researchers considering the use of remote biopsy tools to conduct similar assessments prior to field sampling to better understand the potential consequences of misplaced samples with a view towards continually improving remote biopsy tools and techniques for the benefit of cetacean welfare. Full article

The modern zoo has been associated with two major behavioral welfare advances: (a) the use of training to increase voluntary husbandry care, and (b) the implementation of environmental enrichment to promote naturalistic behaviors. Both practices have their roots in behavior analysis, or the operant conditioning-centered, reward-based approach to behavioral psychology. Operant conditioning served as the foundation for the development of reinforcement-based training methods commonly used in zoos to make veterinary and husbandry procedures easier and safer for animals and their caregivers. Likewise, operant conditioning, with its focus on arranging environmental antecedents and consequences to change behavior, also provided a framework for successful environmental enrichment practices. In this paper, we outline the key individuals and events that shaped two of the cornerstones of the modern zoo: (1) the emergence of reward-based husbandry training practices, and (2) the engineering of environmental enrichment. In addition, we (3) suggest ways in which behavior analysis can continue to advance zoo welfare by (i) expanding the efficacy of environmental enrichment, (ii) using within-subject methodology, and (iii) improving animal-visitor interactions. Our goal is to provide a historical and contextual reference for future efforts to improve the well-being of zoo animals. Full article

No comprehensive assessment of the populations of big cats in federally regulated facilities in the United States is currently available. Concerns about big cat use are increasingly of strong public interest and the lack of data about their number and distribution has ramifications impacting zoological industry function, conservation programs, rescue work, and legislation. In this work a dataset has been compiled using publicly available USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) records and direct information requests. The resulting census was derived from the animal inventories listed on inspection records for all 2272 facilities with animal exhibition licenses. The total number of big cats in federally regulated facilities is on the order of 4100 animals and appears to be declining. Full article