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Enclosure Utilization and Enrichment Structure Preferences of Captive Coyotes
| Contributor(s):: Jeffrey T. Schultz, Julie K. Young
Environmental enrichment improves well-being of captive animals using a variety of tools, including adding complexity to the physical environment. Designing enrichment structures requires an understanding of behavioral and biological responses to enrichment efforts. Captive coyotes (Canis...
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Factors influencing interactions in zoos: animal-keeper relationship, animal-public interactions and solitary animal groups
| Contributor(s):: S. Mazzola, M. Albertini
Interactions that animals experience can have a significant influence on their health and welfare. These interactions can occur between animals themselves, but also between animals and keepers, and animals and the public. Human and non-human animals come into contact with each other in a...
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Changes in human health parameters associated with an immersive exhibit experience at a zoological institution
| Contributor(s):: Audrey A. Coolman, Amy Niedbalski, David M. Powell, Corinne P. Kozlowski, Ashley D. Franklin, Sharon L. Deem
Zoological institutions often use immersive, naturalistic exhibits to create an inclusive atmosphere that is inviting for visitors while providing for the welfare of animals in their collections. In this study, we investigated physiological changes in salivary cortisol and blood pressure, as...
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Case Report: Subclinical Verminous Pneumonia and High Ambient Temperatures Had Severe Impact on the Anesthesia of Semi-domesticated Eurasian Tundra Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) With Medetomidine–Ketamine
| Contributor(s):: Morten Tryland, Terje D. Josefsen, Javier Sánchez Romano, Nina Marcin, Torill Mørk, Jon M. Arnemo
Semidomesticated Eurasian tundra reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus, n = 21) were scheduled twice for chemical immobilization with medetomidine–ketamine as part of a scientific experiment in June 2014. During the first round of immobilizations, seven animals developed severe...
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Serum Protein Gel Agarose Electrophoresis in Captive Tigers
| Contributor(s):: Daniela Proverbio, Roberta Perego, Luciana Baggiani, Giuliano Ravasio, Daniela Giambellini, Eva Spada
Given the endangered status of tigers (Panthera tigris), the health of each individual is important and any data on blood chemistry values can provide valuable information alongside the assessment of physical condition. The nature of tigers in the wild makes it is extremely difficult to obtain...
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Should we be keeping elephants in captivity?
| Contributor(s):: Taylor, N.
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Spatial and Behavioral Patterns of Captive Coyotes
| Contributor(s):: Jeffrey T. Schultz
Environmental enrichment is a technique used at many captive animal facilities that can improve the well-being of their animals. It seeks to enhance habitat features and promote natural behavior by providing a variety of practical ways for captive animals to control their environmental...
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The Struggle Itself Toward the Heights Is Enough to Fill a Man's Heart: Calling, Moral Duty, Meaningfulness and Existential Self of Zookeepers
| Contributor(s):: Luisa G. Allen
Applying Existential Sociology (Douglas & Johnson 1977, Manning 1973, Lyman and Scott 1989, Kotarba and Fontana 1984) as a theoretical foundation, this thesis endeavors to formulate first-order experiential understanding of zookeepers. Utilized is a mixed method approach comprising the...
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Evaluation Tools for Educational Programs at Zoos Victoria
| Contributor(s):: Nicole Marie Packard, Michael Robert Clark, Erin Marie McConnaghy, Brian Grant Peterson
Zoos Victoria recently introduced a new educational program, Education for Conservation (EfC), to teach visiting students about conservation practices. Our goal was to create a set of efficient tools to assess the effectiveness of EfC from the perspectives of Zoo educators, schoolteachers, and...
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Liminal Animals in Liminal Spaces: A Day at Berlin Zoo
| Contributor(s):: Kristine Hill
This reflexive essay is based on a visit to Berlin Zoo on an overcast February day. It attempts to make sense of the "zoo experience" through critical self-reflection and observations of how visitors relate to animal others. The concept of zoo inhabitants as liminal beings, neither...
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An Analysis of Innovate Training with Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)
| Contributor(s):: Raymond John Van Steyn
The National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland conducted a training program in 2014 to develop a gestural command for their dolphins called “innovate”. This training paradigm was developed to resemble the seminal research by Pryor, Haag and O’Reilly (1969), as well as more...
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Circadian Rhythm of Salivary Immunoglobulin A and Associations with Cortisol as A Stress Biomarker in Captive Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus)
| Contributor(s):: Tithipong Plangsangmas, Janine L. Brown, Chatchote Thitaram, Ayona Silva-Fletcher, Katie L. Edwards, Veerasak Punyapornwithaya, Patcharapa Towiboon, Chaleamchat Somgird
Salivary immunoglobulin A (sIgA) has been proposed as a potential indicator of welfare for various species, including Asian elephants, and may be related to adrenal cortisol responses. This study aimed to distinguish circadian rhythm effects on sIgA in male and female Asian elephants and...
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Carcass Feeding for Captive Vultures: Testing Assumptions about Zoos and Effects on Birds and Visitors
| Contributor(s):: Hannah Gaengler
Carcass feeding is a potentially controversial feeding method for zoo animals. The common assumption is that many North American zoos refrain from feeding large carcasses to their carnivorous animals because zoo visitors might not approve of this feeding method. However, since there are several...
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Furred and feathered friends: how attached are zookeepers to the animals in their care?
| Contributor(s):: Melfi, V., Skyner, L., Birke, L., Ward, S. J., Shaw, W. S., Hosey, G.
Keeper-animal relationships (KARs) appear to be important in zoos, since they can enhance the well-being of both the animals and the keepers, can make animal husbandry easier, but conversely might risk inappropriate habituation of animals and possible risks to the safety of keepers. It is,...
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The Behavioral Effects of Feeding Enrichment on a Zoo-Housed Herd of African Elephants (Loxodonta africana)
| Contributor(s):: Caroline Marie Driscoll
A comprehensive study on the behavioral effects of feeding enrichment was conducted on six African elephants housed at the North Carolina Zoological Park in Asheboro, NC. The herd is comprised of are two adult males, three adult females, and one subadult female. The study was conducted over a...
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Evaluation of the Impact of Behavioral Opportunities on Four Zoo-Housed Aardvarks (Orycteropus afer)
| Contributor(s):: Jennifer Hamilton, Grace Fuller, Stephanie Allard
Evaluations of enrichment are critical to determine if an enrichment program is meeting stated goals. However, nocturnal species can present a challenge if their active periods do not align with caretakers’ schedules. To evaluate enrichment for four aardvarks housed with a natural light...
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Oral, Cloacal, and Hemipenal Actinomycosis in Captive Ball Pythons (Python regius)
| Contributor(s):: Steven B. Tillis, Marley E. Iredale, April L. Childress, Erin A. Graham, James F. X. Wellehan, Ramiro Isaza, Robert J. Ossiboff
Ball pythons (Python regius) are one of the most commonly kept and bred reptiles in captivity. In a large ball python breeding colony, a unique syndrome characterized by granulomatous inflammation of the cloaca and hemipenes (phalli) was observed in 140 of 481 (29.1%) breeding males, but only...
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Using Thermal Imaging to Monitor Body Temperature of Koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) in A Zoo Setting
| Contributor(s):: Edward Narayan, Annabella Perakis, Will Meikle
Non-invasive techniques can be applied for monitoring the physiology and behaviour of wildlife in Zoos to improve management and welfare. Thermal imaging technology has been used as a non-invasive technique to measure the body temperature of various domesticated and wildlife species. In this...
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Ireland Human-Animal Interactions Education Abroad
| Contributor(s):: Lauren Hamer
For my project I took course in Human-Animal Interactions then went abroad to Ireland with the Department of Animal Sciences to do study that same thing. While abroad for 9 days we visited zoos, animal rehabilitation centers, multiple farms, the University College of Dublin, and even some...
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Use of Vertical Enclosure Space and Species-Typical Locomotion by a Rehabilitating Spider Monkey (Ateles fusciceps)
| Contributor(s):: Jake Funkhouser
With wild spider monkey populations in decline, investigations contributing to captive welfare, and successful rehabilitation and reintroduction knowledge is increasingly pressing. Quantifying and analyzing the appropriateness of naturalistic enclosure designs to foster species-typical...
