Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
https://hdl.handle.net/2440/136866
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Type: | Journal article |
Title: | Enclosure Use as a Measure of Behavioural Welfare in Three Zoo-Housed African Wild Dogs (Lycaon pictus) |
Author: | Fernandez, E.J. Harvey, E. |
Citation: | JOURNAL OF ZOO AND AQUARIUM RESEARCH, 2021; 9(2):88-93 |
Publisher: | EAZA publication |
Issue Date: | 2021 |
ISSN: | 2214-7594 |
Statement of Responsibility: | Eduardo J. Fernandez, and Emma Harvey |
Abstract: | African wild dogs Lycaon pictus are a popularly exhibited zoo animal, frequently housed in groups to represent their natural packs in the wild. While such group housing is common, the effects of changes to that group are seldom directly investigated. This study examined the enclosure use of three African wild dog siblings located at the Woodland Park Zoo. The wild dogs were observed during a period of several weeks, during which one of the dogs was periodically removed from the group. Groupings of the wild dogs were examined during three conditions: (1) ALL 3, when all three dogs were onexhibit, (2) MIXED, when one of the dogs was held off-exhibit, and (3) ALL 2, when only two animals remained in the enclosure and on-exhibit. Removal of one of the dogs from the on-exhibit portion of the enclosure (MIXED and ALL 2 conditions) significantly modified overall area usage and variability in enclosure use (as measured via Entropy, a single measure of area use variability) for the two remaining on-exhibit wild dogs. The results suggest that overall enclosure use, with attention to variability in enclosure areas used, can function as a relevant behavioural welfare measure for group-housed zoo animals, particularly when direct measures of behaviours are inconclusive. |
Keywords: | African wild dogs; captive welfare; enclosure use; entropy; spatial distribution; zoos |
Rights: | © The Authors. JZAR fulfils the DOAJ definition of open access and provides free and open access to the full text of all content without delay under a Creative Commons licence. The copyright holder of JZAR publications grants usage rights to third parties, allowing for immediate free access to the work and permitting any user to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles. |
DOI: | 10.19227/jzar.v9i2.526 |
Published version: | https://jzar.org/jzar/ |
Appears in Collections: | Animal and Veterinary Sciences publications |
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hdl_136866.pdf | Published version | 1.04 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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