This chapter explores how the authors expanded their teaching and learning beyond the classroom at Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK. It puts forward the theoretical concept of the “exploding university” as a way to help develop a critical yet hopeful understanding of collective problems at local and global scales. This helps them explore three interrelated initiatives that brought teachers, students, and communities together, namely a sustainability festival, research project on animal rehoming, and community tree-planting drive. The chapter illuminates how exploding the work beyond the classroom enabled everyone involved to take action on the challenges that matter to them, while also developing a “collective intelligence” about their underlying causes. The exploding university thus emerges as a theoretical and practical model, which we can use to inspire students to actively critique, reimagine, and reconstruct the world around them. The authors conclude by encouraging and supporting others who might wish to embark on similar journeys themselves.

The survival of endangered felids is becoming increasingly dependent on the successful management and breeding of reserve populations in captivity. While most felid species are reported to be solitary in the wild, increasing evidence suggests that some big cats have greater social plasticity than is currently acknowledged. This social plasticity allows felids to be sometimes socially housed in environments such as zoos and rescue centers. While the effects of such shared enclosures remain in question, many reports provide evidence of several welfare benefits of maintaining these large carnivores in pairs or even groups. Since 2019, Le Parc des Félins has housed a breeding pair of Malaysian tigers (Panthera tigris jacksoni) alongside their offspring. The purpose of this study was to quantify the social affiliation between the male tiger and his cubs and to investigate the female’s tolerance toward him. The data were collected using video recordings in the outdoor enclosure when social interactions were observed. The data were coded and categorized in the open-source software BORIS, from which behavioral activity budgets were calculated. Data were analyzed using the chi-squared test for association to determine differences in affiliative frequency, with directed and undirected sociograms created to visualize individual relationships. Overall, the male regularly engaged in affiliative behaviors with the cubs, with no significant difference found in the frequency of interactions with them compared to the female. No physical aggression was directed by the male toward the cubs. Although the female maintained a stronger bond with the cubs compared to the male, he displayed a greater range of affiliative behaviors toward them than male tigers are thought to exhibit. Both adults showed a high degree of tolerance toward their conspecifics, suggesting that maintaining breeding pairs with their offspring is a viable management strategy in zoological collections. This study could therefore improve husbandry and conservation practices by developing our understanding of felid sociality and the potential welfare benefits of social housing, allowing for evidence-based captive management decisions.

Many felid species are in a rapid state of decline in the natural world due to the mounting impacts of human activity. As a result, there is an urgent requirement for ex-situ conservation intervention, with many endangered species relying on zoos for survival.Guaranteeing animal welfare as well as preservation of species-specific behaviors is paramount in modern zoos. This study investigated the activity levels and social dynamics of three African lion prides in two zoological collections to highlight comparisons between zoo lion behaviour and that of their wild counterparts as presented in the existing literature.Monitoring took place at Yorkshire Wildlife Park, Doncaster (YWP), and Knowsley Safari Park, Prescot (KSP) in the United Kingdom between June and September 2018. Video-recorded data was collected using continuous focal animal sampling. Time budgets and enclosure use were determined and compared between pride of lions. The initial hypothesis posited that activity and active behaviours would be higher in prides with more individuals. Overall active behaviours were exhibited quite high particularly in YWP (Pride 1 and 3). Social behaviour was more prevalent in KSP (Pride2) while stereotypic behaviours were low. Pride 3 at YWP had the most active behaviours across all prides but also had the highest prevalence of stereotypic behaviours. Social behaviours were more prevalent in Pride 2 (KSP) where stereotypies also played a larger role. Despite high activity behaviour, individuals in Pride 3 also displayed a high percentage of stereotypic behaviours. This study rejects the initial hypothesis. In the studied prides, social behaviour was recorded most regularly with the larger prides that were all of a close relatedness. This study highlights the importance of providing several varying enrichment opportunities as being potentially significant factors in more social and more active prides in captivity.

Personality in non-human animals is a vast area of research, yet many papers focus on that of mammals or bird species. Many reptile species show complex behaviour but have been historically overlooked in favour of mammal and bird studies. Due to this, reptile species have frequently not received behavioural management such as enrichment, including through training within captive settings, despite their potential level of cognition. Training sessions prepare animals for situations such as routine veterinary procedures in addition to acting as enrichment. To assess the use of training sessions in reptiles, it is important to understand their cognitive and behavioural capabilities. This small pilot study acts as a case study, examining the personality and cognition of two Komodo dragons (Varanus komodoensis) through video analysis of training sessions and personality questionnaires issued to zookeepers. We also assess the utility of personality questionnaires in a reptile species and the potential effect of intrinsic factors such as keeper personality and sex on their responses. The results display the plasticity of Komodo dragon behaviour and the utility of training through evidence of willing compliance with training regimes.