To assess the stress level of cheetahs reared in Japan and to identify the prime components of the climatic conditions that affect their thermal stress, fecal corticosterone was monitored for 8 months from May to the following January. A total of 203 fecal samples were gathered in the morning from seven adult cheetahs that were kept at a zoological garden in Wakayama, Japan. Cheetahs were on exhibit singly or together with a harmonious conspecific during the day, but housed singly at night. Although the monthly fluctuation in corticosterone concentrations was not significant, the concentrations were relatively low during the summer season. Individual differences among cheetahs and the interaction effect between individual and month on the corticosterone concentrations were significant. Whereas the corticosterone concentrations negatively correlated with air temperature, they were positively correlated with the amount of rainfall. The highest air temperature and the amount of rainfall were extracted as the prime factors affecting corticosterone concentrations. These results suggest that cheetahs reared in Japan are somewhat subjected to thermal stress, particularly on cooler and/or rainy days.

No abstract

In the current study, we attempted to determine the paternity of captive southern pudu (Pudu puda) using bovine and ovine microsatellite markers. Of 15 markers tested, nine (60.0%) were successfully amplified and seven were polymorphic, with the number of alleles per locus ranging from three to five. Observed heterozygosity in the seven markers ranged from 0.667 to 1.00. Most of these polymorphic markers could be used to accurately verify the relationship between father and offspring. These bovine and ovine microsatellite markers may be useful for parentage testing and genetic diversity analysis in southern pudu.