Curious creatures: a multi-taxa investigation of responses to novelty in a zoo environment

Abstract

The personality trait of curiosity has been shown to increase welfare in humans. If this positive welfare effect is also true for non-humans, animals with high levels of curiosity may be able to cope better with stressful situations than their conspecifics. Before discoveries can be made regarding the effect of curiosity on an animal’s ability to cope in their environment, a way of measuring curiosity across species in different environments must be created to standardise testing. To determine the suitability of novel objects in testing curiosity, species from different evolutionary backgrounds with sufficient sample sizes were chosen. Barbary sheep (Ammotragus lervia) n = 12, little penguins (Eudyptula minor) n = 10, ringtail lemurs (Lemur catta) n = 8, red tailed black cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus banksia) n = 7, Indian star tortoises (Geochelone elegans) n = 5 and red kangaroos (Macropus rufus) n = 5 were presented with a stationary object, a moving object and a mirror. Having objects with different characteristics increased the likelihood individuals would find at least one motivating. Conspecifics were all assessed simultaneously for time to first orientate towards object (s), latency to make contact (s), frequency of interactions, and total duration of interaction (s). Differences in curiosity were recorded in four of the six species; the Barbary sheep and red tailed black cockatoos did not interact with the novel objects suggesting either a low level of curiosity or that the objects were not motivating for these animals. Variation in curiosity was seen between and within species in terms of which objects they interacted with and how long they spent with the objects. This was determined by the speed in which they interacted, and the duration of interest. By using the measure of curiosity towards novel objects with varying characteristics across a range of zoo species, we can see evidence of evolutionary, husbandry and individual influences on their response. Further work to obtain data on multiple captive populations of a single species using a standardised method could uncover factors that nurture the development of curiosity. In doing so, it would be possible to isolate and modify sub-optimal husbandry practices to improve welfare in the zoo environment.

Evaluating the Behavior and Temperament of African Penguins in a Non-Contact Animal Encounter Program

“…We attempted to measure the penguins’ inter-individual variation in temperament via novel object tests and found that boldness may have been positively associated with their likelihood of entering the encounter area. This pattern is consistent with previous work that has demonstrated individual differences among penguins [13,25,26] and the relationship between animals’ rating on the shy-bold continuum and other behavioral tendencies [48,49,50].…”

“…To build off recent work demonstrating that penguins show individual variation in personality generally [25,26], and in their response to ambassador programs specifically [13], we also considered what individual traits correlated with the birds’ participation in the encounters (if any). Beyond simply considering each bird’s age and sex, however, we also recorded an independent measure of the birds’ boldness (i.e., their willingness to approach a novel object [27,28]).…”

Effect of Covering a Visitor Viewing Area Window on the Behaviour of Zoo-Housed Little Penguins (Eudyptula minor)

“…Consequently, this may explain the increased presence of penguins in the area near the main window during this treatment imposition. Zoo-housed little penguins have been found to show curiosity to novelty, particularly to mirrors likely due to the reflective properties appealing to them [52]. This may be true in the present experiment where covering the main visitor viewing area window using the barrier may have increased the reflective properties of this window.…”

Behavioral responses of the European mink in the face of different threats: conspecific competitors, predators, and anthropic disturbances

“…In this sense, it is known that prey are able to recognize volatile compounds from a carnivorous diet 19 , 20 , 24 , 56 . Also, according to Hall et al 58 prey perceive the predation risk according to the type of predator (terrestrial or aerial) and its hunting strategy (ambush or persecution) that feeds on them. European mink inhabits areas of high and dense vegetation associated with river borders 44 , 72 which share with predators, so the risk of predation depends, in part, on the type of landscape 73 .…”