Effects of a combined enrichment intervention on the behavioural and physiological welfare of captive Asiatic lions (Panthera leo persica)

Goswami, Sitendu; Patel, Shiv Kumari; Kadivar, Riyaz; Tyagi, Praveen C; Malik, P. K.; Mondol, Samrat

doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2021.105222

Cited by 11 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…For instance, brown bears ( Ursus arctos ; Soriano, Vinyoles & Maté, 2015 ) and Indian Leopards ( Panthera pardus; Mallapur, Qureshi & Chellam, 2010 ) showed a higher use of environmentally enriched zones within their enclosure during enrichment, and thereby increased the use of certain areas, rather than using only a few of them. Similar findings were found in Asiatic lions ( Panthera leo persica ), which showed uniform enclosure use post-enrichment ( Goswami et al, 2021 ). The extent to which the space of an enclosure is used is considered an indicator for the animal’s welfare ( Ross et al, 2009 ).…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 74%

Effects of food-based enrichment on enclosure use and behavioral patterns in captive mammalian predators: a case study from an Austrian wildlife park

Puehringer-Sturmayr,

Fiby,

Bachmann

et al. 2023

PeerJ

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Background Combining naturalistic enclosure design and animal welfare with visitor interests and education can be challenging for zoos and wildlife parks. To accomplish both purposes, different types of enrichment (food-based or non-food-based items, such as environmental, sensory, cognitive, social) can be used. The aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of food-based and olfactory enrichments on enclosure use, behavior, and visibility of captive brown bears (Ursus arctos), pine martens (Martes martes), domestic ferrets (Mustela putorius furo), and golden jackals (Canis aureus). Methods We used observational approaches to measure enclosure use, behavior, and visibility during three different experimental phases: (1) pre-enrichment (baseline, no experience with the enrichment yet), (2) during enrichment (enrichment was provided at low frequented locations in the enclosures that are easily visible to visitors), and (3) post-enrichment (enrichment was removed from the enclosures). Results We found that enrichment led to a uniform use of the enclosure and enhanced visibility in brown bears, increased activity budgets in pine martens, and observed high object interaction in both species. No effects of enrichment were detected in domestic ferrets. Golden jackals did not leave their burrows during daytime during the entire observation period; thus, observations were not possible at all. Our results suggest different effects of food-based enrichment, e.g., enclosure use, temporal activity patterns, and animal visibility. However, further studies should control for the specific role of the factors involved. Our study represents one of the first explorations of food-based enrichment in rather understudied species.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 74%

Effects of food-based enrichment on enclosure use and behavioral patterns in captive mammalian predators: a case study from an Austrian wildlife park

Puehringer-Sturmayr,

Fiby,

Bachmann

et al. 2023

PeerJ

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“…Leopard fGCM and fT3M were measured using Corticosterone (#K014, Arbor Assays, MI, USA) and Triiodothyronine (T3) (#K056, Arbor Assays, MI, USA) EIA kits. These kits were earlier successfully validated in wild tigers (from TAL) and captive lions (Patel et al, 2021, Goswami et al, 2021) and thus were considered suitable for this study. Further, parallelism and accuracy tests were conducted for leopard faecal extracts in the laboratory.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The cost of sympatry: spatio-temporal patterns in leopard dietary and physiological responses to tiger competition in Rajaji Tiger Reserve, India

Patel

Ruhela

Biswas

et al. 2022

Preprint

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1. Apex predators have critical roles in maintaining the structure of ecosystem functioning by controlling intraguild subordinate populations. Such dominant-subordinate interactions involve agonistic interactions including direct (death/displacement) or indirect (physiological and/or health implications) impacts on the subordinates. As these indirect effects are often mediated through physiological processes, it is important to quantify such responses for better understanding of population parameters. 2. We used a well-known sympatric large carnivore intraguild system involving tiger (Panthera tigris) and leopard (Panthera pardus) to understand the dietary and physiological responses under a spatio-temporal gradient of tiger competition pressures in Rajaji Tiger Reserve (RTR), a major source tiger population of the western Terai-Arc Landscape, India between 2015-2020. The park provided a natural experimental set-up for tiger competition with the eastern part (ERTR) having high tiger density and the western (WRTR) part with functionally no competition from tigers. 3. We conducted systematic faecal sampling in the winters of 2015 and 2020 from ERTR and WRTR to assess diet and physiological measures. Analyses of leopard-confirmed faeces suggest a dietary-niche separation as a consequence of tiger competition. In 2020, we found increased occurrence of large-bodied prey species without tiger competition in WRTR. Physiological measures followed the dietary responses where leopards with large-sized prey in diet showed higher fT3M and lower fGCM measures in WRTR. In contrast, ERTR leopards showed lower levels of fT3M as well as fGCM in 2020, possibly due to intense competition from tigers. Overall, these patterns strongly indicate a physiological cost of sympatry where competition with dominant tigers resulted in elevated nutritional stress. 4. The combination of the natural habitat providing unique experimental setup, spatio-temporal sampling strategy and multidisciplinary approaches provide critical conservation perspectives for leopards, particularly in the context of recent increase in tiger numbers across India. We recommend expansion of leopard monitoring and population estimation efforts to buffers, developing appropriate plans for human-leopard conflict mitigation and intensive efforts to understand leopard population dynamics patterns to ensure their persistence during the ongoing Anthropocene.

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“…In zoological park settings, welfare assessments have become more frequent because of general public concerns and zoo professionals emphasising the need to measure the welfare of their animals objectively and scientifically [15]. Several of those assessments include and use behavioural diversity indexes in a variety of zoo animal species: for instance, in elephants (Loxodonta africana, Elephas maximus) [16], reptiles [17,18], cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) [19], gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua) [20], flamingos (Phoenicopteridae) [21], lions (Panthera leo) [22], aardvarks (Orycteropus afer) [23] and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) [24], among others. Studies showed that behavioural diversity is influenced by environmental enrichment [7,25], as described in African lions (Panthera leo) [26], in Australian fur seals (Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus) [27] and in European wolves (Canis lupus lupus) [28].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioural Diversity Study in Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) Groups and Its Implications for Welfare Assessments

Delfour¹,

Vaicekauskaite

García-Párraga³

et al. 2021

Animals

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In the recent past, animal welfare studies have tried to determine the best animal welfare measures and indicators. Expression of behavioural diversity is considered a potential positive welfare indicator, and to the authors’ knowledge, it has not been validated nor studied in cetaceans. For the first time, a behavioural diversity study on bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) groups was conducted at six European facilities. The study was carried out by the animal care staff, biologists and veterinarians and included 54 dolphins housed in several group compositions at the different participating facilities. The goal of our study was to analyse behavioural diversity in bottlenose dolphins at the group level to investigate how particular factors might impact the diversity of behaviours within the group and to discuss its implications for dolphin welfare assessments. Eight factors (i.e., “observer location”, “number of individuals”, “age class”, “sex”, “social grouping”, “presence/absence of leading male”, “presence/absence of visitors” and “enrichment provision”) impacted the behavioural diversity of the observed groups, while no significant impact of the factors “time of day” and “activity before/after observation” could be found. Our study showed the feasibility of this kind of approach for cetaceans under professional care and the relevance to considering this parameter in dolphin welfare studies, despite certain limitations that warrant further research.

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Effects of a combined enrichment intervention on the behavioural and physiological welfare of captive Asiatic lions (Panthera leo persica)

Cited by 11 publications

References 46 publications

Effects of food-based enrichment on enclosure use and behavioral patterns in captive mammalian predators: a case study from an Austrian wildlife park

Effects of food-based enrichment on enclosure use and behavioral patterns in captive mammalian predators: a case study from an Austrian wildlife park

The cost of sympatry: spatio-temporal patterns in leopard dietary and physiological responses to tiger competition in Rajaji Tiger Reserve, India

Behavioural Diversity Study in Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) Groups and Its Implications for Welfare Assessments

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