The Effects of Automated Scatter Feeders on Captive Grizzly Bear Activity Budgets

Andrews, Nathan L. P.; Ha, James C.

doi:10.1080/10888705.2013.856767

Cited by 23 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Although, as noted above, mate-seeking behavior may be causally related to the May through July occurrence of stereotypies, the times at which these stereotypies occurred still appeared entrained to the feeding schedules. Past research has shown similar patterns for stereotypic pacing in zoo bears, with pacing occurring in anticipation of food events and reduced as a result of providing multiple feeding opportunities [26,37,[59][60][61].…”

Section: Daily Activitymentioning

confidence: 79%

Seasonal and Daily Activity of Two Zoo-Housed Grizzly Bears (Ursus arctos horribilis)

Fernández

Yoakum²,

Andrews³

2020

JZBG

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Captive grizzly bears, like their wild counterparts, engage in considerable variability in their seasonal and daily activity. We documented the year-long activity of two grizzly bears located at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, Washington. We found that behaviors emerged in relation to month-to-month, seasonal, and time of day (hour-to-hour) observations, and events that occurred on exhibit, such as daily feedings. Seventeen behaviors split into seven classes of behavior were observed during their on-exhibit time over a 13-month period. Inactivity was the most frequent class of responses recorded, with most inactive behaviors occurring during the winter months. Both stereotypic and non-stereotypic activity emerged during the spring and summer months, with stereotypic activity occurring most frequently in the morning and transitioning to non-stereotypic activity in the latter part of the day. Results are discussed with respect to how captive grizzly bear behaviors relate to their natural seasonal and daily activity, as well as how events, such as feeding times and enrichment deliveries, can be used to optimize overall captive bear welfare.

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Section: Daily Activitymentioning

confidence: 79%

Seasonal and Daily Activity of Two Zoo-Housed Grizzly Bears (Ursus arctos horribilis)

Fernández

Yoakum²,

Andrews³

2020

JZBG

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“…Increased activity levels are often associated with improved captive welfare, but not if the activity stems from stereotypic behaviours (Bashaw et al, 2003;Andrews and Ha, 2014); using dead-reckoned tracks we could investigate this in unprecedented detail (see below). Both individuals collared in London Zoo showed higher daily VeDBA values when a partial pony carcass had been fed compared to rabbits but days where esh chunks had been fed showed greatest variability in VeDBA (Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi-sensor biologgers and innovative training allow data collection with high conservation and welfare value in zoos

English

Harvey

Wilson

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Zoos are valuable resources for research, providing scientists with access to rare and elusive species in an easy to observe environment. Animal-attached loggers (aka biologgers) offer profound insight into animal behaviour. Their use in zoos has high yet largely untapped potential to collect data relevant for wild animal research and conservation but also welfare and enrichment monitoring of the zoo animals themselves. However, affixing biologgers to study animals can be problematic in captive settings, limiting the accessibility of this technology for use on zoo species which ordinarily need to be sedated for the fitting of such devices, including large carnivores. Here we show that biologging collars and crate-training allow collection of novel datasets on captive animals with high welfare and conservation value, using endangered African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) tagged with tri-axial accelerometer and tri-axial magnetometer loggers, as a case study. Two yearling female wild dogs were fitted with biologging collars while sedated in preparation for translocation from London to Whipsnade Zoo, with data collected for 10–26 hours until collar detachment. Two adult male wild dogs at London Zoo were trained to accept collars in a modified crate in exchange for a food reward, which allowed fitting and detaching the collars without sedation, with data collected for 28 days. First, we show how accelerometer and magnetometer data allow detection of fine-scale individual differences in the recovery from sedation as well as within- and between-individual variation in activity patterns in relation to the type of food received (tong vs. rabbit and pony carcass). Using the vectorial dynamic body acceleration metric (VeDBA), a proxy for movement-related energy expenditure, further shows that daily energy expenditure was higher on days with partial pony carcass feeds compared to rabbit feeds but varied considerably between days where flesh pieces were fed with tongs. Using the dead-reckoning method allowed reconstruction of fine-scale (1 Hz locations) movement paths within enclosures, indoors and outdoors, allowing visualisation and quantification of fine-scale movement and space use differences between individuals and over time, for example in response to different enrichment methods. Using multi-sensor biologgers, combined with training captive animals to accept collars without the use of anaesthetic, can enable flexible, experimental approaches to data collection with minimal impact on study animals, providing novel understanding of relevance for both zoo and wild animals.

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“…It is not clear why this was the case, although other researchers have used "noncontingent reinforcement" (NCR) procedures to decrease aberrant (undesired) responses and increase desired behaviors (for reviews, see [38,39]). Similarly, response-independent schedules have been successful at reducing stereotypic activity and increasing naturalistic foraging responses in zoo animals [40,41].…”

Section: Response-independent Schedules and Approach/contact Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

Training Petting Zoo Sheep to Act Like Petting Zoo Sheep: An Empirical Evaluation of Response-Independent Schedules and Shaping with Negative Reinforcement

Fernández¹

2020

Animals

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Shaping through differential reinforcement of successive approximations to a target response has been a cornerstone procedure for the training of novel behavior. However, much of how it has traditionally been implemented occurs through informal observation, rather than any direct, systematic measurement. In the present study, we examine the use of response-independent food schedules and shaping for increasing approach and contact behaviors in petting zoo sheep. In Experiment 1, a fixed-time (FT) 15 s food schedule was used to effectively increase approach and contact behaviors in one sheep. In Experiment 2, negative reinforcement in the form of removal of the presence of a trainer was made contingent on the successful completion of approximations within a shaping procedure and later switched to food rewards. A changing-criterion design was used to empirically examine the effects of the shaping procedure during each step of the program. The result is one of the first studies to demonstrate the utility of using negative reinforcement within a shaping procedure to successfully intervene on approach/avoidance behaviors in an applied animal setting.

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The Effects of Automated Scatter Feeders on Captive Grizzly Bear Activity Budgets

Cited by 23 publications

References 17 publications

Seasonal and Daily Activity of Two Zoo-Housed Grizzly Bears (Ursus arctos horribilis)

Seasonal and Daily Activity of Two Zoo-Housed Grizzly Bears (Ursus arctos horribilis)

Multi-sensor biologgers and innovative training allow data collection with high conservation and welfare value in zoos

Training Petting Zoo Sheep to Act Like Petting Zoo Sheep: An Empirical Evaluation of Response-Independent Schedules and Shaping with Negative Reinforcement

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