Joel Sartore is a gifted wildlife photographer. Fifteen years ago, events in his personal life meant he could no longer travel internationally to photograph wildlife in their natural habitat. So he turned his lens to what in many cases are the last animals of a species held in captivity in various zoos.
The response of four singly caged baboons to radio music was measured using behavioral and physiological Indices. Heart rate and blood pressure, measured through a tether system, as well as behavior, were recorded during a two-week period in which radio music was available in half of the samples. The behavior of the subjects, as well as their blood pressure, did not vary in relation to radio music. Heart rate was significantly lower when the radio was on.
Appropriate maintenance of captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) must include the challenge of providing them with a living environment that is functional, stimulating, and safe. At the Primate Foundation of Arizona (PFA), the safety and physical and mental well-being of the animals is our top priority.
One of the most misguided, counterproductive, and inhumane forms of wildlife management in the United States is the annual mass killing of beavers (Castor canadensis).
The purpose of environmental enrichment is to provide a complex social and physical environment sufficient to allow individuals to express species-typical behavior patterns [Benn, 1995]. An enriched environment has been correlated with an increase in social and sexual behaviors for nonhuman primates, in general [Bayne, 1989], and more specifically, for monkeys [Line and Morgan, 1991 Macaca mulatta].
Author presents case histories of Primarily Primate's treatment of individual primates with problems common to humanized and abused primates. Among the methods effectively used were gradual introduction to other primates, (sometimes with the use of portable cages), surrogate mothers, territorial manipulations, and use of the knowledge of different species' social structures. Particular methods of rehabilitation must be decided on a case-by-case basis.
What are the consequences of gray wolves being returned to Yellowstone National Park? How do salmon fertilize trees? Why aren’t we neck-deep in dead animals? Do trees migrate? How do earthworms affect wild boar populations?
According to author T. DeLene Beeland, many devoted wildlife lovers are completely unaware that there is a separate species of wolf in North America called the red wolf (Canis rufus); even fewer know that the red wolf likely evolved solely in North America, unlike its more famous cousin, the gray wolf (Canis lupus).
Dr. Ashley Ward is an engaging writer, with a Briton’s native wit. The best part of his book, The Social Lives of Animals, is his genuine fascination with the animal behavior he observes, but his humor comes a close second. He demonstrates the intensity of his interest in easy-flowing and heartfelt prose, describing the genesis of his chosen career with charming honesty in his introduction and reinforcing the empathy he feels in each detailed chapter. He offers amusing anecdotes of his personal encounters with a wide variety of animals doing their social thing, to accompany his more science-based explanations for some of the remarkably complex behaviors animals perform.
This paper will attempt to show the marked improvement in behaviour of a small group of female cynomolgus monkeys, after a period of routine training and human interaction.
Each year, using taxpayer dollars and very cruel methods, the USDA’s Wildlife Services program kills anywhere from 1.5 million to more than 5 million animals. What is especially frightening about the program is its lack of transparency; many members of the public have no idea that Wildlife Services even exists—or that it kills so many wild animals in an effort largely to protect private interests.
With meat recalls due to bacterial contamination and the horrific handling and slaughtering of downer cows making headlines in recent months, consumers are increasingly aware of some of the problems occurring behind slaughterhouse doors.
An important but underacknowledged barrier to reducing and replacing the use of animals in research and testing is that few researchers are trained in how to use non-animal methodologies.
The provisioning of foraging opportunities to Primates has been shown to be an effective means of enriching the laboratory environment. In this study artificial turf was used as the substrate for a particulate food given to the subjects as an environmental enrichment technique.
The well-being of captive nonhuman primates is fostered by living in complex environments and by having a certain degree of control over it. There are many different techniques that can be used to achieve this goal.
So far, nine schools in California and Maine have agreed to end animal dissections in response to a challenge issued by AWI, Save the Frogs! and Digital Frog International.
In the Wizard of Oz there is a scene in which Dorothy is in her house as it swirls in the tornado. She stands before her window and a cast of characters, friends and foes, whiz by outside the window as she begins a bizarre adventure. Siebert’s newest book The Wauchula Woods Accord: Toward a New Understanding of Animals reminds me of this scene.
This thought-provoking documentary by Tom Weston takes viewers to the beautiful island of Bequia, one of several islands making up the country of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) in the southeastern Caribbean. There has been humpback whaling on Bequia dating back to 1875, when it was principally a commercial activity linked to the Yankee whalers of New England.
Performing noninvasive studies of wild animals can be tricky. The task becomes even more challenging when the subject of the study mainly lives in the canopy of the rainforest—nearly 100 feet above ground. The Woolly Monkey Mysteries takes readers on a journey to Manu National Park in the Amazon Basin, where camera traps are installed to learn more about an elusive species: the woolly monkey.
The World Beneath: The Life and Times of Unknown Sea Creatures and Coral Reefs, by Dr. Richard Smith, is a fascinating description of the aquatic life in coral environments. Smith’s engaging narratives concerning a multitude of species are only surpassed by his amazing photos.
Anticoagulent rodenticides (ARs) are used to control rodent populations in urban and suburban areas. These toxins kill target species by interfering with an animal’s blood-clotting system, causing the animal to bleed to death.
