Anthropogenic noise has been related to stress in captive animals; despite this there have been few studies on animal welfare assessment in walk-through zoo enclosures. We aimed to investigate the behavioural effects of noise on...
Animal-visitor interactions are widely available in zoos and aquariums, yet the effects of these programmes on the welfare of the animals involved have only recently begun to be studied. The impact of one type of...
Zoos are valuable resources for research, allowing scientists to observe rare and elusive species. Animal-attached loggers (biologgers) offer profound insight into animal behaviour. Their use in zoos has great yet largely untapped potential to collect...
This study prioritised positive affective states while modifying the feeding management of five giraffes at Zoo Planckendael and monitored the impact on indicators of both negative and positive welfare. Observations were conducted day and night...
Keeping giraffes in cold environments in zoos may place a burden on them. This study aimed to improve giraffe husbandry in cold environments by supplying warm drinking water in addition to a normal, ambient temperature...
What follows are some case studies in which solid but transparent barriers have been used successfully to provide a sense of security to three different mammal taxa (three-banded armadillo; Kirk’s dikdik; black rat) to reduce...
Designed to improve their welfare by reducing the need for restraint and/or general anesthetic where possible. We have been working to improve the husbandry management of our 1.1 Linne’s two-toed (or fingered) sloths (Choloepus didactylus)...
The zoo-housed southern white rhinoceros (SWR) population is of special concern due to their lack of consistent breeding success. An enhanced understanding of SWR social preferences could better inform management planning by promoting natural social...
Kolmården djurpark keeps one of the most northern living giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis groups in the world, and this comes with its challenges. For a long part of the year, the outside temperature is too cold...
Holistic approaches have been implemented to minimise stress expressed as stereotypies associated with low welfare conditions, which can arise from a range of factors such as frustration, adaptation attempts and neurological problems. Such behaviour was...