On Comparing the Behaviour of Zoo Housed Animals with Wild Conspecifics as a Welfare Indicator, Using The Giraffe (Giraffa Camelopardalis)as a Model
Open accessAbstract
To assess the validity of using wild behavioural data as a welfare indicator for zoo animals, the time budgets of 19 captive giraffe(Giraffa camelopardalis), from four zoos were compared with the time budgets of wild giraffe from Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe. Differences were shown to exist between the behaviour of wild and captive giraffe. However, only the duration of lying differed significantly across zoos. Correlations demonstrated that both enclosure size and feed restriction affected the locomotor activity of giraffe. An attempt to quantify observer influence upon the behaviour of wild giraffe was made. Different methods of observation were shown to significantly affect the time budget established. The extent to which wild giraffe behaviour can be used as a welfare indicator for captive conspecifics is discussed, as are the problems inherent in such a study. The difficulties in constructing an alternative welfare measure using prevalence to veterinary problems, are briefly considered. Methods by which captive giraffe welfare can be improved are discussed, particularly concerning the provision of browse to allow more natural feeding patterns to be established.
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Reductions in both size and complexity of the captive environment can restrict the diversity and flexibility of animal behavior.
“Reductions in both size (Veasey et al., 1996) and complexity (Moreira et al., 2007) of the captive environment can restrict the diversity and flexibility of animal behavior (Melfi and Feistner, 2002).”
From Husbandry and enclosure influences on penguin behavior and conservation breeding (2016) · cites this paper as Veasey et al., 1996
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Cites
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- Authors
- Veasey, J. S., Waran, N. K., & Young, R. J.
- Affiliations
- University of Edinburgh (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Young, R J
- Venue
- Animal Welfare
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 1996-05
- Volume
- 5
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 139-153
- ISSN
- 0962-7286 (ISSN-L)
- 2054-1538
- OpenAlex
- W2750935777
- Cited by
- 103
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2025: 4 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 2.27
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Animal Welfare (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
- University of Edinburgh
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Veterinary › Small Animals › Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Primate Behavior and Ecology
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
- Keywords
- captive animal welfare, zoo animals, time budget, giraffe, lying behavior, enclosure size, feed restriction, locomotor activity, welfare indicators, Hwange National Park
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