Multifaceted approach to personality assessment in cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus)
Open accessAbstract
The purpose of this study was to assess the personality of 17 South African cheetahs at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.A multifaceted approach of observer ratings (rating method), behavioral data (coding method) and hormone monitoring was used to examine individual differences.Knowledge of these individual differences, i.e., personality, is essential to better husbandry and management in a zoological facility.Principal Components Analysis yielded five personality components: Insecure, Aggressive, Interactive, Active, and Unsociable.Comparing the personality components with gender, reproductive success, and hand-rearing history of the individuals revealed significant associations.The components Aggressive and Interactive had a positive correlation with behavioral diversity, and the component Unsociable had a positive correlation with self-maintenance.There was a significant gender difference, with males scoring higher on Aggressive and Interactive.Individuals who scored higher on these components also had higher levels of behavioral diversity, and males displayed higher levels of behavioral diversity than females.In addition, individuals that were reproductively successful scored higher on the component Unsociable, as well as displayed higher FGM levels.This study demonstrates the value of using a multifaceted approach to further understand and assess animal personality.Information gained from this study can ultimately help zoological facilities manage and assist with reproductive efforts in populations that are not currently self-sustaining, such as the cheetah.
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Similar personality has been suggested as a predictor for reproductive success in black rhinoceros and giant pandas, and sociality has been found to influence reproductive frequency in cheetahs.
“Similar personality has been suggested as a predictor for reproductive success in species including black rhinoceros [5] and giant pandas [46], and personality traits such as sociality have been found to influence reproductive frequency in species such as cheetah [52,53].”
From The Concept of Agency, Animal Wellbeing, and the Practical Realities of Ex Situ Breeding Programs in Zoos and Aquariums (2024) · cites this paper as [53]
The Results (page unavailable) report that cheetahs that had reproduced scored higher on the Unsociable personality component. But the study defined reproductive success as having produced at least one litter, not reproductive frequency, and the association does not establish that sociality caused a change in reproduction. The rhinoceros and panda claims have separate citations and are not assessed here. (LLM, conf=0.87)
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Intraclass correlations: Uses in assessing rater reliability.
Shrout, P. E., & Fleiss, J. L. (1979) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.86.2.420 · Cited by 23,433 · see citing works
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Norman, M., & Brando, S. (2024) · Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens · doi:10.3390/jzbg5040038 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
“Similar personality has been suggested as a predictor for reproductive success in species including black rhinoceros [5] and giant pandas [46], and personality traits such as sociality have been found to influence reproductive frequency in species such as cheetah [52,53].”
- Authors
- Razal, C., Pisacane, C., & Miller, L.
- Affiliations
- Brookfield Zoo Chicago (US)
- Zoological Society of San Diego (US)
- Corresponding author
- Miller, Lance
- Venue
- Animal Behavior and Cognition
- Publisher
- Animal Behavior and Cognition
- Published
- 2016-02-01
- Volume
- 3
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 22-31
- ISSN
- 2372-4323 (ISSN-L)
- 2372-5052
- OpenAlex
- W2750461190
- Cited by
- 21
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2024: 3 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 1 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 4
- FWCI
- 2.20
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- diamond
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- Animal Behavior and Cognition (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- Institute of Museum and Library Services
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Animal Behavior and Reproduction
- Health Sciences › Veterinary › Small Animals › Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Primate Behavior and Ecology
- Keywords
- cheetah, animal personality, individual differences, zoo animal husbandry, behavioral diversity, reproductive success, gender differences, fecal glucocorticoids, stress hormones, self-maintenance, captive wildlife management
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