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Cited by 32Animal Behavior and Welfare StudiesPsychological and Educational Research StudiesPrimate Behavior and Ecology

Curious creatures: A multi-taxa investigation of responses to novelty in a zoo environment

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Hall, Belinda A., Melfi, Vicky, Burns, Alicia, McGill, David M., Doyle, Rebecca E.·2018·PeerJ
DOI 10.7717/peerj.4454PMC PMC5845565
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Abstract

The personality trait of curiosity has been shown to increase welfare in humans. If this positive welfare effect is also true for non-humans, animals with high levels of curiosity may be able to cope better with stressful situations than their conspecifics. Before discoveries can be made regarding the effect of curiosity on an animal’s ability to cope in their environment, a way of measuring curiosity across species in different environments must be created to standardise testing. To determine the suitability of novel objects in testing curiosity, species from different evolutionary backgrounds with sufficient sample sizes were chosen. Barbary sheep (Ammotragus lervia) n = 12, little penguins (Eudyptula minor) n = 10, ringtail lemurs (Lemur catta) n = 8,red tailed black cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus banksia) n = 7, Indian star tortoises (Geochelone elegans) n = 5 and red kangaroos (Macropus rufus) n = 5 were presented with a stationary object, a moving object and a mirror. Having objects with different characteristics increased the likelihood individuals would find at least one motivating. Conspecifics were all assessed simultaneously for time to first orientate towards object (s), latency to make contact (s), frequency of interactions, and total duration of interaction (s). Differences in curiosity were recorded in four of the six species; the Barbary sheep and red tailed black cockatoos did not interact with the novel objects suggesting either a low level of curiosity or that the objects were not motivating for these animals. Variation in curiosity was seen between and within species in terms of which objects they interacted with and how long they spent with the objects. This was determined by the speed in which they interacted, and the duration of interest. By using the measure of curiosity towards novel objects with varying characteristics across a range of zoo species, we can see evidence of evolutionary, husbandry and individual influences on their response. Further work to obtain data on multiple captive populations of a single species using a standardised method could uncover factors that nurture the development of curiosity. In doing so, it would be possible to isolate and modify sub-optimal husbandry practices to improve welfare in the zoo environment.

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  • Penguins show individual variation in personality generally.

    “To build off recent work demonstrating that penguins show individual variation in personality generally [25,26], and in their response to ambassador programs specifically [13], we also considered what individual traits correlated with the birds’ participation in the encounters (if any).”

    From Evaluating the Behavior and Temperament of African Penguins in a Non-Contact Animal Encounter Program (2019) · cites this paper as [25]

    The Discussion (page unavailable) reports individual variation among little penguins in responses to novel objects. The paper treats curiosity as a personality trait, but its Conclusion says the observed differences may reflect personal experience or personality; it does not establish individual variation in penguin personality generally. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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  • Zoo-housed little penguins show curiosity to novelty, particularly to mirrors, likely due to reflective properties.

    “Zoo-housed little penguins have been found to show curiosity to novelty, particularly to mirrors likely due to the reflective properties appealing to them [52].”

    From Effect of Covering a Visitor Viewing Area Window on the Behaviour of Zoo-Housed Little Penguins (Eudyptula minor) (2020) · cites this paper as [52]

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Hall, B. A., Melfi, V., Burns, A., McGill, D. M., & Doyle, R. E.
Affiliations
  • The University of Melbourne (AU)
  • The University of Sydney (AU)
Corresponding author
Hall, Belinda A.
ORCID
Venue
PeerJ
Publisher
PeerJ
Published
2018-03-08
Volume
6
Pages
e4454
ISSN
2167-8359 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.7717/peerj.4454
PMC
PMC5845565
OpenAlex
W2790430867
Cited by
32
References
4
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 2
FWCI
5.14
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • PeerJ (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Minerva Access (University of Melbourne) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
  • University of Melbourne, Zoos Victoria
  • Taronga Conservation Society (LP14100373)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Veterinary › Small Animals › Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Psychological and Educational Research Studies
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Primate Behavior and Ecology
Keywords
curiosity, animal personality, novel object test, zoo animal welfare, captive animals, Barbary sheep, little penguin, Lemur catta, red-tailed black cockatoo, red kangaroo, husbandry practices, cross-species comparison

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