Zoological institutions, which were once exclusively for entertainment, are now leaders of wildlife conservation. This centuries-long transition was punctuated by key milestones that reformed wild animal exploitation into a mission of protection. Mod...
Modern zoos and aquariums have evolved greatly since the end of the Second World War, to become centres of conservation excellence and scientific institutions for the study of animal behaviour, ecology, husbandry management. Whilst the impact of zoos...
The modern zoo has been associated with two major behavioral welfare advances: (a) the use of training to increase voluntary husbandry care, and (b) the implementation of environmental enrichment to promote naturalistic behaviors. Both practices have...
Behavioural research in zoos is commonplace and is used in the diagnosis and treatment of potential husbandry and management challenges. Robust methods that allow valid data collection and analysis constitute an evidence-based approach to animal care...
No comprehensive assessment of the populations of big cats in federally regulated facilities in the United States is currently available. Concerns about big cat use are increasingly of strong public interest and the lack of data about their number an...
In recent decades, zoos have been increasingly transformed into education centers with the goal of raising awareness about environmental issues and providing environmental education. Probably the simplest and most widespread environmental education p...
Invasive alien plant species (IAPS) pose one of the most significant threats to native biodiversity. Swietenia macrophylla, or big leaf mahogany, is among the most threatening invasive plants in the Philippines. This article aimed to formally documen...
The Sierra Madre Mountain Range (SMMR) is the backbone of the Luzon Islands that contains a high concentration of highly important ecological resources distributed among the 68 protected areas therewith. The present study aimed to assess the composit...
Animal ambassador encounters (AAE), where visitors come into close-contact with animals, are popular in zoos and are advocated as promoting connection to wild species. However, educational and animal-welfare implications are relatively unknown. We co...
Animal welfare is a priority across accredited zoological institutions; however, historically, research has been prioritized for mammals. Bird-focused studies accounted for less than 10% of welfare research in zoos and aquariums over the last ten yea...
As biodiversity continues to decline across the globe, conservation of wildlife species and the ecosystems they inhabit is more important than ever. When species dwindle, ecosystems that depend on them are also impacted, often leading to a decrease i...
The red panda is listed as “endangered” in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, due to the rapid population decline. Improving our knowledge on the red panda biology and ethology is necessary to enhance its husbandry and breeding in z...
Environmental enrichment is widely used to improve the quality of life of animals under human care. To successfully implement enrichment programs, it is important to evaluate their effect in different enclosure types since housing conditions may chan...
Understanding animal behaviour can feel like deciphering a foreign language. In 1963, pioneering ethologist Nikolaas Tinbergen offered a key: four fundamental questions to dissect behaviour’s complexities and reduce interpretive bias. These &ld...
Measurement of zoo animal welfare states enables improvement to husbandry and management to be evidence-based and implemented according to species’ needs. Theoretical welfare concepts are often discussed, and whilst it is helpful to ensure wide...
An emphasis on ensuring animal welfare is growing in zoo and aquarium associations around the globe. This has led to a focus on measures of welfare outcomes for individual animals. Observations and interpretations of behavior are the most widely used...
To mitigate the effects of anthropogenic environmental impacts, conservation education (CE) aims to increase public awareness of biodiversity and encourage the uptake of pro-environmental behaviours (PEB). One way of achieving this goal is the use of...
Understanding how the behavior of captive American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) congregations compares to wild congregations is essential to assessing the welfare of alligators in captivity. Wild alligator congregations perform complex soci...
Penguins are considered among the most popular animals for zoo and aquarium visitors to observe. Swimming is considered a desirable activity, both for the visitor experience and the welfare of the penguins. However, little is known about the amount o...
Enrichment has become a key aspect of captive husbandry practices as a means of improving animal welfare by increasing environmental stimuli. However, the enrichment methods that are most effective varies both between and within species, and thus eva...
Botanic gardens are increasingly important agents of plant research and conservation. A large number of botanic gardens have been established throughout the globe since the mid-20th century to pursue new socio-environmental missions. Others, with his...
It is now well established that human-induced species extinctions and habitat degradation are currently occurring at unprecedented rates. To halt and reverse this decline, the international community adopted the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiver...
Prolonged and repetitive COVID-19 facility closures have led to an abrupt cessation of visitors within UK and Irish zoos for variable periods since March 2020. This study sought to increase understanding of the impact of closures and reopenings on an...
This study explored Toronto Zoo animal-care professionals’ (ACPs) experiences with compassion fatigue (CF) using a two-phase participatory methodology. In phase one, 11 participants took photographs of their workplace. In phase two, participant...
Characterising the people that work in zoos is a key element of understanding how zoos might better contribute to conservation activities. The purpose of this study was to investigate demographics, early life experiences and perceptions of zoo staff...
Reproductive success in captive non-human primates (NHPs) has increased the demand for safe, effective, and reversible population control methods. This review provides an overview of the current literature on hormonal and non-hormonal contraceptives...
From ants to zebras, animals are influenced by the behavior of others. At the simplest level, social support can reduce neophobia, increasing animals’ exploration of novel spaces, foods, and other environmental stimuli. Animals can also learn new ski...
Vaccination constitutes one of the most important means of preventing infectious disease in captive nonhuman primates (NHPs). Vaccination protocols for NHPs vary, as they are mostly guided by institutional preference, infection pressure, local availa...
Euphorbia resinifera (Zaggûm or Tikiut) is an endemic species of Morocco that grows in the Middle Atlas Mountain range. It is used in folk medicine to treat several diseases, especially various types of cancer. Aim of the review: In this review...
Many botanic gardens are flourishing, and many others can learn from those leading the way; at the same time, all can form new allegiances informed by service research. We developed this paper to plant seeds for different stakeholders interested in p...
From its foundations in agricultural science, zoo animal nutrition has developed into a biologically informed, evidence-based discipline. However, some facets of nutrition still make use of a more traditional approach, such as the field of zoo presen...
Numerous previous studies indicate that both wild hedgehogs and those kept as pets pose a significant risk to human health. At the same time, humans can also transmit various pathogens to hedgehogs (e.g., human herpesvirus 1). The risk of human infec...
Given the current and future threats to Asian elephants (Elephas maximus), maintaining a sustainable ex situ population is crucial for the longevity of the species. Using Infrared Thermography (IRT), thermoregulation of Asian elephants at low ambient...
The SEA LIFE Trust Beluga Whale Sanctuary (BWS) has been in operation for over five years and serves as a unique case study to evaluate the effectiveness of marine sanctuaries for cetaceans. While cetacean sanctuaries are often regarded as a middle-g...
YouTube is the dominant online video-sharing platform and offers zoos an opportunity to engage a vast audience with conservation content. As there is limited research evaluating how zoos currently utilize YouTube, we cataloged and evaluated the conte...
Inspiring visitors to engage in conservation-related behaviour following a zoo visit is a primary objective for most zoos. Animal–visitor interactive (AVI) experiences are often central to this goal. Yet, these interactive experiences are insufficien...
The fossa is a specialized Malagasy carnivore housed in ex situ facilities since the late 19th century. Moderate breeding success has occurred since the 1970s, and welfare issues (notably stereotypic pacing behaviour) are commonly documented. To unde...
Environmental enrichment has been shown to enhance the behavioural repertoire and reduce the occurrence of abnormal behaviours, particularly in zoo-housed mammals. However, evidence of its effectiveness in reptiles is lacking. Previously, it was beli...
The ovules inside the ovary of a plant are the precursors of seeds and they are important for the perpetuation of the plants. The genus Passiflora L., produce fruits with numerous seeds and they have economic and medicinal value. The edible portion o...
This communication discusses the Bear Care Group’s “behavior-based” enrichment philosophy, focusing on the importance of enrichment programs built on the knowledge of species’ natural histories, living strategies, and observed...
Visitor presence has been shown to affect the behavior of animals in zoos. However, studies to date have not included a wide range of taxonomic groupings, and thus, the effect is poorly understood for many species. Here, we compared the behavior of N...
Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) have a worldwide distribution in temperate and tropical waters and often inhabit estuarine environments, indicating their ability to maintain homeostasis in low salinity for limited periods of time. Epidermal...
This review commentary focuses on traditional management practices and facility design with suggested improvements in non-public primate management areas, often called “back-of-house”, (henceforth BOH) in zoos, sanctuaries, and research f...
In this study we report on associations found between several variables and changes in gorilla behavior. Two groups of gorillas were observed, one was a family group and the other was a bachelor group. The zoo was closed to visitors for two periods d...
Behaviour signals the internal states that relate to an individual’s welfare and its development is influenced by the early social environment that an animal experiences. Husbandry practices can alter this early social environment, for example differ...
Human–animal relationships have been demonstrated to have impacts on animal and keeper welfare, although their impacts on zookeepers have been less studied outside of evaluating job satisfaction. Many zoological facilities are active in support...
Exploring the interaction between humans and animals has become increasingly important in the evaluation of well-being for species housed in zoos and aquaria. The COVID-19 pandemic saw the global closure of zoos and aquaria to visitors. Chester Zoo,...
Pinworm ova were discovered on lesser hedgehog tenrec (Echinops telfairi) fecal exams. Ova were passthrough pseudoparasite pinworms originating from feeder roaches (Blaptica dubia). Roaches were maintained as a feeder colony and offered to tenrecs as...
In dolphinaria, dolphins and their trainers build relationships and bonds due to the nature, closeness and repeatability of their interactions, hence training sessions are deemed appropriate to evaluate dolphin welfare. Qualitative Behavioural Assess...
Captive grizzly bears, like their wild counterparts, engage in considerable variability in their seasonal and daily activity. We documented the year-long activity of two grizzly bears located at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, Washington. We found...
