Marwell Zoo

Classical and operant conditioning for cooperative husbandry and health care in zoos has largely been mammal-focused while other taxa are typically physically handled or anaesthetised, with birds primarily being trained for shows and demonstrations. The concept of ‘bird training’ is likely to elicit images of parrot fly-bys, falcons chasing a lure or corvids taking money from guests to put into a donation box. The training of captive birds for cooperative husbandry and veterinary care is, however, growing within the zoo industry and has expanded to involve a huge variety of species and goals. This case study provides an example of how classical and operant conditioning were utilised to improve the welfare of a highly fearful green peafowl Pavo muticus. Training enabled zookeepers to overcome management difficulties that resulted from enclosure design and a negative animal-zookeeper relationship, leading to reduced stress, better health care and ultimately improved animal welfare. This case study also highlights the importance of frequently reviewing training plans, the training environment, and the behaviour of the animal being trained to enhance training success.

Abstract We have been monitoring spotted hyaena dens with camera traps at our site since 2016. We describe a novel phenomenon: concurrent subterranean den sharing between spotted hyaenas, warthogs, and crested porcupines at a wildlife conservancy in Kenya. We discovered two different hyaena clans that occasionally shared active dens with warthogs and porcupines in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 but not since. We speculate on the reasons why and how this cohabitation arrangement arose and suggest that it might be based on a ‘healthy respect’ for the threats presented by their mutually formidable weaponry. We hope this note will encourage others to describe similar behaviour.

An abstract is not available for this content. As you have access to this content, full HTML content is provided on this page. A PDF of this content is also available in through the 'Save PDF' action button.

Objective welfare assessments play a fundamental role in ensuring that positive welfare is achieved and maintained for animals in captivity. The Animal Welfare Assessment Grid (AWAG), a welfare assessment tool, has been validated for use with a variety of both domestic and exotic species. It combines both resource- and animal-based measures but relies heavily on knowledge of the species to effectively assess welfare. Many zoo species are understudied in the wild due to their cryptic nature or habitat choice; therefore, the published literature needs to be supported with captive behavioural observations and zoo records. Here we adapted previously published AWAG templates to assess the welfare of Crossarchus obscurus. A total of 21 factors were identified, and the final template was used to retrospectively score the welfare of two male and two female C. obscurus at Marwell Zoo, UK, validating the use of this process for preparing a welfare assessment for a species where the published literature is scarce.

A 10.5-y-old intact female capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) with ahistory of chronic weight loss was euthanized following discovery by palpation of a largeintra-abdominal mass. Postmortem examination revealed a large, firm, tan mass expandingthe uterine body and extensively adhered to the jejunum and abdominal wall. Numerouspinpoint to 3-cm diameter, tan-to-red, raised masses were present throughout the parietalperitoneum, liver, lungs, and intestinal serosa. Histologic examination of the uterinemass revealed well-differentiated smooth muscle intermixed with abundant collagen,interspersed with a highly anaplastic spindle cell population extending to the serosa; themasses in the lung, liver, and peritoneum were histologically very similar to theanaplastic uterine spindle cells. Immunohistochemical staining of the uterus and lungconfirmed smooth muscle origin of the anaplastic cells. To our knowledge, leiomyosarcomahas not been reported previously in a capybara, and the widespread metastases in this caserepresent an unusually aggressive presentation of this rare malignancy. The animal alsohad an incidental dermal histiocytoma, a tumor that has also not been reported previouslyin this species, to our knowledge.

This study aims to investigate the composition and Important Value Index (IVI) of the woody stands of Tchillala, a 130-ha area selected for future North-African ostriches (Struthiocameluscamelus) prerelease in the Koutous region in Niger. The forest inventory method was implemented in 42 plots of 50 m x 20 m (1000 m²) for tree-level observation, using stratified random sampling. For each woody specimen, the trunk diameter, total height and crown diameter have been recorded; thespecimens with a trunk diameter smaller than 5 cm are considered as regenerations. A total of 17 woody species distributed across 10 families have been identified and most of them belongs either to the Mimosaceae (4 species) or the Tiliaceae (3 species). The plants density, domination and frequency were used to determine the IVI: Acacia tortilis and Balanitesaegyptiaca are the species with the highest IVI(118.43 and 88.28 respectively). The woody plants condition assessment has emphasized that trees have been facing natural (uprooting) and anthropogenic (cutting, pruning) threats. Consequently, the diameter class structures within the whole woody species community of Tchilala, as well as of the Acacia tortilis and Balanitesaegyptiaca, are mainly small size trees. The results of this study inform silvicultural management actions that would benefit to the North-African ostrich’establishment in Tchilala and the data collected are considered as possible indicators for long-term monitoring of habitat.

Ecologically distinct species - species with distinct trait combinations - are not directly prioritized in current conservation frameworks. The consequence of this blind spot means species with the most distinct ecological strategies might be lost. Here, we quantify ecological distinctiveness, based on six traits, for 10,960 bird and 5,278 mammal species, summarizing species-level ecological irreplaceability. We find that threatened birds and mammals are, on average, more ecologically distinct. Specific examples of ecologically distinct and highly threatened species are Great Indian Bustard, Amsterdam Albatross, Asian Elephant and Sumatran Rhinoceros. These species have potentially irreplaceable ecological roles and their loss could undermine the integrity of ecological processes and functions. Yet, we also identify ecologically distinct widespread generalists, such as Lesser Black-backed Gull and Wild Boar. These generalist species have distinct ecological strategies that allow them to thrive across multiple environments. Thus, we suggest that high ecological distinctiveness is associated with either high extinction risk or successful hyper-generalism. We also find that ecologically distinct species are generally charismatic (using a previous measure of public perceptions of charisma). We thus highlight a conservation opportunity: capitalizing on public preferences for charismatic species could provide support for the conservation of the most ecologically distinct birds and mammals. Overall, our prioritization framework supports the conservation of species with irreplaceable ecological strategies, complementing existing frameworks that target extinction risk and evolutionary distinctiveness.

Free-ranging spur-thighed tortoises Testudo graeca, captured in different habitat types of Northern Tunisia from March to April 2017, were examined for tick infestation: 134/147 (91%) were infested. The overall infestation intensity and abundance was 8.5 and 7.8, respectively. From these tortoises, 1174 ticks were collected, of which 10% (n = 120) taken from 18 randomly-selected tortoises were identified at the species level; the remaining ticks were examined for the presence of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFv) by real time RT-PCR. Only adult Hyalomma aegyptium were found, suggesting a high degree of host specificity to tortoises. No CCHFv was detected in ticks. Considering the absence of CCHFv in Hyalomma aegyptium infesting its main host, the spur-thighed tortoise, this tick species is unlikely to play a major role in the epidemiology of CCHF. Therefore, more studies are needed to investigate the circulation of this arbovirus between livestock and other tick species from North Africa.

With the number of threatened species increasing globally, conservation breeding is vitally important now more than ever. However, no previous peer-reviewed study has attempted to determine how the varying conditions across zoos have influenced breeding by an extinct-in-the-wild species. We therefore use questionnaires and studbook data to evaluate the influence of husbandry practices and enclosure design on scimitar-horned oryx (Oryx dammah) breeding success, at the herd level. Regression models were used to identify the variables that best predicted breeding success among 29 zoos across a five-year period. Calf survival decreased with herd age and the use of soft substrates in hardstand areas (yard area usually adjacent to the indoor housing), explaining 30.7% of overall variation. Calf survival also decreased where herds were small and where food provisions were not raised (and hence likely incited competition), although these were less influential. Likewise, birth rate decreased with soft substrates in hardstand areas and unraised food provisions, although these were less influential than for calf survival. Birth rate increased with year-round male presence, yet this decreased calf survival. Compared to previous studies, the number of enclosure/husbandry influences on breeding were relatively few. Nevertheless, these few enclosure/husbandry influences explained over one third of the variation in calf survival. Our data therefore suggest some potential improvements and hence that extinct-in-the-wild species stand a greater chance of survival with empirical design of zoo enclosures and husbandry methods.