There is a growing ethical concern in modern society about animals' quality of life. We hypothesize that zoo visitors' perception of zoo animal welfare, particularly in the case of lesser anteaters, changes positively after listening to scientific information. Visitors observing active lesser anteaters in their enclosures at Córdoba Zoo (Argentina) were asked to respond to a questionnaire about animal welfare. The treatment group (T) answered the questionnaire after listening to a brief informative talk based on local scientific studies on lesser anteaters. The control group (C) answered the questionnaire without hearing the informative talk. Visitors (87.2%) considered biological, sanitary, and sociocultural aspects to be necessary conditions for optimum wild zoo‐housed animal welfare. The majority of visitors considered that natural surroundings provide the highest level of welfare for wild animals. Visitors in the T group ranked the zoo as providing a higher level of animal welfare than those in group C. In reference to management measurements, the T group agreed on the positive effect of the application of environmental enrichment (Likert Medians: C = 4 and T = 5; p = .0443). On the basis of their perception, most visitors in both groups stated that the lesser anteaters at Córdoba Zoo appeared to be in a good state of welfare. We interpret this as meaning that, what these Córdoba zoo visitors personally perceived while observing the lesser anteaters carried greater weight than what they learned from the informative talk, though the talk did slightly affect their opinion.
Argentina's agricultural frontiers have been expanding causing a fragmentation and simplification of ecosystems and, therefore, a decline of biodiversity, and conditions that affect amphibian populations. Morphometry is used as a support to explain biological processes and in anurans it allows to relate morphometric variations relation to different environmental contaminants. The objective of this study is to provide basic data about external morphometry and corporal conditions of adult individuals from both sexes of Physalaemus biligonigerus (Cope, 1861) that inhabit a highly disturbed environment. It's important to point out that amphibians' changes in size and corporal conditions has been proposed as a reference to estimate environmental deterioration. The specimens analyzed were in two different environments with different antropic perturbation (agroecosystem and forest). Their corporal mass was registered (MC) as well as nine morphometric variables: snout to vent lenght (LHC), mouth width (AB), eye width (DO), inter-orbital distance (DIO), eye-nose distance (DON), forearm length (LAB), femur length (LF), tibia length (LT) and hindlimb toe length (LP). A corporal condition factor has been estimated 3 throught the ecuation K=[MC/LHC ]*100.000 to evaluate the general condition of the individuals. Compared to individuals coming from the forest the agroecosystem's specimens showed significant lower values in seven morphometric variables in females (LHC, DIO, DON, LB, LF, LT y LP) and five in males (LHC, DIO, DON, LT y LP). Also, it was observed that in both sexes the corporal condition factor was lower in the individuals coming from the agroecosystem. It concludes that the differences found between the analyzed populations might be related to the level of antropic perturbation.
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