Achieving optimal welfare for the Nile hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) in North American zoos and aquariums

Tennant, Kaylin S; Segura, Valerie D.; Morris, Megan C.; Snyder, Kristen Denninger; Bocian, David; Maloney, Dan; Maple, Terry L.

doi:10.1016/j.beproc.2017.07.009

Cited by 13 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Research on African elephants (Loxodonta africana) has shown higher‐than‐expected activity levels in the evening and increased socialization within a herd (Brockett, Stoinski, Black, Markowitz, & Maple, ; Wilson, Bashaw, Fountain, Kieschnick, & Maple, ), highlighting the importance of the nocturnal period for behavior of captive animals. Species with distinct behavioral differences between daytime and night‐time, such as the common hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) , require behavioral monitoring overnight to ensure good welfare is maintained (Tennant et al, ) as animals will remain motivated to perform active behaviors at night when housed in restricted conditions. Nocturnal behavioral observation can also help identify when welfare may be compromised, as animals may display more abnormal repetitive behaviors when housed indoors overnight (Duggan, Burn, & Clauss, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of nocturnal activity in captive greater flamingos

et al. 2018

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Wild flamingos are known to forage overnight, but little is known of their nocturnal activity patterns in captivity. Captive flamingos can show daytime inactivity, reflecting natural periods of resting and loafing documented in wild birds. Assessment of behavior outside of normal zoo opening hours can provide more detailed information on how animals use the space provided to them, and highlights how enclosure areas not commonly occupied during the day may still be important for inhabitants at other times. We examine whether captive flamingos at WWT Slimbridge Wetland Centre change their enclosure usage and behavior overnight compared to that observed during daylight. Using three night-vision remote cameras, the behavior and enclosure usage of a flock of over 270 greater flamingos was recorded from March to July 2016. Results show that these flamingos had higher rates of foraging at certain points during the night, and had a more even enclosure usage when compared to daylight hours. Change in pool use is apparent throughout the course of the day and night, suggesting that different areas of water depth are used by these flamingos at different times. Flamingos increased nocturnal foraging in their pool during the breeding season. The large enclosure size and range of different land and water areas may have enabled these flamingos to follow daily activity patterns similar to those observed in wild birds. Captive flamingos clearly show a difference between daytime and nocturnal behavior patterns and this should be considered when designing enclosures and general management routines for these birds.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of nocturnal activity in captive greater flamingos

et al. 2018

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“…Limited housing capacity can mean that social groups are smaller than is typical for the species, which then reduces options for individuals to affiliate or mate with. For example, though recommendations for hippos include social groupings of at least five, only 34% of North American zoos housed more than two animals [80]. Even where social group sizes are appropriate, there will be a lack of contact with other groups, or migration between groups, that would often occur in the wild.…”

Section: Freedom As An Instrumental Goodmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As well as comparing ecology and behaviour, comparative welfare data could help form part of this analysis. There are also many research projects that look to compare the housing and husbandry conditions and behavioural and activity patterns between captive and wild species to try and identify welfare-relevant differences [46,47,80]. Veasey [77] provides an example of how an empirical analysis of the evolutionarily important cognitive and behavioural processes for a species can help determine their likely welfare in a captive setting and set priorities for improvement.…”

Section: The Need For Measurementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Freedom and Animal Welfare

Browning

Veit

2021

Animals

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The keeping of captive animals in zoos and aquariums has long been controversial. Many take freedom to be a crucial part of animal welfare and, on these grounds, criticise all forms of animal captivity as harmful to animal welfare, regardless of their provisions. Here, we analyse what it might mean for freedom to matter to welfare, distinguishing between the role of freedom as an intrinsic good, valued for its own sake and an instrumental good, its value arising from the increased ability to provide other important resources. Too often, this debate is conducted through trading intuitions about what matters for animals. We argue for the need for the collection of comparative welfare data about wild and captive animals in order to settle the issue. Discovering more about the links between freedom and animal welfare will then allow for more empirically informed ethical decisions regarding captive animals.

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“…A recent study suggests that North American zoos may not be adequately meeting the behavioral welfare of their hippos [ 15 ]. For instance, Tennant et al [ 15 ] found that, contrary to wild hippo pod sizes of ≥ 10 and their regular nocturnal foraging activity, only a third of the zoos surveyed housed their hippos in groups of three or more, and almost half of the facilities surveyed limited nocturnal foraging opportunities for their hippos. Thus, the need for more empirical information on hippo activity in zoos is clear.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Activity and Pool Use in Relation to Temperature and Water Changes in Zoo Hippopotamuses (Hippopotamus amphibious)

Fernández

Ramı́rez

Hawkes

2020

Animals

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In the wild, hippopotamuses spend much of their daily activity in the water. In zoos, it is less clear the extent to which hippos spend time in the water. We examined how much time Woodland Park Zoo’s three hippos spent in their outdoor pool, based on: (a) temperature of the pool water, and (b) when the pool water was changed (approximately three times a week). Several digital temperature data loggers collected water and air temperature readings once every hour for six months. We correlated the water temperature readings with several behaviors the hippos could engage in, where the hippos were on exhibit (pool vs. land), and how many days it had been since a dump (0, 1, or 2 days). The results indicated that water changes had little effect on pool usage, while increasing water temperatures resulted in both increased activity and pool use. The results are discussed in terms of how these findings relate to wild hippo activity, current knowledge of zoo-housed hippo welfare, and future directions for zoo-housed hippo welfare and research.

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Achieving optimal welfare for the Nile hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) in North American zoos and aquariums

Cited by 13 publications

References 19 publications

Patterns of nocturnal activity in captive greater flamingos

Patterns of nocturnal activity in captive greater flamingos

Freedom and Animal Welfare

Activity and Pool Use in Relation to Temperature and Water Changes in Zoo Hippopotamuses (Hippopotamus amphibious)

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