Body condition scoring system for greater one-horned rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis): Development and application

Abstract

Preventing obesity in zoo animals is increasingly recognized as an important husbandry objective. To achieve this goal, body condition scoring (BCS) systems are available for an ever-increasing number of species. Here, we present a BCS for the greater one-horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) based on an evaluation (on a scale from 1 to 5) of seven different body regions, and report resulting scores for 62 animals from 27 facilities, based on digital photographs. In animals above 4 years of age, this BCS correlated with the body mass:shoulder height ratio. Although differences between the sexes for individual regions were noted (with consistently higher scores in males for the neck and shoulder and in parous females for the abdomen), the average BCS of all regions did not differ significantly between males (4.3 ± 0.4) and females (4.1 ± 0.5). Linking the BCS to results of a questionnaire survey and studbook information, there were no differences in BCS between animals with and without foot problems or between parous and non-parous females. In a very limited sample of 11 females, those eight that had been diagnosed with leiomyoma in a previous study had a higher BCS (range 3.9-4.9) than the three that had been diagnosed as leiomyoma-free (range 3.5-3.7). The BCS was correlated to the amount of food offered as estimated from the questionnaire. Adjusting the amounts and the nutritional quality of the diet components is an evident measure to maintain animals at a target BCS (suggested as 3-3.5). Zoo Biol. 35:432-443, 2016. © Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Monitoring body condition score of reintroduced banteng (Bos javanicusD’Alton, 1923) into Salakphra Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand

“…The advantages of using the BCS are feasibility, simplicity and low costs (Schiffmann et al, 2017). Thus, measuring animal BCS is important and has been applied to large mammalian herbivores such as African buffalo (Syncerus caffer caffer; Ezenwa, Jolles & O'Brien, 2009), the greater one-horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicorni; Heidegger et al, 2016), Asian elephants (Elephas maximus; Pokharel, Seshagiri & Sukumar, 2017), and Bornean banteng (Bos javanicus lovii; Prosser et al, 2016).…”

Weigh and see—Body mass recordings versus body condition scoring in European zoo elephants (Loxodonta africana and Elephas maximus)

“…Chusyd et al, ). Correspondingly, more consistent correlations between a BCS and BM put in relation to another morphometric measurement have been shown in several wildlife species including Asian elephants (Clements & Sanchez, ; Heidegger et al, ; Owen, ; Stirling et al, ; Wijeyamohan et al, ).…”

“…Unfortunately, data richness decreased with advancing age, most likely due to the technical difficulty of weighing larger individuals and a perceived reduced need to regularly weigh elephants when they are adult and hence in a less critical life stage, leaving gaps in our knowledge regarding this period of life. These gaps are more extended in the African species (Figure 1), which might be due to the different demography of both populations (Schwammer & Fruehwirth, 2016;van Wees & Damen, 2016 (Clements & Sanchez, 2015;Heidegger et al, 2016;Owen, 1981;Stirling et al, 2008;Wijeyamohan et al, 2015).…”

Inflammatory and oxidative status in European captive black rhinoceroses: a link with Iron Overload Disorder?

“…It would have been relevant to determine whether the European captive BR population did not exhibit significant obesity compared to the European captive WR at the time of the study. However, even if a body condition scoring system has been proposed for BR and Indian rhinoceroses [55,56], no such system exists for WR. The main proteins migrating in the α 2 region on serum protein electrophoresis include haptoglobin, α 2 -macroglobulin, ceruloplasmin and serum amyloid A (SAA).…”