“…In mammals and birds, the determination of gonadal steroid and corticosteroid metabolites in feces allows gender determination (Bishop and Hall, 1991;Cockrem and Rounce, 1994;Hurst et al, 1957), facilitates monitoring of reproductive status in zoo animals and domestic livestock (Bercovitz et al, 1982;Hultén et al, 1995;Kirkpatrick et al, 1990;Lucas et al, 1991;Mö stl et al, 1984;Palme et al, 1996;Schwarzenberger et al, 1992;Ziegler et al, 1988), and is a valuable tool for monitoring stress (Altmann et al, 1995;Bujalska et al, 1994;Cook et al, 1996;Creel et al, 1997;Goymann et al, 1999;Kotrschal et al, 1998;Miller et al, 1991, Wasser et al, 1997. Excreted steroid metabolites may covary with social factors (Hirschenhauser et al, 1999a(Hirschenhauser et al, ,b, 2000Kotrschal et al, 1998;McLeod et al, 1991;Oliveira et al, 1996;Wingfield et al, 1997).…”