Effect of Carcass Feeds on Feeding Behavior and Social Interactions in Zoo-Based African Wild Dogs (Lycaon pictus).

IF 1.2 4区 生物学 Q3 VETERINARY SCIENCES Zoo Biology Pub Date : 2025-03-12 DOI:10.1002/zoo.21895
Neil R Jordan, Emily Therese Boyd, Jennifer Conaghan, Jordan Michelmore, Michelle E Shaw, Benjamin J Pitcher
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Abstract

Management of African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) in zoos involves several challenges, including the difficulty of providing appropriate stimulation and enrichment for naturally wide-ranging, energetic, cursorial hunters. Perhaps consequently, zoo packs can exhibit bouts of extreme intra-pack aggression rarely seen in the wild. As with other species, considerable efforts are required to balance the retention and exhibition of wild-type behaviors, against ensuring that the nutritional and welfare needs of individual group-living animals are met. While some behaviors, such as hunting and wide-ranging movements are impossible to mimic in zoos, the provision of food may be refined to allow natural feeding behavior to be displayed. We conducted a feeding experiment on a breeding pack of nine African wild dogs at Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Australia, presenting food in three treatments (individual pieces, butchered carcasses, and whole carcasses) to determine whether: (1) natural age-related patterns of feeding behavior were observed; (2) food type or presentation affected feeding behavior, duration, and interactions. Free-ranging African wild dogs exhibit an age-based feeding structure at kill sites that is rare in other species. We found that carcass and butchered carcass feeds more closely exhibited the age-based feeding observed in the wild. The pack spent twenty times as long consuming carcasses than food presented as individual pieces, with consumption times matching those in the wild. Carcass and butchered carcass feeds also increased the number and rate of interactions over food compared to individual pieces, with a high proportion of interactions resulting in sharing outcomes. This suggests that carcass feeds allow the exhibition of natural patterns of behavior without increasing the risk of negative social interactions. Our results highlight the importance and possibility of managing socially complex carnivores through husbandry that balances the display of natural behavior with positive animal welfare.

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来源期刊
Zoo Biology
Zoo Biology 生物-动物学
CiteScore
2.50
自引率
15.40%
发文量
85
审稿时长
6-12 weeks
期刊介绍: Zoo Biology is concerned with reproduction, demographics, genetics, behavior, medicine, husbandry, nutrition, conservation and all empirical aspects of the exhibition and maintenance of wild animals in wildlife parks, zoos, and aquariums. This diverse journal offers a forum for effectively communicating scientific findings, original ideas, and critical thinking related to the role of wildlife collections and their unique contribution to conservation.
期刊最新文献
Effect of Carcass Feeds on Feeding Behavior and Social Interactions in Zoo-Based African Wild Dogs (Lycaon pictus). Optimal Weight Loss of Pink Pigeon (Nesoenas mayeri) Eggs During Incubation. The Role of Somatic Cell Synchronization in Nuclear Transfer and Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells for Wild Felids. Radiological Landmarks as an Aid in the Interpretation of Rodent Skull Extra-Oral Projections. An Open-Door Policy: How Removal of a Visual Barrier Improved Welfare in Zoo-Housed Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus).
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