Burgener Nicole, Gusset Markus, Schmid Hans
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland.
J Appl Anim Welf Sci. 2008;11(1):74-83. doi: 10.1080/10888700701729254.
This study hypothesized that permanently frustrated, appetitive-foraging behavior caused the stereotypic pacing regularly observed in captive carnivores. Using 2 adult female snow leopards (Uncia uncia), solitarily housed in the Zurich Zoo, the study tested this hypothesis experimentally with a novel feeding method: electronically controlled, time-regulated feeding boxes. The expected result of employing this active foraging device as a successful coping strategy was reduced behavioral and physiological measures of stress, compared with a control-feeding regime without feeding boxes. The study assessed this through behavioral observations and by evaluating glucocorticoid levels noninvasively from feces. Results indicated that the 2 snow leopards did not perform successful coping behavior through exercising active foraging behavior or through displaying the stereotypic pacing. The data support a possible explanation: The box-feeding method did not provide the 2 snow leopards with the external stimuli to satisfy their appetitive behavioral needs. Moreover, numerous other factors not necessarily or exclusively related to appetitive behavior could have caused and influenced the stereotypic pacing.
本研究假设，长期受挫的、寻求食物的觅食行为导致了圈养食肉动物中经常观察到的刻板踱步行为。该研究使用了2只单独圈养在苏黎世动物园的成年雌性雪豹（Uncia uncia），通过一种新颖的喂食方法对这一假设进行了实验测试：电控定时喂食箱。与没有喂食箱的对照喂食方式相比，采用这种主动觅食装置作为成功应对策略的预期结果是行为和生理应激指标降低。该研究通过行为观察以及通过非侵入性评估粪便中的糖皮质激素水平来对此进行评估。结果表明，这2只雪豹没有通过进行主动觅食行为或通过表现出刻板踱步来表现出成功的应对行为。数据支持了一种可能的解释：箱式喂食方法没有为这2只雪豹提供满足其觅食行为需求的外部刺激。此外，许多其他不一定或不完全与觅食行为相关的因素可能导致并影响了刻板踱步行为。
