Van Horn Russell C, Sutherland-Smith Meg, Bracho Sarcos Andrés E, Thomas Gaylene, Shanks Jacob A, Owen Megan A
Institute for Conservation Research, San Diego Zoo Global, San Diego, California.
Veterinary Services, San Diego Zoo Global, San Diego, California.
Zoo Biol. 2019 Oct;38(5):434-441. doi: 10.1002/zoo.21512. Epub 2019 Aug 16.
The Andean bear alopecia syndrome is a progressive and chronic condition documented in ex situ populations. Recent advances focus on treating symptoms, not preventing future cases. We therefore explored the epidemiology of this syndrome through an analysis of husbandry and veterinary conditions of 63 Andean bears (26M:37F) housed in North and South American zoos and other ex situ circumstances. We had the most complete information for the North American population and found that 29% of females (n = 24) were affected. No males (n = 26) were affected. An analysis of generalized linear models indicated that three models were competitive in describing the occurrence of the condition (i.e., ΔAIC ≤ 2): the model including only the individual's sex (χ = 13.41, df = 1, p < .001), the model including both individual sex and social housing status (χ = 1.36, df = 2, p < .001), and the model including both individual sex and the expression of stereotypical behaviors (χ = 13.82, df = 2, p = .001). Stereotypical behaviors were common among both males (50%, n = 26) and females (51.9%, n = 27) whether or not they were affected, but the syndrome was seen only in females who had been socially housed. Therefore, we suggest that the Andean bear alopecia syndrome is a symptomatic response to the long-term social housing of bears that would otherwise not live socially. To prevent new cases, we recommend that female Andean bears be housed with adult conspecifics only when females choose to cohabitate.
安第斯熊脱毛综合征是一种在圈养种群中被记录的进行性慢性疾病。近期的进展集中在症状治疗上，而非预防未来病例。因此，我们通过分析北美和南美动物园及其他圈养环境中63只安第斯熊（26只雄性：37只雌性）的饲养和兽医状况，探讨了该综合征的流行病学。我们掌握了北美种群最完整的信息，发现29%的雌性（n = 24）受到影响。没有雄性（n = 26）受到影响。广义线性模型分析表明，有三个模型在描述该疾病的发生方面具有竞争力（即，ΔAIC ≤ 2）：仅包含个体性别的模型（χ = 13.41，df = 1，p <.001）、包含个体性别和群居状态的模型（χ = 1.36，df = 2，p <.001）以及包含个体性别和刻板行为表达的模型（χ = 13.82，df = 2，p =.001）。无论是否受到影响，刻板行为在雄性（50%，n = 26）和雌性（51.9%，n = 27）中都很常见，但该综合征仅在群居饲养的雌性中出现。因此，我们认为安第斯熊脱毛综合征是熊长期群居饲养的一种症状反应，而这些熊原本不会群居生活。为预防新病例，我们建议仅在雌性安第斯熊选择同居时，才将其与成年同种熊一起饲养。
