Powell David M, Kozlowski Corinne P, Clark John, Seyfried Alice, Baskir Eli, Franklin Ashley D
Department of Reproductive and Behavioral Sciences, Saint Louis Zoo, 1 Government Drive, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA.
Children's Zoo, Saint Louis Zoo, 1 Government Drive, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA.
Animals (Basel). 2020 May 8;10(5):815. doi: 10.3390/ani10050815.
Special encounters that allow contact between animals and guests are common in zoos and aquariums. Visitors to the Saint Louis Zoo may touch guinea pigs serving as ambassador animals. We evaluated two welfare indicators in ambassador guinea pigs by comparing glucocorticoid levels and body weights between periods when guinea pigs lived in a habitat accessible to the public and while off exhibit. Mean glucocorticoid levels did not differ between sexes or between on- and off-exhibit periods. There was significant individual variation, and females demonstrated greater variation than males. While on exhibit, glucocorticoid levels slightly but significantly increased in males and decreased in females. Moving guinea pigs between habitats only elicited a significant glucocorticoid response when females were moved off exhibit. Temporary closures of the exhibit had no effect on glucocorticoid levels in either sex. Analyses of the impact of handling rates on males found no impact on glucocorticoid levels. Guinea pigs' body weights were lower while on exhibit. We conclude that guinea pigs serving as ambassador animals at the Saint Louis Zoo demonstrate comparable physiological profiles while on and off exhibit and, when used in a rotational schedule, are a suitable species for animal encounters involving contact with the public.
在动物园和水族馆中，动物与游客之间的特殊互动十分常见。圣路易斯动物园的游客可以触摸作为大使动物的豚鼠。我们通过比较豚鼠在公众可进入的栖息地生活期间和不在展览期间的糖皮质激素水平和体重，评估了大使豚鼠的两个福利指标。糖皮质激素的平均水平在性别之间以及展览期间和非展览期间均无差异。存在显著的个体差异，且雌性的差异大于雄性。在展览期间，雄性的糖皮质激素水平略有但显著升高，而雌性则下降。仅当雌性豚鼠被移出展览时，将其在不同栖息地之间转移才会引发显著的糖皮质激素反应。展览的临时关闭对两性的糖皮质激素水平均无影响。对处理频率对雄性豚鼠影响的分析发现，这对糖皮质激素水平没有影响。豚鼠在展览期间体重较低。我们得出结论，在圣路易斯动物园作为大使动物的豚鼠在展览期间和非展览期间表现出可比的生理特征，并且当按照轮流安排使用时，是适合与公众进行接触互动的动物物种。
