Conservation & Science Department, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, Cleveland, OH, USA.
Department of Biology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.
J Appl Anim Welf Sci. 2023 Apr-Jun;26(2):256-269. doi: 10.1080/10888705.2021.1958684. Epub 2021 Aug 6.
Choice-based design allows animals in human care opportunities to move at will between multiple interconnected spaces. Some evidence suggests providing environmental choice confers benefits to animals, but there is a dearth of research in this area with large carnivores. To understand the effects of this design strategy on large felids, behavioral and space use data were collected on three Amur tigers housed in a new habitat at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. Data were collected in two conditions: 1) restricted to a single habitat, and 2) access to two habitats. With choice, tigers were less frequently inactive ( = 0.003), and locomoted more frequently ( = 0.009). They also showed different preferences in space use with choice, and a strong preference for overhead runways between habitats ( = 0.83, = 0.78). These results add to what is known about environmental impacts on zoo animal behavior and suggest this design and management strategy may be effective in conferring positive welfare benefits to tigers and other large carnivores.
基于选择的设计允许人类照顾的动物在多个相互连接的空间之间随意移动。一些证据表明，提供环境选择可以使动物受益，但在大型食肉动物领域，这方面的研究还很匮乏。为了了解这种设计策略对大型猫科动物的影响，在克利夫兰大都市动物园的一个新栖息地中，对三只东北虎的行为和空间使用数据进行了收集。在两种条件下收集数据：1）限制在单个栖息地中，2）可以进入两个栖息地。有了选择，老虎不活动的频率较低（=0.003），移动的频率较高（=0.009）。它们在空间使用上也表现出不同的偏好，强烈偏爱栖息地之间的架空跑道（=0.83，=0.78）。这些结果增加了人们对动物园动物行为的环境影响的了解，并表明这种设计和管理策略可能有效地为老虎和其他大型食肉动物带来积极的福利效益。
