Biological and Life Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, Ahmedabad University, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India.
PLoS One. 2022 Sep 9;17(9):e0261796. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0261796. eCollection 2022.
Environmental enrichment improves the health and wellbeing of zoo animals. To test this hypothesis, we used Indian leopards (Panthera pardus fusca), one of the popular zoo animals, as a model organism to understand effects of active and passive enrichment elements on stress hormone levels of captive individuals. We included three enrichment categories, category 'A' (having both active: cage size of 1204 m3 with raised platforms and earthen flooring, and passive: controlled temperature, playback of forest sounds and sound proof glass to filter visitors' noise, enrichment elements), category 'B' (active enrichment type I, cage size of 264 m3 with air coolers), and category C (active enrichment type II, cage size of 517 m3 without air coolers) for leopards (n = 14) housed in two Indian zoos. We used a group-specific enzyme immunoassay to measure fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (fGCM) in captive leopards. For comparison, we analysed samples from free-ranging leopards, as well. fGCM levels (Mean±SEM) were 10.45±2.01 and 0.95±0.003 μg/g dry feces in captive and free-ranging leopards, respectively. Our results revealed that fGCM levels of leopards in categories B and C were significantly (P<0.05) different from each other, thus, indicating cage size (an active enrichment element) as an important factor in influencing the physiology of the sampled animals. Overall, the findings of the study will contribute towards informed policies for management of captive Indian leopards.
环境丰容可以改善动物园动物的健康和福利。为了验证这一假设，我们以印度豹（ Panthera pardus fusca ）为模型动物，这是一种受欢迎的动物园动物，以了解主动和被动丰容元素对圈养个体应激激素水平的影响。我们包括了三种丰容类别，A 类（既有主动元素：笼舍大小为 1204 立方米，设有高架平台和泥土地板，还有被动元素：控制温度、播放森林声音和隔音玻璃以过滤游客的噪音）、B 类（主动丰容 I 型，笼舍大小为 264 立方米，配有空调）和 C 类（主动丰容 II 型，笼舍大小为 517 立方米，没有空调），用于饲养在两个印度动物园的 14 只印度豹。我们使用特定于群体的酶免疫测定法来测量圈养印度豹的粪便糖皮质激素代谢物（ fGCM ）。为了进行比较，我们还分析了来自自由放养的印度豹的样本。 fGCM 水平（平均值±SEM）分别为 10.45±2.01 和 0.95±0.003 μg/g 干粪便，分别在圈养和自由放养的印度豹中。我们的结果表明，B 类和 C 类的 fGCM 水平彼此之间存在显著差异（ P<0.05 ），这表明笼舍大小（一种主动丰容元素）是影响采样动物生理的重要因素。总体而言，该研究的结果将有助于制定有关管理圈养印度豹的知情政策。
