Gandia Kristine M, Herrelko Elizabeth S, Kessler Sharon E, Buchanan-Smith Hannah M
Psychology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK.
Smithsonian's National Zoo, Conservation Biology Institute, Washington, DC 20008, USA.
Animals (Basel). 2023 Jul 25;13(15):2401. doi: 10.3390/ani13152401.
Circadian and circannual cycles of behavior regulate many aspects of welfare including metabolism, breeding, and behavioral interactions. In this study, we aim to demonstrate how systematically determining circadian and circannual cycles can provide insight into animals' needs and be part of an evidence-based approach to welfare assessment. We measured and analyzed the observational behavioral data of 13 zoo-housed giant pandas (), across life stages and between sexes, each month for one year using live camera footage from six zoos across the world. Our results indicate that life stage was associated with changes in overall activity, feeding, locomotion, and pacing, and that sex influenced scent anointing and anogenital rubbing. Overall, the circadian rhythms showed three peaks of activity, including a nocturnal peak, as seen in wild giant pandas. We also found associations between sexual-related, stereotypical/abnormal, and feeding behavior, which are possibly linked to the timing of migration of wild pandas, and elucidated the relationship between a mother and cub, finding that they concentrate maternal behaviors to mainly after closing hours. Understanding these cycle patterns can aid animal care staff in predicting changing needs throughout the day, year, and life cycle and preemptively provide for those needs to best avoid welfare concerns.
昼夜节律和年度行为周期调节着包括新陈代谢、繁殖和行为互动在内的许多福利方面。在本研究中，我们旨在证明系统地确定昼夜节律和年度周期如何能够深入了解动物的需求，并成为基于证据的福利评估方法的一部分。我们使用来自全球六个动物园的实时摄像头录像，对13只圈养大熊猫在一年中的每个月、跨越生命阶段和性别进行了观察行为数据的测量和分析。我们的结果表明，生命阶段与总体活动、进食、运动和踱步的变化有关，性别影响气味涂抹和肛门生殖器摩擦。总体而言，昼夜节律显示出三个活动高峰，包括一个夜间高峰，这与野生大熊猫的情况相同。我们还发现了与性相关、刻板/异常和进食行为之间的关联，这些关联可能与野生大熊猫的迁徙时间有关，并阐明了母兽与幼崽之间的关系，发现它们将母性行为主要集中在闭馆时间之后。了解这些周期模式可以帮助动物饲养人员预测动物在一天、一年和整个生命周期中不断变化的需求，并预先满足这些需求，以最好地避免福利问题。
