Behavioral Changes of Brown Bears ( Ursus arctos ) during COVID-19 Zoo Closures and Further Reopening to the Public
Visitor effect studies have been of keen interest for decades, but there have been only anecdotal opportunities to investigate the impact of the prolonged absence of visitors on animal welfare in zoos. In some zoos, bears are actively involved in animal–visitors interaction through begging, which gi...
Published in: | Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens |
---|---|
Main Author: | |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
MDPI AG
2022
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3390/jzbg3020021 https://doaj.org/article/60b8ef7cc29e498a8759a0baac20f285 |
id |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:60b8ef7cc29e498a8759a0baac20f285 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:60b8ef7cc29e498a8759a0baac20f285 2023-05-15T18:41:53+02:00 Behavioral Changes of Brown Bears ( Ursus arctos ) during COVID-19 Zoo Closures and Further Reopening to the Public Aleksei A. Podturkin 2022-06-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3390/jzbg3020021 https://doaj.org/article/60b8ef7cc29e498a8759a0baac20f285 EN eng MDPI AG https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5636/3/2/21 https://doaj.org/toc/2673-5636 doi:10.3390/jzbg3020021 2673-5636 https://doaj.org/article/60b8ef7cc29e498a8759a0baac20f285 Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens, Vol 3, Iss 21, Pp 256-270 (2022) visitor effect begging choice/control stereotypical behavior Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Zoology QL1-991 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3390/jzbg3020021 2022-12-31T02:50:03Z Visitor effect studies have been of keen interest for decades, but there have been only anecdotal opportunities to investigate the impact of the prolonged absence of visitors on animal welfare in zoos. In some zoos, bears are actively involved in animal–visitors interaction through begging, which gives them some degree of control over gaining food rewards throughout the day when visitors are present. Prolonged visitor absence may, therefore, represent a loss of control and have a negative impact on the bears’ welfare. In this study, we investigate the behavior of four brown bears ( Ursus arctos ) in three zoos to see how the animals’ behavior changed depending on the presence and absence of the public during zoo closures in 2020 related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The bears’ behavior was assessed using activity budget analysis and novel object tests. The results showed that the bears behavior varied between facilities and that there was no effect of visitor presence for the individuals who had access to indoor holding space. The results of the study are discussed in terms of choice and control and their impact on the wellbeing of bears in zoos. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ursus arctos Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens 3 2 256 270 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
visitor effect begging choice/control stereotypical behavior Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Zoology QL1-991 |
spellingShingle |
visitor effect begging choice/control stereotypical behavior Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Zoology QL1-991 Aleksei A. Podturkin Behavioral Changes of Brown Bears ( Ursus arctos ) during COVID-19 Zoo Closures and Further Reopening to the Public |
topic_facet |
visitor effect begging choice/control stereotypical behavior Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Zoology QL1-991 |
description |
Visitor effect studies have been of keen interest for decades, but there have been only anecdotal opportunities to investigate the impact of the prolonged absence of visitors on animal welfare in zoos. In some zoos, bears are actively involved in animal–visitors interaction through begging, which gives them some degree of control over gaining food rewards throughout the day when visitors are present. Prolonged visitor absence may, therefore, represent a loss of control and have a negative impact on the bears’ welfare. In this study, we investigate the behavior of four brown bears ( Ursus arctos ) in three zoos to see how the animals’ behavior changed depending on the presence and absence of the public during zoo closures in 2020 related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The bears’ behavior was assessed using activity budget analysis and novel object tests. The results showed that the bears behavior varied between facilities and that there was no effect of visitor presence for the individuals who had access to indoor holding space. The results of the study are discussed in terms of choice and control and their impact on the wellbeing of bears in zoos. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Aleksei A. Podturkin |
author_facet |
Aleksei A. Podturkin |
author_sort |
Aleksei A. Podturkin |
title |
Behavioral Changes of Brown Bears ( Ursus arctos ) during COVID-19 Zoo Closures and Further Reopening to the Public |
title_short |
Behavioral Changes of Brown Bears ( Ursus arctos ) during COVID-19 Zoo Closures and Further Reopening to the Public |
title_full |
Behavioral Changes of Brown Bears ( Ursus arctos ) during COVID-19 Zoo Closures and Further Reopening to the Public |
title_fullStr |
Behavioral Changes of Brown Bears ( Ursus arctos ) during COVID-19 Zoo Closures and Further Reopening to the Public |
title_full_unstemmed |
Behavioral Changes of Brown Bears ( Ursus arctos ) during COVID-19 Zoo Closures and Further Reopening to the Public |
title_sort |
behavioral changes of brown bears ( ursus arctos ) during covid-19 zoo closures and further reopening to the public |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/jzbg3020021 https://doaj.org/article/60b8ef7cc29e498a8759a0baac20f285 |
genre |
Ursus arctos |
genre_facet |
Ursus arctos |
op_source |
Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens, Vol 3, Iss 21, Pp 256-270 (2022) |
op_relation |
https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5636/3/2/21 https://doaj.org/toc/2673-5636 doi:10.3390/jzbg3020021 2673-5636 https://doaj.org/article/60b8ef7cc29e498a8759a0baac20f285 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/jzbg3020021 |
container_title |
Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens |
container_volume |
3 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
256 |
op_container_end_page |
270 |
_version_ |
1766231449824919552 |