Body condition scores of large carnivores in 44 European zoos
Zoo animals are often suspected to be prone to obesity, due to a combination of readily provided food resources and reduced opportunity for physical exercise. Here, body condition and selected husbandry conditions (the amount of food offered, enclosure size and number of enrichment measures provided...
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ftunivzuerich:oai:www.zora.uzh.ch:238588 2024-06-23T07:57:22+00:00 Body condition scores of large carnivores in 44 European zoos Kleinlugtenbelt, Cellina Lucia Maria Burkevica, Anita Clauss, Marcus 2023-10-31 application/pdf https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/238588/ https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/238588/1/JZAR_zoo_carnivore_BCS_2023.pdf https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-238588 https://doi.org/10.19227/jzar.v11i4.741 eng eng EAZA https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/238588/1/JZAR_zoo_carnivore_BCS_2023.pdf doi:10.5167/uzh-238588 doi:10.19227/jzar.v11i4.741 urn:issn:2214-7594 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Kleinlugtenbelt, Cellina Lucia Maria; Burkevica, Anita; Clauss, Marcus (2023). Body condition scores of large carnivores in 44 European zoos. Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research, 11(4):414-421. Department of Small Animals 630 Agriculture 570 Life sciences biology Journal Article PeerReviewed info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2023 ftunivzuerich https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-23858810.19227/jzar.v11i4.741 2024-06-05T00:26:59Z Zoo animals are often suspected to be prone to obesity, due to a combination of readily provided food resources and reduced opportunity for physical exercise. Here, body condition and selected husbandry conditions (the amount of food offered, enclosure size and number of enrichment measures provided) of ten large carnivore species (15–104 individuals per species) in 44 European zoos in seven different countries were assessed. A standardised body condition scoring (BCS) protocol (ranging from 1–9) was applied by a single investigator. In general, the BCS showed a close to normal distribution around the ‘ideal’ score of 5, with a slight right shift towards higher BCS; only in jaguar Panthera onca and lynx Lynx lynx, BCS suggested over-conditioned study populations. BCS tended towards positive correlation with body mass, except in tigers Panthera tigris, leopards Panthera pardus and the two bear species Ursus arctos and U. maritimus. Within species, the BCS was not systematically correlated with the amount of food, enclosure size or number of enrichment measures. The results suggest that while both underand over-conditioned individuals exist, the study populations are largely in a body condition considered ideal. The lack of overarching correlations with simplistic husbandry proxies suggests that management of body condition occurs at the level of the individual institution with tailored measures. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ursus arctos Lynx Lynx lynx lynx University of Zurich (UZH): ZORA (Zurich Open Repository and Archive |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Zurich (UZH): ZORA (Zurich Open Repository and Archive |
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ftunivzuerich |
language |
English |
topic |
Department of Small Animals 630 Agriculture 570 Life sciences biology |
spellingShingle |
Department of Small Animals 630 Agriculture 570 Life sciences biology Kleinlugtenbelt, Cellina Lucia Maria Burkevica, Anita Clauss, Marcus Body condition scores of large carnivores in 44 European zoos |
topic_facet |
Department of Small Animals 630 Agriculture 570 Life sciences biology |
description |
Zoo animals are often suspected to be prone to obesity, due to a combination of readily provided food resources and reduced opportunity for physical exercise. Here, body condition and selected husbandry conditions (the amount of food offered, enclosure size and number of enrichment measures provided) of ten large carnivore species (15–104 individuals per species) in 44 European zoos in seven different countries were assessed. A standardised body condition scoring (BCS) protocol (ranging from 1–9) was applied by a single investigator. In general, the BCS showed a close to normal distribution around the ‘ideal’ score of 5, with a slight right shift towards higher BCS; only in jaguar Panthera onca and lynx Lynx lynx, BCS suggested over-conditioned study populations. BCS tended towards positive correlation with body mass, except in tigers Panthera tigris, leopards Panthera pardus and the two bear species Ursus arctos and U. maritimus. Within species, the BCS was not systematically correlated with the amount of food, enclosure size or number of enrichment measures. The results suggest that while both underand over-conditioned individuals exist, the study populations are largely in a body condition considered ideal. The lack of overarching correlations with simplistic husbandry proxies suggests that management of body condition occurs at the level of the individual institution with tailored measures. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Kleinlugtenbelt, Cellina Lucia Maria Burkevica, Anita Clauss, Marcus |
author_facet |
Kleinlugtenbelt, Cellina Lucia Maria Burkevica, Anita Clauss, Marcus |
author_sort |
Kleinlugtenbelt, Cellina Lucia Maria |
title |
Body condition scores of large carnivores in 44 European zoos |
title_short |
Body condition scores of large carnivores in 44 European zoos |
title_full |
Body condition scores of large carnivores in 44 European zoos |
title_fullStr |
Body condition scores of large carnivores in 44 European zoos |
title_full_unstemmed |
Body condition scores of large carnivores in 44 European zoos |
title_sort |
body condition scores of large carnivores in 44 european zoos |
publisher |
EAZA |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/238588/ https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/238588/1/JZAR_zoo_carnivore_BCS_2023.pdf https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-238588 https://doi.org/10.19227/jzar.v11i4.741 |
genre |
Ursus arctos Lynx Lynx lynx lynx |
genre_facet |
Ursus arctos Lynx Lynx lynx lynx |
op_source |
Kleinlugtenbelt, Cellina Lucia Maria; Burkevica, Anita; Clauss, Marcus (2023). Body condition scores of large carnivores in 44 European zoos. Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research, 11(4):414-421. |
op_relation |
https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/238588/1/JZAR_zoo_carnivore_BCS_2023.pdf doi:10.5167/uzh-238588 doi:10.19227/jzar.v11i4.741 urn:issn:2214-7594 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-23858810.19227/jzar.v11i4.741 |
_version_ |
1802650967813914624 |