Natural Behavior

Social sham chewing in sows?

In this short communication, we describe chewing behaviour in sows with no apparent edible substrate in their mouth as a potential social behaviour. Chewing in sows during interaction with unfamiliar sows was unexpectedly observed in a study assessing social abilities...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Anderson, C., Backeman Hannius, L. M., De Oliveira, D. et al. 2024. Social sham chewing in sows? Behavioural Processes 218, 105042.

Disentangling developmental effects of play aspects in rat rough-and-tumble play

Animal play encompasses a variety of aspects, with kinematic and social aspects being particularly prevalent in mammalian play behaviour. While the developmental effects of play have been increasingly documented in recent decades, understanding the specific contributions of different play aspects...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Liu, Q., Radchenko, M., Špinka, M. 2024. Disentangling developmental effects of play aspects in rat rough-and-tumble play. Biology Letters 20(5), 20240037.

Cats just want to have fun: Associations between play and welfare in domestic cats

Play is often considered an indicator and promotor of animal welfare and may facilitate closer cat-human relationships. However, few studies have empirically investigated these associations. The current study aimed to investigate play-related factors associated with four welfare outcome measures in...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Natural Behavior, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Cat

Citation: Henning, J., Nielsen, T., Fernandez, E. et al. 2023. Cats just want to have fun: Associations between play and welfare in domestic cats. Animal Welfare 32, e9.

Feline faces: Unraveling the social function of domestic cat facial signals

Lately, there has been a growing interest in studying domestic cat facial signals, but most of this research has centered on signals produced during human-cat interactions or pain. The available research on intraspecific facial signaling with domesticated cats has largely...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Human-Animal Interaction, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Cat

Citation: Scott, L., Florkiewicz, B. N. 2023. Feline faces: Unraveling the social function of domestic cat facial signals. Behavioural Processes 213, 104959.

Rescued cats prefer to scratch fabrics commonly used to cover upholstered furniture

Preference responses of cats for scratching fabrics commonly used on furniture were evaluated during four consecutive days in three Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) that rescue companion animals. Cats were grouped and their choices were registered at a group level (no individual...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Cat

Citation: Rossi, A. P., dos Santos, C. R. C., Maia, C. M. et al. 2023. Rescued cats prefer to scratch fabrics commonly used to cover upholstered furniture. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 26(3), 313–324.

Social behavior deficiencies in captive American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis)

Understanding how the behavior of captive American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) congregations compares to wild congregations is essential to assessing the welfare of alligators in captivity. Wild alligator congregations perform complex social behaviors, but it is unknown if such behaviors occur...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Crocodile & Alligator, Reptile

Citation: Walsh, Z. C., Olson, H., Clendening, M. et al. 2022. Social behavior deficiencies in captive American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis). Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens 3(1), 131–146.

The UFAW Handbook on the Care and Management of Laboratory and Other Research Animals (9th ed.)

The latest edition of the seminal reference on the care and management of laboratory and research animals. The newly revised ninth edition of The UFAW Handbook on the Care and Management of Laboratory and Other Research Animals delivers an up-to-date...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Animal Training, Environmental Enrichment, Euthanasia, Housing, Husbandry & Management, Natural Behavior, Relocation & Transport, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Amphibian, Bird, Capuchin, Cat, Cattle, Cephalopod, Crustacean, Dog, Equine, Ferret, Finch, Fish, Fowl, Frog & Toad, Gerbil, Goat, Guinea Pig, Hamster, Invertebrate, Lizard, Macaque, Marmoset, Mole Rat, Mouse, Nonhuman Primate, Other Animal, Other Bird, Other Fish, Other Nonhuman Primate, Other Rodent, Pig, Rabbit, Rat, Reptile, Rodent, Sheep, Snake, Tree Shrew, Turtle & Tortoise, Vervet (African Green Monkey), Zebrafish

Citation: Golledge, H., Richardson, C. (Eds.) 2024. The UFAW Handbook on the Care and Management of Laboratory and Other Research Animals (9th ed.). Wiley-Blackwell. 1040 p.

Play in rats: Association across contexts and types, and analysis of structure

Play has been proposed as a promising indicator of positive animal welfare. We aimed to study play in rats across contexts (conspecific/heterospecific) and types (social: pinning, being pinned; solitary: scampering), and we investigated its structure using behavioral sequence analysis. Group-housed...

Year Published: 2014Topics: Natural Behavior, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Melotti, L., Bailoo, J., Murphy, E. et al. 2014. Play in rats: Association across contexts and types, and analysis of structure. Animal Behavior and Cognition 1(4), 489–501.

Nosing around: Play in pigs

The predominant method of measuring welfare in swine focuses on overt physical ailments, such as skin lesions, lameness, and body condition. An alternative metric for assessing welfare in swine can be to measure the frequency and duration of positive behavioral...

Year Published: 2014Topics: Natural Behavior, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Horback, K. 2014. Nosing around: Play in pigs. Animal Behavior and Cognition 2(2), 186.

Choice, control, and animal welfare: Definitions and essential inquiries to advance animal welfare science

The ways in which humans can support good welfare for animals in their care is an ongoing subject of debate: some place emphasis on the animals' physical health; others, on animals' ability to live “natural lives”; and others on animals'...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: All/General, Macaque, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Englund, M. D., Cronin, K. A. 2023. Choice, control, and animal welfare: Definitions and essential inquiries to advance animal welfare science. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 10.