Natural Behavior

Envirionmental and social influences on the behaviour of free-living mandarin ducks in richmond park

Many species of birds are housed in zoos globally and are some of the most popular of animals kept under human care. Careful observations of how species live and behave in their natural habitats can provide us with important knowledge...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Natural Behavior, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Bird, Fowl

Citation: Munday, C., Rose, P. 2022. Envirionmental and social influences on the behaviour of free-living mandarin ducks in richmond park. Animals 12(19), 2554.

Locomotion as a measure of well-being in captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

Locomotion in non-human primates, including walking, climbing, and brachiating among other types of movement (but not pacing), is a species-typical behavior that varies with age, social housing conditions, and environmental factors (e.g., season, food availability, physical housing conditions). Given that...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Natural Behavior, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Chimpanzee, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Neal Webb, S., Schapiro, S. 2023. Locomotion as a measure of well-being in captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Animals 13(5), 803.

Play and welfare in domestic cats: Current knowledge and future directions

Play and welfare have long been linked within animal research literature, with play considered as both a potential indicator and promoter of welfare. An indicator due to observations that play is exhibited most frequently in times when an animal's fitness...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Natural Behavior, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Cat

Citation: Henning, J., Fernandez, E., Nielsen, T. et al. 2022. Play and welfare in domestic cats: Current knowledge and future directions. Animal Welfare 31(4), 407–421.

Seminatural environments for rodent behavioral testing: A representative design improving animal welfare and enhancing replicability

The low replicability of scientific studies has become an important issue. One possible cause is low representativeness of the experimental design employed. Already in the 1950's, Egon Brunswick pointed out that experimental setups ideally should be based on a random...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Housing, Husbandry & Management, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Hernández-Arteaga, E., Ågmo, A. 2023. Seminatural environments for rodent behavioral testing: A representative design improving animal welfare and enhancing replicability. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 17, 1192213.

Home-cage behavior is impacted by stress exposure in rats

Being social animals, rats exhibit a range of social behaviors that help them build social bonds and maintain group cohesion. Behavior is influenced by multiple factors, including stress exposure, and the expression of the impact of stress on both social...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Natural Behavior, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Eraslan, E., Castelhano-Carlos, M. J., Amorim, L. et al. 2023. Home-cage behavior is impacted by stress exposure in rats. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 17, 1195011.

The fibre requirements of horses and the consequences and causes of failure to meet them

Failure to meet the minimum forage requirement of 1.5% of the horse's bodyweight and the opportunity for foraging for a minimum of 8 h a day (not going without this opportunity longer than four to five consecutive hours) can have...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Abnormal/Problematic Behavior, Husbandry & Management, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Ermers, C., McGilchrist, N., Fenner, K. et al. 2023. The fibre requirements of horses and the consequences and causes of failure to meet them. Animals 13(8), 1414.

A review of equine sleep: Implications for equine welfare

Sleep is a significant biological requirement for all living mammals due to its restorative properties and its cognitive role in memory consolidation. Sleep is ubiquitous amongst all mammals but sleep profiles differ between species dependent upon a range of biological...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Greening, L., McBride, S. 2022. A review of equine sleep: Implications for equine welfare. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 9, 916737.

Vole husbandry at Colorado University Boulder

Since they arrived at CU Boulder, we have learned a lot about the voles from the laboratory, other institutions, and our trial-and-error. We hope this information can be helpful to any considering adding voles to their census.

Year Published: 2022Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Handling, Housing, Husbandry & Management, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Other Rodent, Rodent

Citation: Abazaris, J., Hashway, S. 2022. Vole husbandry at Colorado University Boulder. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 10(4) (July/August), 12-15.

The husbandry and management of naked mole-rats (Heterocephalus glaber)

Naked mole-rats (NMRs) have unique husbandry requirements that need to be considered when maintaining them in captivity. We have successfully maintained NMRs at the University of Illinois at Chicago for more than 20 years. This article aims to describe the...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Housing, Husbandry & Management, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Adams, C. R., Park, T. J. 2022. The husbandry and management of naked mole-rats (Heterocephalus glaber). Laboratory Animal Science Professional 10(4) (July/August), 16-18.

Burrowing behaviour of rats: Strain differences and applicability as well-being parameter after intracranial surgery

In mice, burrowing is considered a species-typical parameter for assessing well-being, while this is less clear in rats. This exploratory study evaluated burrowing behaviour in three rat strains during training and in the direct postoperative phase after complex intracranial surgery...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Natural Behavior, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Riedesel, A.-K., Bach-Hagemann, A., Abdulbaki, A. et al. 2022. Burrowing behaviour of rats: Strain differences and applicability as well-being parameter after intracranial surgery. Laboratory Animals 56(4), 356-369.