Meeting Abstract
A core pillar of animal behavior research is that environment can profoundly affect the behavioral phenotypes of animals. This principle can be studied especially well in research on animal well-being in the semi-controlled environments of zoological parks. Two reliable factors that have been used as real-time indicators of an animal’s well-being are stereotypic and anticipatory behavior. Stereotypic behavior is a behavior that occurs repetitively with no purpose and is an indicator of animal distress when it is present in high rates. Anticipatory behavior is a behavior that occurs prior to receiving a reward. It has been accepted as an indicator of reward sensitivity and therefore monitoring its rate of occurrence can give insight into the animal’s perception of its own well-being. Currently, much is known about these behaviors in felids inside of zoos, but there are very few studies that compare these behaviors between zoos and wildlife sanctuaries. Since behavior is a result of the environment that captive animals live in, examining the difference between a commercialized zoo and an animal-focused natural sanctuary could provide insight into what environments lead to captive felid mental distress. Cougars, Puma concolor, and Lions, Panthera leo, are popular felids that are found in zoos and sanctuaries across the United States and were chosen for this study because of availability. The purpose of this study was to compare the behaviors of the cougars and lions at the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro, NC to the behaviors of cougars and lions at Carolina Tiger Rescue, a natural wildlife sanctuary in Pittsboro, NC. Through the use of video observations and GIS analysis, this study provides insights on the behavioral differences of felids in zoos compared to felids in a sanctuary setting.
