Enclosure choice and well‐being in giant pandas: is it all about control?

Behavioral and hormonal data were compared for four giant pandas in two management conditions: (1) panda confined to exhibit area and (2) panda given choice to move freely between exhibit and off-exhibit bedroom areas. Pandas displayed fewer signs of behavioral agitation and lower urinary cortisol in the free choice condition. Time active did not differ between the two conditions. These results suggest that simply offering pandas free access to alternative locations can improve behavioral and hormonal variables that may be related to well-being. Zoo Biol 0:1–7, 2005. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

[1]  R. Swaisgood,et al.  Scientific approaches to enrichment and stereotypies in zoo animals: what's been done and where should we go next? , 2005 .

[2]  M. Owen,et al.  Seasonal and diurnal dynamics of glucocorticoids and behavior in giant pandas , 2005 .

[3]  He-min Zhang,et al.  Evaluation of behavioral factors influencing reproductive success and failure in captive giant pandas , 2004 .

[4]  C. Phillips,et al.  Preference of domestic rabbits for grass or coarse mix feeds , 2004, Animal Welfare.

[5]  R. Young.  Environmental Enrichment for Captive Animals , 2003 .

[6]  Angela M. White,et al.  A quantitative assessment of the efficacy of an environmental enrichment programme for giant pandas , 2001, Animal Behaviour.

[7]  G. Mason,et al.  Stereotypies: a critical review , 1991, Animal Behaviour.

[8]  I. Duncan,et al.  The notion of ethological ‘need’, models of motivation and animal welfare , 1988, Animal Behaviour.

[9]  M. Seligman,et al.  Learned helplessness: Theory and evidence. , 1976 .

[10]  M. E. Larson,et al.  The effects of control over high intensity noise on plasma cortisol levels in rhesus monkeys. , 1976, Behavioral biology.

[11]  M. Owen,et al.  Monitoring stress in captive giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca): behavioral and hormonal responses to ambient noise , 2004 .

[12]  R. Swaisgood,et al.  Commentary: Improving well‐being for captive giant pandas: Theoretical and practical issues , 2003 .

[13]  R. Chellam,et al.  Environmental influences on stereotypy and the activity budget of Indian leopards (Panthera pardus) in four zoos in Southern India , 2002 .

[14]  D. Shepherdson,et al.  Alleviating stress in zoo animals with environmental enrichment. , 2000 .

[15]  T. Maple,et al.  Comparison of confined mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx) behavior in traditional and “ecologically representative” exhibits , 1999 .

[16]  D. Shepherdson,et al.  Effects of environmental enrichment on reproduction , 1994 .

[17]  R. Baldwin,et al.  Environmental enrichment for zoo bears , 1991 .