african wild dogs
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MethodsX ◽  
2022 ◽  
pp. 101623
Author(s):  
Gabriella Postiglione ◽  
Pier Attilio Accorsi ◽  
Andre Ganswindt ◽  
Bruce Crossey

Zoo Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurie Marker ◽  
Meredith Honig ◽  
Lauren Pfeiffer ◽  
Monique Kuypers ◽  
Kathy Gervais

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 576-588
Author(s):  
Zsuzsa Lugosi ◽  
Phyllis C. Lee

Virtual Reality (VR) is now a popular tool in education and for engagement with the natural world, but to date little research has investigated its potential in a zoo setting. We aimed to gauge the interest of the visiting public in using VR technology at Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s (RZSS) Edinburgh Zoo. A VR (n = 12) and a video condition (n = 12), both introducing the lives and conservation concerns of African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus), were used to gain greater insight of the thoughts and perceptions of how individuals evaluated a purpose-built VR experience and to enable comparisons of learning outcomes for both technologies. We used semi-structured interviews; responses were evaluated through thematic analysis and descriptive analysis. Younger participants (aged 13-18 years) emphasized that VR allowed them close and personal access to the animals. Adult participants (aged 19 and above) pointed out the entertainment value of the VR experience while highlighting the potential of its educational aspect; that of enabling visitors to see animals in their natural habitat. While our results require further confirmation due to the limited sample size and restricted circumstances of data collection, we suggest that VR could be usefully introduced as a public education and visitor engagement tool that would benefit the visitors’ learning and overall experience at the zoo.


2021 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luke O'Connor ◽  
Therese Hård ◽  
Ryan Baumwart ◽  
Jennifer D'Agostino ◽  
Melanie Hezzell

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holly M English ◽  
Luke Harvey ◽  
Rory P Wilson ◽  
Richard M Gunner ◽  
Mark D Holton ◽  
...  

Abstract Zoos are valuable resources for research, providing scientists with access to rare and elusive species in an easy to observe environment. Animal-attached loggers (aka biologgers) offer profound insight into animal behaviour. Their use in zoos has high yet largely untapped potential to collect data relevant for wild animal research and conservation but also welfare and enrichment monitoring of the zoo animals themselves. However, affixing biologgers to study animals can be problematic in captive settings, limiting the accessibility of this technology for use on zoo species which ordinarily need to be sedated for the fitting of such devices, including large carnivores. Here we show that biologging collars and crate-training allow collection of novel datasets on captive animals with high welfare and conservation value, using endangered African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) tagged with tri-axial accelerometer and tri-axial magnetometer loggers, as a case study. Two yearling female wild dogs were fitted with biologging collars while sedated in preparation for translocation from London to Whipsnade Zoo, with data collected for 10–26 hours until collar detachment. Two adult male wild dogs at London Zoo were trained to accept collars in a modified crate in exchange for a food reward, which allowed fitting and detaching the collars without sedation, with data collected for 28 days. First, we show how accelerometer and magnetometer data allow detection of fine-scale individual differences in the recovery from sedation as well as within- and between-individual variation in activity patterns in relation to the type of food received (tong vs. rabbit and pony carcass). Using the vectorial dynamic body acceleration metric (VeDBA), a proxy for movement-related energy expenditure, further shows that daily energy expenditure was higher on days with partial pony carcass feeds compared to rabbit feeds but varied considerably between days where flesh pieces were fed with tongs. Using the dead-reckoning method allowed reconstruction of fine-scale (1 Hz locations) movement paths within enclosures, indoors and outdoors, allowing visualisation and quantification of fine-scale movement and space use differences between individuals and over time, for example in response to different enrichment methods. Using multi-sensor biologgers, combined with training captive animals to accept collars without the use of anaesthetic, can enable flexible, experimental approaches to data collection with minimal impact on study animals, providing novel understanding of relevance for both zoo and wild animals.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lloyd A. Courtenay ◽  
Darío Herranz-Rodrigo ◽  
Diego González-Aguilera ◽  
José Yravedra

AbstractCompetition for resources is a key question in the study of our early human evolution. From the first hominin groups, carnivores have played a fundamental role in the ecosystem. From this perspective, understanding the trophic pressure between hominins and carnivores can provide valuable insights into the context in which humans survived, interacted with their surroundings, and consequently evolved. While numerous techniques already exist for the detection of carnivore activity in archaeological and palaeontological sites, many of these techniques present important limitations. The present study builds on a number of advanced data science techniques to confront these issues, defining methods for the identification of the precise agents involved in carcass consumption and manipulation. For the purpose of this study, a large sample of 620 carnivore tooth pits is presented, including samples from bears, hyenas, jaguars, leopards, lions, wolves, foxes and African wild dogs. Using 3D modelling, geometric morphometrics, robust data modelling, and artificial intelligence algorithms, the present study obtains between 88 and 98% accuracy, with balanced overall evaluation metrics across all datasets. From this perspective, and when combined with other sources of taphonomic evidence, these results show that advanced data science techniques can be considered a valuable addition to the taphonomist’s toolkit for the identification of precise carnivore agents via tooth pit morphology.


Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 584
Author(s):  
Rebecca Thomas ◽  
Mark Chambers

The Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) is a group of bacteria that cause tuberculosis (TB) in diverse hosts, including captive and free-ranging wildlife species. There is significant research interest in developing immunodiagnostic tests for TB that are both rapid and reliable, to underpin disease surveillance and control. The aim of this study was to carry out an updated review of diagnostics for TB in non-bovid species with a focus predominantly on those based on measurement of immunity. A search was carried out to identify relevant papers meeting a pre-defined set of inclusion criteria. Forty-one papers were identified from this search, from which only twenty papers contained data to measure and compare diagnostic performance using diagnostic odds ratio. The diagnostic tests from each study were ranked based on sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic odds ratio to define high performing tests. High sensitivity and specificity values across a range of species were reported for a new antigenic target, P22 complex, demonstrating it to be a reliable and accurate antigenic target. Since the last review of this kind was undertaken, the immunodiagnosis of TB in meerkats and African wild dogs was reported for the first time. Suid species showed the most consistent immunological responses and highlight a potential dichotomy between humoral and cellular immune responses.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. e0249860
Author(s):  
Paola Bouley ◽  
Antonio Paulo ◽  
Mercia Angela ◽  
Cole Du Plessis ◽  
David G. Marneweck

Large carnivores have experienced widespread extirpation and species are now threatened globally. The ecological impact of the loss of large carnivores has been prominent in Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique, after most were extirpated during the 1977–92 civil war. To remedy this, reintroductions are now being implemented in Gorongosa, initiating with endangered African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus), hereafter ‘wild dogs’. We describe the first transboundary translocation and reintroduction of founding packs of wild dogs to Gorongosa over a 28-month study period and evaluate the success of the reintroduction based on five key indicator categories. We also assess how wild dog space use and diet influenced their success. We found that pre-release, artificial pack formation in holding enclosures aided group cohesion and alpha pair establishment. Post-release, we also observed natural pack formations as a result of multiple dispersal events. Founder and naturally formed packs produced pups in two of the three breeding seasons and packs successfully recruited pups. Survival rate for all wild dogs was 73% and all mortality events were from natural causes. Consequently, the population grew significantly over the study period. All indicators of success were fully achieved and this study documents the first successful reintroduction of wild dogs into a large, unfenced landscape in Mozambique and only the second on the continent. Potential mechanisms underlying these early successes were the avoidance of habitats intensively used by lions, dietary partitioning with lion, avoidance of human settlements, and Gorongosa’s management strategy. We predict further population expansion in Gorongosa given that 68% of the park is still unused by wild dogs. This expansion could be stimulated by continued reintroductions over the short- to medium-term. Recovery of wild dogs in Gorongosa could aid in the re-establishment of a larger, connected population across the greater Gorongosa-Marromeu landscape.


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