Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens, Volume 4, Issue 1

There are currently over 8 billion people on Earth, a figure which grows by approximately 67 million annually; https://www [...]

Scientific research has long been recognized as one of the four pillars of the zoo or aquarium mission, alongside recreation, conservation, and education. This study sought to quantify a sample of zoos’ participation in scientific research via...

This communication discusses the Bear Care Group’s “behavior-based” enrichment philosophy, focusing on the importance of enrichment programs built on the knowledge of species’ natural histories, living strategies, and observed...

Cognitive enrichment for professionally managed species has become more prevalent in recent years in both zoological and research settings and has been encouraged as a means of welfare enhancement. However, the task’s difficulty must be specifi...

Insects are commonly utilized in biomedical research and have become increasingly popular in museum collections and as pets. Despite this, objective evaluation of insect euthanasia is scarce. This study investigated the effectiveness of targeted inje...

With a range of programs focused on local plant and insect conservation, the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden works with partners and our communities to restore landscapes and thriving ecosystems for wildlife and people. We used organizational i...

Wild bull Asian elephants spend time in all-male groups. Therefore, managers of ex situ populations increasingly house bulls together. We examined the social interactions of five bull Asian elephants at Denver Zoo, using instantaneous sampling to com...

Animals use specific behaviors and skills to overcome challenges and access resources. Environmental enrichment is provided to animals in human care to both promote species-appropriate behaviors and reduce undesired behaviors. Feather pecking in bird...

Stressors over the lifespan can contribute to physiological dysregulation, or allostatic load. Allostatic load has been studied in humans using allostatic load indices (ALIs) for over 25 years, but the same methods are rarely applied to other species...

Pinworm ova were discovered on lesser hedgehog tenrec (Echinops telfairi) fecal exams. Ova were passthrough pseudoparasite pinworms originating from feeder roaches (Blaptica dubia). Roaches were maintained as a feeder colony and offered to tenrecs as...

Global amphibian population decline is a major concern. Therefore, conservation centers have become increasingly needed for population sustainability breeding programs. This need makes proper nutrition programs while in human care imperative. The spe...

People’s attitudes toward wildlife may impact their behaviors in support of conservation. We surveyed people in the United States to determine if gender, age, or visual contexts commonly seen in zoos impacted wildlife attitudes and perceptions...

Measurements of specific acute phase proteins (APP) and protein electrophoresis (EPH) fractions have been widely used to better assess the health of species under managed care across numerous taxa. To date, APP assays have not been validated in the h...

Ex situ amphibian populations are a key component of global amphibian conservation strategy, and optimal husbandry is vital to ex situ conservation success. Animal behavior can be used to inform captive welfare and improve husbandry practices. Howeve...

Using various forms of enrichment, animal care specialists encourage species-specific behaviors and discourage stereotypic behaviors. Within the zoo community, bears (Ursids spp.) are commonly housed, yet are prone to exhibiting stress-related behavi...

Zoos and aquariums are cultural institutions that rely on a steady stream of paying visitors, whose patronage comes in the form of admission fees or product sales, for their financial health, a condition that is vital to their continued delivery on t...

In cases where social animals must be temporarily housed alone, environmental enrichment is particularly important. Providing animals with manipulable objects (“toys”) is a common form of environmental enrichment, but its effectiveness can be limited...

High-quality academic publishing is built on rigorous peer review [...]

Modern zoos and aquariums have evolved greatly since the end of the Second World War, to become centres of conservation excellence and scientific institutions for the study of animal behaviour, ecology, husbandry management. Whilst the impact of zoos...

Zoological institutions contribute a large amount of fundamental and applied knowledge on a diverse array of animal species [...]

In this study we report on associations found between several variables and changes in gorilla behavior. Two groups of gorillas were observed, one was a family group and the other was a bachelor group. The zoo was closed to visitors for two periods d...

It is important to examine the animal welfare implications of all aspects of zoo operations, including out-of-hours public events. Research to date has indicated variable responses across species and event types. The current research aimed to underst...

Blood samples are routinely collected from wild populations in remote locations with limited electricity, minimal diagnostic capabilities, and extreme environmental conditions. Under these conditions, serum samples may be stored for prolonged time un...

When subjected to cold environmental temperatures, cheloniid sea turtles can experience debilitating lethargy, anorexia, and potential mortality in a phenomenon known as cold-stunning. Every year, hundreds to thousands of cold-stunned sea turtles are...