Effects of captive environment on Sumatran Tigers (Panthera tigris sumatrae) behaviour Implications of ex-situ conservation

• Autor(a) principal: Gomes, Diana Inês Oliveira
• Data de Publicação: 2018
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10348/8346

In the past few years, the number of people fighting against the captivity of animals has increased. Many pro-animal organisations fight to close zoos and wildlife parks and ask for the releasing of those animals back into the wild. Wild animals are maintained in zoological facilities for purposes of education, conservation, research and recreation. Although zoos consist of captive environments (that are correlated to behaviour alterations and stereotypical movements), they prove themselves to be vital for the conservation of endangered species. Studies have proven that the surroundings of an animal’s artificial habitat, as well as enrichment techniques, can influence behaviour and mostly have an impact on animals’ global welfare. The present work was carried out at Fota Wildlife Park, during an internship. During this internship, many tasks connected to the Education Department were performed, as well as some chores regarding the animals’ daily care. All the education activities are essential, since they open doors to learning the value of wildlife, to the importance it represents to the planet and the part each one of us should assume to keep wild biodiversity safe and protected. Additionally, an ethological study was held based on the Sumatran Tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae), one of the most endangered felid species in the world. With a small “population” of 3 Sumatran Tigers, Fota Wildlife Park presents a captive environment that surpasses the average necessary conditions demanded by law to keep tiger specimens. The study data was collected by observing the individuals’ behaviours in face of diverse stimulus. As some questions were previously derived, and to operationalise the work, an ethogram was created to help understand the relation between stimulus and behaviours. The results than obtained revealed some significant outcomes that can be positively relevant, adding valued evidence to the information already found in other studies of the same kind: One can observe that enrichment and visitors’ presence help diminish the animals’ stress; in other respects, rainy weather is responsible for the opposite, causing visible discomfort on the individuals; also rather relevant is the fact that the individual personality of the animals must be considered when making behavioural studies; naturalistic environments not only provide an aesthetic aspect to the settings but, most relevant, they also have a positive reaction on the visitors’ perception of welfare.