Evaluation of Cortisol and Stress in Captive Animals

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between stres and cortisol levels in captive animals. Stress is defined as a physiologic response to events perceived as potentially or actually threatening the integrity of the body. Serum, saliva or urine cortisol has been extensively used as a stress indicator in many mammalian species. Stereotypic behavior is exhibited by a wide range of captive animals. Its association with hormones, especially elevated cortisol level and lack of naturalistic stimuli in the environment, has been little studied. Therefore, Cortisol levels were reviewed after short-term stressors and compared them to cortisol levels in captive animals in this article. It was found some significant important the relationships among the stess and cortisol level in captive animals. Recently, fecal cortisol metabolites have been identified as an index of stress in animals. Since many captive and wild populations of endangered species are intensively managed, measuring fecal cortisol metabolites will be useful to identify factors affecting animal well-being in captivity.