The artificial living conditions of captive animals present numerous challenges for animal caretakers. In this study I explored abnormal behaviors in certain caged animals at the Kuala Lumpur Zoo. Findings obtained from observations of animals and interviews of the zoo staff are followed by recommendations: including the development of standards and manuals, licensing of zoos and animals, and i...

In the daily management of their charges, animal caretakers regularly apply behavioral techniques, including shaping, use of discriminative stimuli, and varied schedules of reinforcement. However, zoo professionals have not adequately analyzed the behavioral contingencies involved in their management procedures or the consequences of the absence of natural contingencies (Forthman-Quick, 1984; M...

A study selected 5 cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) located at the Frank Buck Zoo in Gainesville, Texas, for a food preference assessment. The study used a paired-choice procedure across 7 different food items for all 5 tamarins. Preferences for the food items across all the tamarins varied, although general trends were noted as well. This article discusses the benefits of using paired-ch...

We employ static analysis to examine monotonicity of functions defined over lattices in a λ-calculus augmented with constants, branching, meets, joins and recursive definitions. The need for such a verification procedure has recently arisen in our work with a static analyzer generator called Zoo, in which the specification of static analysis (input to Zoo) consists of finite-height lattice defi...

The Phoenix Zoo is currently housing three female wild-born Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) who came to us from other organizations with a variety of health and behavioral problems, some of which have been exasperated since arriving at our facility. Each of these elephants has had a troubled past and they were labeled as ‘problem animals’. The Phoenix Zoo, through various circumstances, acqui...

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of amoebic infection in non-human primates (NHPs) from six Zoological gardens in the United Kingdom. Initially, 126 faecal samples were collected from 37 individually identified NHPs at Twycross Zoo, UK, and were subjected to microscopic examination. A subsequent, nationwide experiment included 350 faecal samples from 89 individually identif...

We previously reported that African (Loxodonta africana) and Asian (Elephas maximus) female elephants in European zoos have shorter adult lifespans than protected conspecifics in range countries. This effect was the cause of greatest concern in Asian elephants, and risk factors within this species included being zoo-born, transferred between zoos, and possibly removed early from the mother. Her...

The purpose of this survey study was to compare students’ measured Likert scale perceptions of posttest school climate survey, relevance, rigor, and relationships domain scores following 11thand 12th-grade participation in either an integrated experiential zoo-based academic high school science program (n = 18) or a same school district integrated experiential school-based academic high school ...

We used a combined microscopy-molecular approach to determine the occurrence and identities of waterborne Giardia sp. cysts isolated from 18 separate, 10l grab samples collected from a Malaysian zoo. Microscopy revealed that 17 of 18 samples were Giardia cyst positive with concentrations ranging from 1 to 120 cysts/l. Nine (52.9%) of the 17 cyst positive samples produced amplicons of which 7 (7...

The Detroit Zoological Society's (DZS) Center for Zoo Animal Welfare (CZAW) was created to advance the science and policy of the welfare of exotic nonhuman animals in captivity. This important part of the DZS mission is achieved through assessments of, and research on, the welfare of animals in zoos; by recognizing extraordinary achievement in the advancement of animal welfare; by widely sharin...