liu.seSearch for publications in DiVA
Change search
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • oxford
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf
Effects of environmental enrichment on the behaviour of zoo-housed cinereous vultures Aegypius monachus
Linköping University, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology. Linköping University, Faculty of Science & Engineering. Univ Exeter, England; Univ Paris Saclay, France.
Royal Zool Soc Antwerp, Belgium.
Linköping University, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, Biology. Linköping University, Faculty of Science & Engineering.ORCID iD: 0000-0001-5583-2697
Royal Zool Soc Antwerp, Belgium.
2025 (English)In: JOURNAL OF ZOO AND AQUARIUM RESEARCH, ISSN 2214-7594, Vol. 13, no 2, p. 96-107Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Environmental enrichment is used to enhance the well-being of zoo-housed animals by providing a variety of stimuli and to encourage the expression of species-specific natural behaviours. This study assessed the effects of different types of environmental enrichment on the behaviour of 13 cinereous vultures Aegypius monachus in a zoo setting. Six enrichment items were used: large carcasses, forage boxes, twig balls, a wooden box with tubes, mirrors, and basketballs. Vulture behaviour was observed and compared between a baseline period and an enrichment period. The vultures only interacted with the large carcass and mirror enrichments, likely due to neophobia toward novel stimuli. However, we found a significant decrease in abnormal repetitive behaviours during the enrichment period, even with enrichment items that the vultures did not directly interact with. Finally, the presentation of large carcasses allowed the zoo-housed vultures to behave more naturally as they would in the wild, significantly increasing their social and locomotive behaviours. Overall, this study highlights the importance of providing optimal conditions for zoo-housed vultures, particularly given the endangered status of many species and their involvement in breeding programs aimed to boost wild populations.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
EUROPEAN ASSOC ZOOS & AQUARIA - EAZA , 2025. Vol. 13, no 2, p. 96-107
Keywords [en]
behaviour; animal welfare; carcass; neophobia; vulture; environmental; enrichment; zoo-housed animals
National Category
Ecology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-213729DOI: 10.19227/jzar.v13i2.877ISI: 001481177700003OAI: oai:DiVA.org:liu-213729DiVA, id: diva2:1959798
Note

Funding Agencies|Flemish government

Available from: 2025-05-21 Created: 2025-05-21 Last updated: 2025-05-21

Open Access in DiVA

No full text in DiVA

Other links

Publisher's full text

Search in DiVA

By author/editor
Smith, JessicaLaska, Matthias
By organisation
Department of Physics, Chemistry and BiologyFaculty of Science & EngineeringBiology
Ecology

Search outside of DiVA

GoogleGoogle Scholar

doi
urn-nbn

Altmetric score

doi
urn-nbn
Total: 40 hits
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • oxford
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf