Animal welfare assessment and implementation of environmental enrichment in captive felines
Keywords:
animal welfare, environmental enrichment, wild felids, behavior, wildlife management unitsAbstract
Animal welfare in captive wildlife represents an ongoing challenge for Wildlife Management Units (WMUs), particularly in species with nocturnal habits and wide-ranging behavior such as wild felids. The aim of this study was to describe the behavior of eight captive wild felids and to document their behavioral response following the implementation of environmental enrichment, using direct observation and ethograms. The study was conducted in a WMU located in northern Sonora, Mexico. Behavioral categories related to locomotion, resting, exploration, feeding, interaction with the environment, and repetitive behaviors were recorded before and after the application of different environmental enrichment strategies. The results revealed interspecific and individual variability in behavioral repertoires, as well as observable changes in the frequency of certain behaviors, particularly those associated with exploration and interaction with the environment after enrichment implementation. However, persistence of repetitive behaviors was observed in some individuals. The descriptive analysis of animal welfare, based on behavioral indicators and human management components, indicated an overall medium-level animal welfare category, with higher values in species showing greater behavioral diversity following environmental enrichment. The findings should be interpreted exclusively from a behavioral perspective, as physiological stress indicators were not assessed.
http://dx.doi.org/10.21929/abavet2026.4
e2024-45
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