{"id":136541,"date":"2024-12-13T11:14:23","date_gmt":"2024-12-13T04:14:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=136541"},"modified":"2024-12-13T11:14:23","modified_gmt":"2024-12-13T04:14:23","slug":"when-the-pandemic-came-zoos-closed-and-animals-began-to-act-differently-sciencealert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=136541","title":{"rendered":"When The Pandemic Came, Zoos Closed, And Animals Began to Act Differently : ScienceAlert"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>We all had to make adjustments as the  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencealert.com\/coronavirus\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" data-linkid=\"73041\" data-postid=\"146739\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_self\">COVID-19<\/a>  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencealert.com\/pandemic\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" data-linkid=\"73047\" data-postid=\"146739\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_self\">pandemic<\/a> unfolded \u2013 even zoo animals who were suddenly not seeing crowds of visitors pass by every single day.<\/p>\n<p>In a study published in 2022, researchers discovered how primates reacted to that shift, looking at the behavior of bonobos, chimpanzees, western lowland gorillas, and olive baboons, and finding that the animals changed their habits in a variety of ways, including the amount of time they spent resting and eating.<\/p>\n<p><!-- START single\/mrec --><br \/>\n<!-- END single\/mrec --><\/p>\n<p>Visitor interactions are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-2615\/10\/10\/1870\">thought to be crucial<\/a> to the welfare of zoo animals. Yet these interactions have the potential to be either positive or negative. So the researchers were keen to see the difference when the crowds weren&#8217;t there.<\/p>\n<p><!-- START single\/mrec --><br \/>\n<!-- END single\/mrec --><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Primates are some of the most cognitively advanced species in zoos and their interactions with visitors are complex,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ntu.ac.uk\/about-us\/news\/news-articles\/2022\/08\/primate-behaviour-changed-as-zoos-closed-for-pandemic,-research-suggests\">zoo animal welfare scientist Samantha Ward<\/a> from Nottingham Trent University in the UK explained at the time.<\/p>\n<p><!-- START single\/mrec --><br \/>\n<!-- END single\/mrec --><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;A limitation to understanding how visitors can affect behavior of animals in zoos and parks is that they rarely close to the public for prolonged periods, so this provided us with a unique opportunity.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_146742\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-146742\" style=\"width: 642px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sciencealert.com\/images\/2024\/12\/WesternLowlandGorilla642.jpg\" alt=\"Close up of a large gorilla\" width=\"642\" height=\"446\" class=\"size-full wp-image-146742\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sciencealert.com\/images\/2024\/12\/WesternLowlandGorilla642.jpg 642w, https:\/\/www.sciencealert.com\/images\/2024\/12\/WesternLowlandGorilla642-597x415.jpg 597w, https:\/\/www.sciencealert.com\/images\/2024\/12\/WesternLowlandGorilla642-600x417.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 642px) 100vw, 642px\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-146742\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Animals changed their habits in a variety of ways. (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.canva.com\/photos\/MAECzDA7IWc\/\">Philippe Clement\/Canva<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Observations were recorded at Twycross Zoo and Knowsley Safari in the UK, both before and after visitors returned.<\/p>\n<p><!-- START single\/mrec --><br \/>\n<!-- END single\/mrec --><\/p>\n<p>Over several months and multiple open and closure periods, there were noticeable changes in primate behavior, which varied depending on the animal.<\/p>\n<p><!-- START single\/mrec --><br \/>\n<!-- END single\/mrec --><\/p>\n<p>As visitors began to return to the zoo, the bonobos and gorillas spent less time alone, while the gorillas also spent less time resting. Chimpanzees, meanwhile, were eating more and engaging with their enclosures more when zoos reopened.<\/p>\n<p><!-- START single\/mrec --><br \/>\n<!-- END single\/mrec --><\/p>\n<p>The olive baboons in the safari park were seen to engage in less sexual and dominance behavior when the visitors came back. They also tended to approach visitor cars more often, compared with the ranger vehicles they saw when the park was closed.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_146741\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-146741\" style=\"width: 642px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sciencealert.com\/images\/2024\/12\/OliveBaboons642.jpg\" alt=\"Six olive baboons \" width=\"642\" height=\"446\" class=\"size-full wp-image-146741\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sciencealert.com\/images\/2024\/12\/OliveBaboons642.jpg 642w, https:\/\/www.sciencealert.com\/images\/2024\/12\/OliveBaboons642-597x415.jpg 597w, https:\/\/www.sciencealert.com\/images\/2024\/12\/OliveBaboons642-600x417.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 642px) 100vw, 642px\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-146741\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">There were noticeable changes in primate behavior. (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/photo\/a-group-of-olive-baboons-sitting-on-brown-sand-9469392\/\">Berend de Kort\/Pexels<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Whether or not these changes were positive is more difficult to say.<\/p>\n<p><!-- START single\/mrec --><br \/>\n<!-- END single\/mrec --><\/p>\n<p>The researchers suggest that the returning visitors seemed to stimulate the chimpanzees and baboons, while gorillas and bonobos spending less time alone could also be viewed as positive.<\/p>\n<p><!-- START single\/mrec --><br \/>\n<!-- END single\/mrec --><\/p>\n<p>At the same time, it could be argued that gorillas \u2013 naturally more sedentary animals \u2013 were disrupted by the crowds in that they spent less time resting.<\/p>\n<p><!-- START single\/mrec --><br \/>\n<!-- END single\/mrec --><\/p>\n<p>That the gorillas changed the parts of their enclosures they spent the most time in when visitors came back suggests that the animals can to some extent manage this disruption.<\/p>\n<p><!-- START single\/mrec --><br \/>\n<!-- END single\/mrec --><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Behavioral changes and changes in enclosure use in the presence of visitors highlights the adaptability of zoo species to their environments,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ntu.ac.uk\/about-us\/news\/news-articles\/2022\/08\/primate-behaviour-changed-as-zoos-closed-for-pandemic,-research-suggests\">said zoo animal welfare researcher Ellen Williams<\/a> from Harper Adams University in the UK.<\/p>\n<p><!-- START single\/mrec --><br \/>\n<!-- END single\/mrec --><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Provision of environments which enable animals to actively adapt in this manner is really important for their welfare.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><!-- START single\/mrec --><br \/>\n<!-- END single\/mrec --><\/p>\n<p>The team also observed that there was a visitor number threshold when it came to olive baboons, beyond which the animals stopped becoming increasingly active and stimulated by the passing cars in the safari park.<\/p>\n<p><!-- START single\/mrec --><br \/>\n<!-- END single\/mrec --><\/p>\n<p>This is all valuable data for animal welfare researchers, who know that visitors can have all kinds of effects on wildlife \u2013 from adding feelings of companionship and safety, to being sources of annoyance or even threats. This needs to be factored into how zoos and parks are run and designed.<\/p>\n<p><!-- START single\/mrec --><br \/>\n<!-- END single\/mrec --><\/p>\n<p>While there might not be any more lockdowns in the foreseeable future (hopefully), the research team wants to continue the work of studying how visitor numbers affect animal behavior, including collecting data involving more animals and across a longer time scale.<\/p>\n<p><!-- START single\/mrec --><br \/>\n<!-- END single\/mrec --><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Future work could involve looking at the impact on a wider range of species in both zoos and safari parks as well as differences among individual animals,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ntu.ac.uk\/about-us\/news\/news-articles\/2022\/08\/primate-behaviour-changed-as-zoos-closed-for-pandemic,-research-suggests\">said Williams<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><!-- START single\/mrec --><br \/>\n<!-- END single\/mrec --><\/p>\n<p>The research was published in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-2615\/12\/13\/1622\/htm\"><em>Animals<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><em>An earlier version of this article was published in September 2022.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1660802\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencealert.com\/when-the-pandemic-came-zoos-closed-and-animals-began-to-act-differently\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We all had to make adjustments as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded \u2013 even zoo animals who were suddenly not seeing crowds of visitors pass by every single day. In a &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=136541\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8628],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-136541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-science","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=136541"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136541\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=136541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=136541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=136541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}