<p><strong>The escalating extinction of wildlife puts a high pressure on the standard of ex situ conservation. Some animals may spend several generations in captivity which may affect their natural behaviors and also a future reintroduction into the wild. Observations of animal behavior among captive animals are crucial for the understanding of ex situ conservation effects on behavior and in order to introduce and improve environmental enrichment. This study investigates activity and enclosure use of a sand cat (<em>Felis margarita</em>) at Parken zoo in Eskilstuna Sweden. Direct observations of behavior and movements were carried out and audience impact was also analyzed. The sand cat in the present study showed no behavioural response to the audience but it had some effect on his location in the enclosure. I also found that he was more active during late afternoon after feeding time and that he slept most during the forenoon. He used the whole enclosure to some extent but he spent most of his time in the cave, the front and the middle of the enclosure. Although he did not show any typical stereotypic behavior he had some odd habits that could probably be prevented through environmental enrichment. </strong><strong></strong></p>

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The escalating extinction of wildlife puts a high pressure on the standard of ex situ conservation. Some animals may spend several generations in captivity which may affect their natural behaviors and also a future reintroduction into the wild. Observations of animal behavior among captive animals are crucial for the understanding of ex situ conservation effects on behavior and in order to introduce and improve environmental enrichment. This study investigates activity and enclosure use of a sand cat (Felis margarita) at Parken zoo in Eskilstuna Sweden. Direct observations of behavior and movements were carried out and audience impact was also analyzed. The sand cat in the present study showed no behavioural response to the audience but it had some effect on his location in the enclosure. I also found that he was more active during late afternoon after feeding time and that he slept most during the forenoon. He used the whole enclosure to some extent but he spent most of his time in the cave, the front and the middle of the enclosure. Although he did not show any typical stereotypic behavior he had some odd habits that could probably be prevented through environmental enrichment.

Pigs do naturally have a high motivation to explore their environment. In a poor environment pigs still display this motivation and when there is no stimulation in the pen, pigs direct their behavior at pen-mates and pen components. Lack of stimulation can lead to decreased welfare and increased stress. This study investigates if extra stimuli by toys would affect pigs growth, health and welfare. Growing pigs (219) were followed during 7 weeks and divided into twenty two pens, eleven with toys and eleven without toys. I found partly support for the prediction that toys would help in a short time perspective but there was no support for the prediction that in a longer run the toys (used in this experiment) would increase pigs welfare. One explanation to this might be the straw that all the pens had (by law in Sweden), which seemed to be the most importuned component for satisfying pigs behavioral needs.

<p>Due to the expansion of the human population we are an increasing threat to all wild animals. They are driven to exist in smaller areas and in the worst case scenario extinction. Zoos are being encouraged to improve the animal’s physical and social surroundings. Environmental enrichment is a term used for such improvements. In this behavioural study, the enrichment introduced to two Pallas cats (<em>Felis manul</em>) at Parken Zoo in Eskilstuna, Sweden, consisted of a fishing rod and a clothes peg with a dead mouse or chick attached. The intention was to see if the feeding enrichment could increase activity levels and how the cats were using their enclosure. The enclosure was divided into seven zones which have a varying degree of opportunities for the animals to climb, hide and rest above ground level. The environmental enrichment effects on the Pallas cats´ behaviour, activity levels and use of the enclosure were measured and recorded using instantaneous scan sampling, and the mean value was calculated for each individual. The behavioural and enclosure results proved that enrichment benefits the cats activity levels. The behaviours that showed a variation when presented with enrichment were: walking, climbing, grooming, aggressive behaviour, out of sight behaviour, crouching position, sitting and standing still.  The results showed that the cats preferred the zones in the enclosure that offered a larger view of the nearby enclosures. This study shows that providing captive felids with inexpensive, easy to administer enrichment objects can have profound effects on activity behaviours and their enclosure.</p><p> </p>

Primates have traditionally been considered having a poor sense of smell compared to other orders of mammals, like carnivores, due to reduced olfactory structures of the primate brain. This thought, however, is slowly changing. There are now a range of studies showing that primates do use their sense of smell, for example in chemical communication. However, few studies have been carried out on olfactory-related behaviors in Great Apes. The aim of this study was to assess the occurrence of olfactory-related behaviors in captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). The results do not only show that chimpanzees use their sense of smell, but also a behavioral difference between male and female chimpanzees. There was a significant difference between male to female smelling of the anogenitals and male to male smelling of the anogenitals (p = 0.0001) and also a difference between the occurrences of males and females touching an object with the hand and then smelling at the hand (p = 0. 0007). There was a significant difference between male and female frequency of smelling at an object (p = 0.001) and a significant difference between the occurrences of male and female smelling at foods and liquids (p = 0.003). There were no observations of chimpanzees performing a scent-marking behavior. These results suggest that chimpanzees use their sense of smell, from investigating new objects to the inspection of food and other chimpanzees. It would be interesting in future studies to study the difference between male and female frequency of olfactory-related behaviors.

The curiosity whether or not animals have the characteristics of long term planning skills is fairly new. Some researchers agree that certain species have a form of episodic-like memory, in the terms of where, when and what. But the most difficult thing is to find out if these species have an aim for the future which involves what some call mental time travel. This study is a part of the discussion if the tests in long term planning and foresight can be explained by associative learning and the ability of self control in highly trained animals. Many self control and delay tasks have been conducted with laboratory animals such as rats, pigeons, monkeys and apes. Here we made a self control test with a reinforcement delay in pygmy hippos (Hexaprotodon liberiensis), an endangered species (listed as vulnerable at Cites, 2000), to extend the test among species. Also for trying to find out more about their cognitive skills, so we can better fulfil their needs in captivity. In this study, the female succeeded in 71,1 % (27 out of 38 trials) of the opportunities and the male in 84,2 % (32 out of 38 trials). To our knowledge this is the first study of learning and cognition in Pygmy hippos.

Due to the expansion of the human population we are an increasing threat to all wild animals. They are driven to exist in smaller areas and in the worst case scenario extinction. Zoos are being encouraged to improve the animal’s physical and social surroundings. Environmental enrichment is a term used for such improvements. In this behavioural study, the enrichment introduced to two Pallas cats (Felis manul) at Parken Zoo in Eskilstuna, Sweden, consisted of a fishing rod and a clothes peg with a dead mouse or chick attached. The intention was to see if the feeding enrichment could increase activity levels and how the cats were using their enclosure. The enclosure was divided into seven zones which have a varying degree of opportunities for the animals to climb, hide and rest above ground level. The environmental enrichment effects on the Pallas cats´ behaviour, activity levels and use of the enclosure were measured and recorded using instantaneous scan sampling, and the mean value was calculated for each individual. The behavioural and enclosure results proved that enrichment benefits the cats activity levels. The behaviours that showed a variation when presented with enrichment were: walking, climbing, grooming, aggressive behaviour, out of sight behaviour, crouching position, sitting and standing still.  The results showed that the cats preferred the zones in the enclosure that offered a larger view of the nearby enclosures. This study shows that providing captive felids with inexpensive, easy to administer enrichment objects can have profound effects on activity behaviours and their enclosure.

<p>For many years, primates have been considered to be animals with a poorly developed sense of smell. However, in recent years several studies have shown that at least some primate species have a high olfactory sensitivity for a variety of odorants. The present study used a two-choice instrumental conditioning paradigm to test the olfactory sensitivity for six aromatic aldehydes in four spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi). With helional, cyclamal,canthoxal and lilial all animals discriminated concentrations below 1 ppm from the odorless solvent, with single individuals even scoring better. With 3-phenyl-propionic aldehyde all animals detected concentrations below 2 ppb, and with bourgeonal even below 0.3 ppb. The detection thresholds of the odorants changed systematically with molecular structure. Addition of a dioxo or methoxy group to the benzene ring led to an increase in threshold values,while the absence of a methyl group close to the aldehyde moiety was linked to a low threshold value for the odorant. The study shows that spider monkeys have a well developed olfactory sensitivity for aromatic aldehydes.</p>

<p>Odor discrimination ability was tested in four female South African fur seals (<em>Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus</em>) using a food-rewarded two-choice instrumental conditioning paradigm. The seals’ ability to distinguish between members of homologous series of aliphatic ketones (2-butanone to 2-heptanone) and alcohols (1-butanol to 1-heptanol) was assessed. The results showed that three out of four seals successfully discriminated between all of their stimulus combinations in both classes of odorants. One seal succeeded to reach the discrimination criterion with all 2-ketones but failed with all 1-alcohols.</p><p>No significant correlation between odor discrimination performance and structural similarity of the odorants in terms of differences in carbon chain length was found in either of the two chemical classes. Furthermore, it was found that the 2-ketones were significantly better discriminated than the 1-alcohols. The fact that both classes of odorants are known to be present in the natural environment of seals provides a possible explanation as to why most of the seals were able to successfully discriminate between them. The results of the present study support the notion that the sense of smell may play an important role in behavioral contexts such as social communication, foraging and reproductive behavior of fur seals.</p>