Why are you not breeding? : a study on the reproductive success of captive wolverines (Gulo g. gulo)

Conservation biologists have long faced the very challenging task of large carnivore conservation. Both their hunting habits and their very specific ecology make their conservation particularly difficult. Wolverines (Gulo g. gulo) are a good example of this. The population of wolverines is close to...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor principal: Slof Pacilio, María
Formato: H2
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: SLU/Dept. of Animal Environment and Health (until 231231) 2019
Materias:
_version_ 1855572692277657600
author Slof Pacilio, María
author_browse Slof Pacilio, María
author_facet Slof Pacilio, María
author_sort Slof Pacilio, María
collection Epsilon Archive for Student Projects
description Conservation biologists have long faced the very challenging task of large carnivore conservation. Both their hunting habits and their very specific ecology make their conservation particularly difficult. Wolverines (Gulo g. gulo) are a good example of this. The population of wolverines is close to extinction due to human persecution and habitat loss. The European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) introduced the European Endangered Species Program (EEP) for the Wolverine in 1994 but it experiences some irregular breeding. The aim of this study was to identify factors that could be connected to breeding success in these captive wolverines regarding the characteristics of the enclosures, the wolverine biology, the characteristics of the institutions and the influences of the human-animal interactions. To this end, an online survey was developed and sent to all holders of wolverines included in the EEP program. Overall, no main factor or group of factors investigated in this study seemed to be the clear explanation of the differences in breeding success between institutions participating in the Wolverine EEP Program, partly because of the small sample size. However, enclosure size and keeper effect could actually have had an effect on their breeding and further research on these topics is needed. Emphasis has been given to provide the best adequate environment for a wolverine and have good husbandry practices.
format H2
id RepoSLU16110
institution Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
language Inglés
publishDate 2019
publishDateSort 2019
publisher SLU/Dept. of Animal Environment and Health (until 231231)
publisherStr SLU/Dept. of Animal Environment and Health (until 231231)
record_format eprints
spelling RepoSLU161102020-10-06T01:05:51Z Why are you not breeding? : a study on the reproductive success of captive wolverines (Gulo g. gulo) Slof Pacilio, María breeding success wolverine reproduction zoo animal welfare behavior enrichment training zookeepers Conservation biologists have long faced the very challenging task of large carnivore conservation. Both their hunting habits and their very specific ecology make their conservation particularly difficult. Wolverines (Gulo g. gulo) are a good example of this. The population of wolverines is close to extinction due to human persecution and habitat loss. The European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) introduced the European Endangered Species Program (EEP) for the Wolverine in 1994 but it experiences some irregular breeding. The aim of this study was to identify factors that could be connected to breeding success in these captive wolverines regarding the characteristics of the enclosures, the wolverine biology, the characteristics of the institutions and the influences of the human-animal interactions. To this end, an online survey was developed and sent to all holders of wolverines included in the EEP program. Overall, no main factor or group of factors investigated in this study seemed to be the clear explanation of the differences in breeding success between institutions participating in the Wolverine EEP Program, partly because of the small sample size. However, enclosure size and keeper effect could actually have had an effect on their breeding and further research on these topics is needed. Emphasis has been given to provide the best adequate environment for a wolverine and have good husbandry practices. SLU/Dept. of Animal Environment and Health (until 231231) 2019 H2 eng https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/16110/
spellingShingle breeding success
wolverine
reproduction
zoo
animal welfare
behavior
enrichment
training
zookeepers
Slof Pacilio, María
Why are you not breeding? : a study on the reproductive success of captive wolverines (Gulo g. gulo)
title Why are you not breeding? : a study on the reproductive success of captive wolverines (Gulo g. gulo)
title_full Why are you not breeding? : a study on the reproductive success of captive wolverines (Gulo g. gulo)
title_fullStr Why are you not breeding? : a study on the reproductive success of captive wolverines (Gulo g. gulo)
title_full_unstemmed Why are you not breeding? : a study on the reproductive success of captive wolverines (Gulo g. gulo)
title_short Why are you not breeding? : a study on the reproductive success of captive wolverines (Gulo g. gulo)
title_sort why are you not breeding? : a study on the reproductive success of captive wolverines (gulo g. gulo)
topic breeding success
wolverine
reproduction
zoo
animal welfare
behavior
enrichment
training
zookeepers