Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM)

The study took place at seven different animal parks in Sweden : Avesta European bison Park , Borås Zoo, Eriksberg Wildlife Sanctuary, Kolmården Wildlife Park , Lycksele Zoo, Skånes Djurpark and Skansen.

The number of animals observed in each park varied from 3 to 24 individuals. The different enclosures were either naturalistic or barren and the size ranged from 1 400 to 9 million square meters. An enclosure was considered to be naturalistic when the animals had the possibility to graze from the ground whereas in a barren enclosure they had not.

This test was performed in five of the parks (Borås Zoo, Kolmården Wildlife Park , Lycksele Zoo, Skansen, and Skånes Djurpark). Faeces from moose, wolf and bear were presented to the animals, one stimulus each day between six and seven in the evening. The animals’ reactions were recorded with a video camera. The duration of interest in the smell was later analysed and compared between the different enclosure characteristics.

The auditory stimuli test was performed in all seven parks and the visual stimulus test was performed in all parks except Eriksberg Wildlife Sanctuary. Sound from moose, wolf and bear, and a silhouette of a wolf ( 150 cm length ´65 cm high) (Figure 1) was presented to the animals.

The stimuli was presented to the animals, one each day, starting between six and seven in the evening. Each stimulus was presented twice with three minutes interval. The animals’ reaction to the stimuli was ranked according to a four-level scale (Table 1). The percent of individuals in each response category was calculated for each enclosure characteristic. The behaviour was recorded with a video camera. The animals’ reaction to the stimulus and how long time they were interest in the stimuli was later analysed and compared between the different enclosure characteristics.

The selected behaviours (Table 2) were extracted using focal sampling. Pre-test baseline observations were carried out for four hours during three evenings before the different stimuli in the Olfactory, Auditory and Visual tests were presented. Post-test baseline observations were done during four hours following exposure to different stimuli. One female and one male in each park were observed and all seven parks were combined. The change in behaviour over time was then compared between the different types of stimuli and pre-test baseline.