Kristen E. Lukas

Facility design for Bachelor Gorilla groups

This paper emerged from discussions following the Bachelor Gorilla 2000 Workshop Facility Design sessions. Although many ape facility design features are common to all gorillas, the purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of special needs of bachelor gorillas. For example, managing escalating aggression between maturing or silverback males may require a high degree of caregiver intervention and thus easy access to gorillas both on- and off-exhibit is beneficial. Facility design features that reduce contact aggression, increase affiliation, provide visual barriers or escape routes, and allow safe outlets for species-typical behavior are essential to the successful management of bachelor gorilla groups in zoos. Such provisions permit caregivers the ability to constantly monitor and modify the zoo environment to meet rapidly changing husbandry needs. Creatively designed habitats and continuing research on bachelor group dynamics will undoubtedly allow zoo managers to maintain all gorilla groups in an environmental and social context that enhances well-being over the long term.

The Impact of a Modern, Naturalistic Exhibit Design on Visitor Behavior: A Cross-Facility Comparison

ABSTRACT This study explored how the physical context of a species enclosure might affect visitor exploration of the exhibit space. Tracking and timing studies were conducted in 2 different designs of an exhibition space focused on African apes to determine if the new, more naturally designed exhibit was explored in a manner different from the former, more traditionally designed space. Observations of 825 individuals demonstrated that visitors spent 59% more time within the more naturalistic setting and moved more slowly through the space compared with the more traditional structure. In addition, significantly fewer visitors engaged in inappropriate glass tapping within the new space. The naturalistic design seemed to affect certain groups more than others, as females tended to have longer visit durations and adults tended to observe the resident apes more than children. This research highlights the importance of physical context to the overall learning experience of visitors to zoos and assists in understanding the links between sensory experiences and science content.

The effects of increased hay-to-grain ratio on behavior, metabolic health measures, and fecal bacterial communities in four Masai giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo

We evaluated whether increasing the hay-to-grain ratio offered to Masai giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo would reduce oral stereotypies and alter feeding behaviors, maintain or increase serum calcium-to-phosphorus ratio, decrease serum insulin-to-glucose ratio and salivary insulin, and alter fecal bacterial community structure. Giraffe transitioned to a ∼90:10 hay-to-grain ratio in even increments over 8 weeks. A ration balancer was added during the seventh week of transition to ensure proper mineral and nutrient balance. We collected (1) behavioral data collected approximately daily using instantaneous focal sampling; (2) serum collections every other week for insulin-to-glucose and calcium-to-phosphorus ratio analysis and saliva weekly for insulin analysis; and (3) weekly fecal sample collections to examine changes in bacterial community structure during the 8 weeks preceding and following the diet change. After the diet change, giraffe spent significantly more time feeding and less time performing tongue and mouth stereotypies, people-directed and alert behaviors. Salivary and serum insulin and serum insulin-to-glucose ratio decreased, and fecal bacterial community structure changed significantly. However, serum calcium-to-phosphorus ratio remained >1:1 throughout the study. While further studies are needed to elucidate the nature and implications of the change in fecal bacterial community structure and metabolic hormones, the results of this study show promise for incremental improvements in health and welfare from feeding a higher proportion of forage in the diet.

Book Review: Gorilla Biology. A Multidisciplinary Perspective.Edited by Andrea B. Taylor and Michele L. Goldsmith, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, xx + 508 pp. 2003, US

Gorilla Biology. A Multidisciplinary Perspective provides new information on gorilla taxonomy, morphology, genetics, and behavioral ecology, particularly in western gorillas. The verve of the 1999 conference session that inspired these papers is captured and cultivated in the book. Topics range in depth from an overview of gorilla taxonomy to an excruciatingly detailed examination of the morphology of masticatory behavior in gorillas. The goals of the book were twofold: to fill a gap in the primatological literature by synthesizing recent research findings and emphasizing a comparative and interdisciplinary approach. In many ways, the editors achieved these objectives. Both Albrecht et al. and Leigh et al. remind the reader to consider that intraspecific variation in gorilla morphology is greater than variation between subspecies and thus phenotypic analyses should incorporate adequate sample sizes at the every level. Tutin’s chapter is an excellent, concise overview of gorilla behavioral ecology, and Goldsmith’s use of the same methodology to study western and mountain gorillas provides a unique contribution to the comparative study of gorilla biology. Watts exhibited a truly comparative approach to interpreting social behavior by comparing mountain gorillas to other gorillas, primates, and mammals. Sarmiento examined causal links of gorilla survival and explicitly stated the relevance of taxonomy, genetics, censusing, and ecology to conservation. His candor and urgency on this topic are compelling. The editors only partially achieved their goals, however. New data from a variety of disciplines were presented, but the focus was still relatively narrow and limited to field studies. For example, half the book focused on genetics and taxonomy alone. Information is still lacking on topics such as epidemiology, reproduction, infant development, and neurology. An interdisciplinary book on gorilla biology might also have included a chapter on the contribution of captive research to the understanding of