Personality assessment and feline–keepers relationship in lions (Panthera leo)
Animal personality is a growing research area due to the increasing evidence of the impact that it has on welfare, health and management of animals in captivity (Freeman and Gosling, 2010). Testing and improving existent methodologies, as well as develop new ones, to outline animal personality is an...
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doaj-cab4c212b4454ee6bb0b4130f47338a12020-11-25T03:19:02ZengUniversità degli Studi di MilanoInternational Journal of Health, Animal Science and Food Safety2283-39272016-06-0131s10.13130/2283-3927/71026346Personality assessment and feline–keepers relationship in lions (Panthera leo)Giovanni Quintavalle Pastorino0Nuno Soares1Silvia Michela Mazzola2Richard Preziosi3Mariangela Albertini4Department of Veterinary Medicine, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 10, 20133 MilanInstitute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regents Park, London, NW1 4RY,Department of Veterinary Medicine, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 10, 20133 MilanFaculty of Life Sciences, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PTDepartment of Veterinary Medicine, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 10, 20133 MilanAnimal personality is a growing research area due to the increasing evidence of the impact that it has on welfare, health and management of animals in captivity (Freeman and Gosling, 2010). Testing and improving existent methodologies, as well as develop new ones, to outline animal personality is an important step towards welfare, health and longevity of captive animals (Phillips, 2007; Whitham and Wielebnowski, 2013). Lions (Panthera leo) were chosen for this study because the species is understudied compared to other felidae species in personality matters and because it displays a vast, diverse and well known behaviour repertoire (Schaller, 1973). Behavioural observations were conducted on the seven African lions housed in ZSL Whipsnade zoo. Keeper-animal interactions were recorded and a personality questionnaire was given to the keepers in order to rate 28 personality traits (Chadwick, 2014). Sociogram, composite sociality index (CSI) and spread of participation index (SPI) were also used to assess personality traits (Stanton 2015). Data gathered in this pilot study was successfully used to produce ID like personality traits profiles for all animals, to delineate personality traits, outline the unique characteristics of each subject. A sociogram consent to access and validate the dyad solitary/social and a SPI to understand each animal enclosure usage and relate it to the trait triad affiliate/fearful/aggressive towards humans. We believe this approach is promising and could be applied to investigate keeper-animal interactions also in other species. The limitation of this study is the sample size of the animal considered; in future research we hope to test other animals in order to validate the methodologies.http://riviste.unimi.it/index.php/haf/article/view/7102Panthera leo, personality assessment, ZSL, African lions, methodologies |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Giovanni Quintavalle Pastorino Nuno Soares Silvia Michela Mazzola Richard Preziosi Mariangela Albertini |
spellingShingle |
Giovanni Quintavalle Pastorino Nuno Soares Silvia Michela Mazzola Richard Preziosi Mariangela Albertini Personality assessment and feline–keepers relationship in lions (Panthera leo) International Journal of Health, Animal Science and Food Safety Panthera leo, personality assessment, ZSL, African lions, methodologies |
author_facet |
Giovanni Quintavalle Pastorino Nuno Soares Silvia Michela Mazzola Richard Preziosi Mariangela Albertini |
author_sort |
Giovanni Quintavalle Pastorino |
title |
Personality assessment and feline–keepers relationship in lions (Panthera leo) |
title_short |
Personality assessment and feline–keepers relationship in lions (Panthera leo) |
title_full |
Personality assessment and feline–keepers relationship in lions (Panthera leo) |
title_fullStr |
Personality assessment and feline–keepers relationship in lions (Panthera leo) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Personality assessment and feline–keepers relationship in lions (Panthera leo) |
title_sort |
personality assessment and feline–keepers relationship in lions (panthera leo) |
publisher |
Università degli Studi di Milano |
series |
International Journal of Health, Animal Science and Food Safety |
issn |
2283-3927 |
publishDate |
2016-06-01 |
description |
Animal personality is a growing research area due to the increasing evidence of the impact that it has on welfare, health and management of animals in captivity (Freeman and Gosling, 2010). Testing and improving existent methodologies, as well as develop new ones, to outline animal personality is an important step towards welfare, health and longevity of captive animals (Phillips, 2007; Whitham and Wielebnowski, 2013). Lions (Panthera leo) were chosen for this study because the species is understudied compared to other felidae species in personality matters and because it displays a vast, diverse and well known behaviour repertoire (Schaller, 1973). Behavioural observations were conducted on the seven African lions housed in ZSL Whipsnade zoo. Keeper-animal interactions were recorded and a personality questionnaire was given to the keepers in order to rate 28 personality traits (Chadwick, 2014). Sociogram, composite sociality index (CSI) and spread of participation index (SPI) were also used to assess personality traits (Stanton 2015). Data gathered in this pilot study was successfully used to produce ID like personality traits profiles for all animals, to delineate personality traits, outline the unique characteristics of each subject. A sociogram consent to access and validate the dyad solitary/social and a SPI to understand each animal enclosure usage and relate it to the trait triad affiliate/fearful/aggressive towards humans. We believe this approach is promising and could be applied to investigate keeper-animal interactions also in other species. The limitation of this study is the sample size of the animal considered; in future research we hope to test other animals in order to validate the methodologies. |
topic |
Panthera leo, personality assessment, ZSL, African lions, methodologies |
url |
http://riviste.unimi.it/index.php/haf/article/view/7102 |
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