A Global Survey of Current Zoo Housing and Husbandry Practices for Fossa: A Preliminary Review

Jessica J Harley,Lisa O’Hara,Paul E Rose

doi:10.3390/jzbg2030028

Abstract

The fossa is a specialized Malagasy carnivore housed in ex situ facilities since the late 19th century. Moderate breeding success has occurred since the 1970s, and welfare issues (notably stereotypic pacing behaviour) are commonly documented. To understand challenges relating to fossa housing and husbandry (H&H) across global facilities and to identify areas of good practice that dovetail with available husbandry standards, a survey was distributed to ZIMS-registered zoos in 2017. Results showed that outdoor housing area and volume varied greatly across facilities, the majority of fossa expressed unnatural behaviours, with pacing behaviour the most frequently observed. All fossa received enrichment, and most had public access restricted to one or two sides of the enclosure. The majority of fossa were locked in/out as part of their daily management and forty-one percent of the fossa surveyed as breeding individuals bred at the zoo. Dense cover within an enclosure, restricted public viewing areas, a variable feeding schedule and limited view of another species from the fossa exhibit appear to reduce the risk of unnatural behavior being performed. The achievement of best practice fossa husbandry may be a challenge due to its specialized ecology, the limited wild information guiding captive care, and the range of housing dimensions and exhibit features provided by zoos that makes identification of standardized practices difficult. We recommended that holders evaluate how and when enrichment is provided and assess what they are providing for environmental complexity as well as consider how the public views their fossa.

Highlights

The importance of wild ecology in zoo animal management has been highlighted in recent studies using comparative methods to identify species-level risk factors for stereotypical behaviour in carnivores [5,6,7]
Kroshko [7] replicated these findings, adding that range size-effect was independent of body size and established that long chase distances were a predictor for stereotypic pacing. These studies elucidate the need for an animal’s behavioural ecology and natural history to be central in the development and review of housing and husbandry (H&H) best-practice for zoo animals
The questionnaire was divided into four sections with the following variables used in the study: (1) Subject background/general husbandry, including age, sex, origin, rearing, reproductive status, breeding success, and information regarding H&H practices, (2)-Indoor and outdoor enclosure sizes, and features including substrates, level of cover, trees/climbing apparatus, public viewing areas, (3) Training and enrichment including the type of enrichment provision and frequency utilized, and

Summary

Introduction

Kroshko [7] replicated these findings, adding that range size-effect was independent of body size and established that long chase distances were a predictor for stereotypic pacing. These studies elucidate the need for an animal’s behavioural ecology and natural history to be central in the development and review of H&H best-practice for zoo animals. Conditions of captivity (H&H) may result in physiological stress, in which the stress response triggers hormonal, physiological and behavioural responses to help an animal survive potentially aversive stimuli [8] While these responses are adaptive, chronic stress may cause increased secretion of glucocorticoids, reduced fecundity, inactivity or stereotypic behaviours, impacting the welfare of the animal [8,9,10]

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Results

Discussion

Conclusion