Space allowance and the behaviour of captive southern hairy-nosed wombats (Lasiorhinus latifrons)

作者：Descovich Kristin A^*; Lisle Allan T; Johnston Stephen; Phillips Clive J C

来源：Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 2012, 140(1-2): 92-98.

DOI：10.1016/j.applanim.2012.05.009

• Wombat
• Captivity
• Enclosure
• Space allowance

Captive southern hairy-nosed wombats (Lasiorhinus latifrons) often display indicators of sub-standard welfare, including aggression and stereotypical pacing. To determine if space availability influences the welfare of wombats, the behaviour of three groups of L. latifrons (n = 3) was studied in three different sized enclosures: small (S) (75.5 m(2); the minimum space requirement for three wombats in Queensland, Australia), medium (M) (151 m(2), twice the minimum space) and large (L) (224 m(2), three times the minimum space) in a Latin square design. Compared to wombats in larger enclosures, those in the small enclosure were observed to display more biting (S: 1.96; M: 0.42; L: 0.28, SED +/- 0.56 counts/day, P=0.01), retreat from conspecifics (S: 15.0; M: 9.9; L: 7.1 SED +/- 2.66 counts/day, P=0.03), and visual scanning (S: 52.8; M: 33.9; L: 28.8, SED +/- 4.62 counts/day, P < 0.001); they also spent more time fenceline digging, which may represent attempts to escape (S: 0.78; M: 0.16; L: 0.24, SED +/- 10.07 min/m/day, P < 0.0001). Those in the largest enclosure showed less self-directed grooming behaviour than those in the two smaller enclosures (S: 23.80; M: 24.08; L: 14.42, SED +/- 3.22 counts/day, P = 0.02). It is concluded that small enclosure size had a negative impact on the behaviour of wombat, and as a consequence, current minimum space requirements for wombats in captivity should be reassessed.

• 出版日期2012-8