Investigating new methods of welfare monitoring
Contributing international scientific investigations to progress animal welfare standards in zoos and field
The zoo setting offers unique opportunities to learn from animals and better their welfare, both in the wild and in human care. The controlled environment provided by zoo habitats affords a higher and more reliable level of access to specific species and more opportunities to avoid confounding variables compared to the study of animals in the wild.
This allows us to trial observation and data gathering methods in a safe setting, leading to findings that inform a better understanding of species and individual needs. We regularly share these findings with the wider zoo, aquarium and animal sanctuary community, and with conservationists working in situ.
Case Study: thermal monitoring of Komodo dragons
The Problem:
Like all reptiles, Komodo dragons rely on exterior heat sources for thermoregulation. We have adopted more efficient lamps with better heat distribution.
While conventional temperature checking methods, like using laser thermometers, allows us to gauge the air temperature beneath heat lamps and surface temperature of animals, these tools cannot tell us to what degree heat is permeating the Komodo dragons’ bodies. We need to ensure they are as warm as they ought to be, as body temperature is important to Komodo dragon health and their breeding success.
The Solution:
Our scientists triangulated Komodo dragon temperatures using FLIR cameras, thermal cameras and iButton temperature loggers which were swallowed in pieces of meat and moved through the dragons’ systems over five days.
This gave us a much more detailed picture of how Komodo dragons responded biologically to the new heat lamps, and we were able to offer support to other organisations caring for dragons, too.
As well as giving an accurate measure of internal temperature, the Komodo dragon heat sensor project allowed us to calibrate the external temperature measurements, creating a correction factor by establishing how they compared to the heat levels detected by the iButtons. We’re now able to make reasonable estimates of a dragon’s internal temperature just by checking external measurements. We created a dashboard so colleagues in other zoos can learn from our data and add their own data in while trialling different equipment.
This information allows keepers to adjust husbandry conditions if it emerges that Komodo dragons are not reaching their optimum temperatures within a timeframe similar to their wild counterparts. As a side effect, we also learned how dragons control their body temperature by moving through their environment!
Beyond Komodo dragons, our scientists have worked on other investigative projects with multiple species. These include a study looking at whether construction work affected the behaviour of lions living nearby, a project monitoring nursing and grooming behaviours in a tiger with a healthy litter of cubs, investigating how resident binturongs responded to zoo closures during covid lockdowns, tracking how personalities developed within an elephant herd over the duration of a decade, and seeing if it is beneficial to feed lions whole carcasses rather than cut joints of meat.
These findings are routinely published, benefitting the broader animal care community. They also feed in to how our animals are cared for, directly benefitting their welfare.