Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

Syftet med studien var att kartlägga beteende och rutiner hos en amurtigerhane på Nordens Ark för
att se om hans stereotypa vandrande (pacing) kunde kopplas till utfodringsrutiner, tid på dagen,
eller storlek på hägn. Metoden som användes var kontinuerlig registrering av beteenden, samt
intervallregistrering av individens platsposition. All data registrerades i appen Zoomonitor. Resultaten visade att individen utförde mest stereotypt vandrande dagar han fastade, och allra mest på
söndagar som var dag 2 med fasta. En vecka tillämpades gorge-feeding och resultatet visade att
individens vilobeteende ökade från 44 % till 64 %, och att det stereotypa vandrandet minskade
från 20 % till 4 %. Individen utförde störst del aktiva beteenden på morgonen, vilket också var den
tidpunkt individen sågs utföra mest pacing. Eftersom besökarantalet varierade kraftigt under observationsperioden och inte registrerades är det svårt att dra slutsatser kring hur besökarantalet
påverkade individens stereotypa beteende. De veckor individen var i det stora hägnet ökade aktiva
beteenden med 30 procentenheter jämfört med mellanhägnet, varav nästan all den tiden lades på
pacing. Slutsatsen av studien var att individens hägnutnyttjande kan ökas och att mer berikningar
bör ges eftersom stor del av tidsbudgeten spenderades på pacing. Även gorge-feeding kan användas för att minska stereotypt vandrande. Dock behövs fler studier för att fastställa sambandet
mellan pacing och besökarantal, samt fler observationsstudier för att vidare kunna identifiera
varför individen utför stereotypt vandrande.

The aim of the study was to map the behavior and routines of an male Amur tiger at Nordens Ark
to see if his stereotypic pacing could be linked to feeding routines, time of day, or size of enclosure. The method used was continuous recording of behaviors, as well as interval recording of the
individual’s location. All data were recorded in the Zoomonitor app. The results showed that the
individual engaged in stereotypic pacing mostly on fasting days, and especially on Sundays which
was the second day of fasting. For one week, gorge-feeding was applied, and the results showed
that the individual’s resting behavior increased from 44% to 64%, while stereotypical pacing
decreased from 20% to 4%. The individual exhibited the highest levels of active behaviors in the
morning, which was also when the most pacing was observed. Since the number of visitors varied
greatly during the observation period, and was not recorded, it is difficult to draw conclusions
about how the number of visitors affected the individual’s stereotypical behavior. During the
weeks the individual was in the large enclosure, active behaviors increased by 30 percentage
points compared to the middle-sized enclosure, with almost all of that time spent pacing. The
conclusion of the study was that the individual’s use of the enclosure could be increased and that
more enrichment should be provided, as a significant portion of the time budget was spent on
pacing. Gorge-feeding could also be used to reduce stereotypical pacing. However, more studies
are needed to establish the relationship between pacing and visitor numbers, as well as further
observational studies to better understand why the individual engages in stereotypical pacing.