Olfactory environmental enrichment of felids and the potential uses of conspecific odours : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Science in Zoology at Massey University
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(2) Institute of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences Massey University PALMERSTON NORTH NEW ZEALAND. Olfactory environmental enrichment of felids and the potential uses of conspecific odours. A th esis pres ent ed m. partial fulfilm ent of the requirem ents for th e d egree of of Mast ers of Sci enc e In. Zoology at Mass ey Univ ersity. Heidi Roesch 2003.
(3) I. Thesis Abstract The potential of olfactory stimulation as a tool for the enviro nmental enrichment of captive felids was investigated at Orana Wildlife Park in Christchurch. Six cheetah (Acyninoxjubatus), two serval (Felis serval) and one tiger (Panthera tigris) were given. various scents: male domestic cat urine; a synthetic analogue of domestic cat facial pheromone; mouse odour; peppermint and catnip, in order to determine whether scent as an enviro nmenta l enrichment can effectively modify felid behaviour. All of the scents elicited a response that was significantly different to the control presentation. The synthetic feline facial pheromone elicited the greatest response, particularly from the females in the study. However, despite these results, the interest shown in the scents was limited, and due to the small sample size and other constrictions that arise from working with a zoo, the effectiveness of scent as a tool for environmental enrichment remains inconclusive and further research is needed.. The further possibilities of scent as an environmental technique were investigated at Massey University's Feline Nutrition Unit. Anoestrous and oestrous female domestic cats (Felis catus) were presented the urine collected form four entire male domestic cats. The. social dominance ranking between the four males and the additive relationship between the males and the females in the study was established. Females were presented with different combinations of the male urine in an observation room and their behaviour recorded. The latency to approach each urine sample, the duration of sni ffing, the number of flehmen responses and the number of visit s to each sample were recorded as measures female interest in the urine samples.. The overall level of responsiveness appears to be quite similar during anoestrous and oestrous. During anoestrous females will investigate urine samples, however they do not appear to discriminate between the urine of different males.. In. oes trous the female. response appears to be much more selective. A strong effect of relatedness was found for oestrous females investigating the urine of a related male. The higher the degree of relatedness to the male the lower the interest shown by the oestrous female. The dominant male also appeared to be preferred overall, and the most subordinate male.
(4) II preferred least overall. The dom inance hierarchy could not be repl icated in th is study and any effect shown for dom inance rank may potent ially be the result of some other characterist ic un ique to that male.. In. terms of env ironmental enr ichment potent ial, the. t ime spent invest igat ing the ur ine patches was l im ited, however the fact that oestrous females show d ifferent levels of interest in response to the ur ine of d ifferent males suggests that conspec ific urine holds informat ion of interest and may be useful as an enr ichment tool..
(5) I ll. Acknowledgements A big thank-you to all th e wond erful p eopl e who hav e contribut ed to this th esis. Sp ecial thanks go to my sup ervisors K evin Stafford, for k eeping me on track ev en through my bigg est chall eng es and to Ian H end erson for making th e magic of statistical transformation a lot l ess scary and much more exciting.. A hug e thank-you to Karin W eidgraaf for all th e tim e sh e has sp ent h elping m e figur e things out and giving m e comput er advic e. You hav e b een amazing and I really appreciat e all your wond erful h elp. Thank-you also to all th e staff at Mass ey Univ ersity' s F elin e Unit, H eath er Nichol, Margr eet H ekman, and Rachael Richardson and Karin. Your fri endships and support made coming to work som ething to look forward to.. Than k-you also to Wout er H endricks for all his cat advic e and w riting up advic e, and for letting m e us e his chair for so long. Sp ecial thank -you to Ric Sherlock, for taking tim e to show m e how to work out th e additiv e relationship of all my cats wh en I was compl et ely stuck.. Sp ecial thanks to my two Palm erston North surrogat e famili es : Elizab eth, Ian and B en Gorton, and th e McKenzi e Clan, Bruc e, Louisa and Emma. Than k-you all for taking m e into your hom es and looking aft er m e, and for you wond erful fri endship. An extra big than k-you to Elizab eth for all your proof r eading, now you know more than you ev er imagin ed th er e was to know about cat p ee. Sp ecial thanks also go to Dani el Oram for your support and constant b eli ef in m e, and for proof reading chapt ers on d emand. And than k-you to Krist en J ens en for b eing so und erstanding and listening to m e go on and on about my th esis and the wond ers of urin e. Of cours e now ev erybody knows about it.. Than k-you to th e Orana Wildlife manag em ent t eam Lynn And erson and Ian Adams for allowing m e to carryout my study in C hristchurch. And a sp ecial thank-you to th e animal keep ers Marvin Warren and Graem e P etri e for sp ending so much tim e showing m e around and sharing your knowl edg e o f the animals and o f zoos. Thank-you also to all th e.
(6) IV animals that quietly put up with me sticking smelly things in front of their noses, and didn't just ignore it.. And finally than k-you to my family Joan, Heiner and Jim Roesch for all your love and support and for the car. Hurray!.
(7) V. TABLE OF CONTENTS Thesis Abstract. _______. Acknowledgments Table of Contents. !. III. _______. V. _______. CHAPTER ONE- ENIVRONMENT ENRICHMENT 1.1. Introduction to Environmental Enrichment. 2. 1.2. Environment Enrichment Considerations. 5. _______. -------. Control. 6. Complexit y. 7. Stress. 8. Relevance. 10. 1.3. Conspecifics as Enrichment. 12. 1.4. Felids inCaptivity. 14. 1 .5. 1.6. Care-taking and Housin. 14. Inactivit y. 15. Pacing. 16. Environmental Complexity. 17. Diet and Food Presentation for Felids. _______. 17. Whole Carcasses. 18. Hiding food. 19. Live Pre y. 20. Simulated Hunt. 20. Reproduction. _______. 21. Impact of Stress on Reproduction. 22. Impact of Environment Enrichment on Reproduction. 23. Mate Choice. 23.
(8) VI. 1.7. Objects and Odours. 25. 1.8. Aims.. 26. _______. ______. CHAPTER TWO. -. THE RESPONSE OF ANOESTROUS FEMALE. DOMESTIC CATS (Felis Catus) TO CONSPECIFIC MALE URINE. Abstract.. _______. 28. 2.1. Introduction.. 2.2. Material and Methods. 34. Location. 34. Animals. 35. Male Dominance. 37. Relatedness. 38. The Observation Room. 38. Habituation. 39. Urine Collection. 39. Experimental Design. 40. Analysis. 41. 2.3. _______. 28. 44. Results. 44. Body Language Female Response to the Dominance Rank of the Males. 44. The Effect of Relatedness on the Female Response. 47. Female Curiosity Levels. 51. __. 2.4. Discussion. 51.
(9) VII. Individualit y. 52. Dominance Rank. 53. Relatedness. 54. Visual Signals. 54. Experimental Design. 55. Environment Enrichment and Conclusions. 57. __ _ _ _ _ _ _________. CHAPTER THREE-. THE RESPONSE OF OESTROUS FEMALE. DOMESTIC (Felis Catus) CATS TO CONSPECIFIC MALE URINE. 3.1. 3.2. 59. Introduction. Environmental Enrichment. 59. Mate Choice and Male Dominance. 61. Relatedness. 64. 0lfactory Communication. 66. Temperament. 68. Aims. 69. Materials and Methods.. ______. 70. Animals. 70. Relatedness. 71. The Observation Room and Urine Collection from Male Cats. 72. Habituation. 72. Oestrus. 73. Experimental Desi gn. 73. Curiosity. 75. Temperament. 75. Analysis. 75.
(10) VIII. 3.3. Results. 76. Habituation. 78. Oestrus. 78. Dominance. 79. Body Language. 80. Sniff Duration in Response to Male Dominance Rank. 80. Latency in Response to Male Dominance Rank. 82. Visits in Response to Male Dominance Rank. 82. Flehmen in Response to Male Dominance R ank. 85. Ranking o f the Males Summarized. 88. __. _____. The Effect of Relatedness on the Female Sniff Duration. 88. The Effect of Relatedness on the Female Latenc y. 89. The Effect of Relatedness on Visits. 89. The Effect of Relatedness on the Flehmen Response. 92. Curiosity and Temperament. 92. __. 3.4. Discussion. 1 00. Temperament. 1 01. Relatedness. 102. Kin Recognition and the Maj or Histocompatibility Complex. 1 04. Odour Cues. 1 04. Att ractive T raits. 105. Good Genes and Dominance. 1 07. Do Females Choose?. 109. Further Research. 111. Parameters. 112. Environmental Enrichment Potential. 1 13.
(11) IX. CHAPTER FOUR- ENVIRONMENTAL ENRICHMENT FOR. CAPTIVE FELIDS USING OLFACTORY STIMULATION. Abstract. 1 16. 4.1. 1 16. 4.2. 4.3. Introduction. The Relevance of odour. 118. Scent and Hunting. 1 20. Scents. 1 21. Aims. 125. Materials and Methods. 126. Location. 1 26. Animals. 1 26. Diet. 1 29. Scents. 129. Catnip inside the Enclosure. 1 30. Data Collection. 1 31. Analysis. 1 31. Results. 1 33. The effect of Odour and Gender on the Number of Sniffs. 1 34. The effect of Odour and Gender on the Number of Visits. 1 39. -. -. The Effect of Odour and Species on the Number of Sniffs and. 4.4. Visits. 1 41. Response to Catnip Inside the Enclosure. 1 43. Discussion. 1 44. Feliway. 1 44. Urine. 1 47. Mouse. 148. Catnip (Nepeta cataria. 1 49.
(12) --. --. -·---·------. X. Peppe rmint (Mentha piperita). ______. 1 50. Water. 1 51. Different Responses. 1 52. Method Review and Working with Zoos. 1 53. Conc lusions. 1 55. CHAPTER FIVE- THESIS SUMMARY Thesis Summary. ______. 1 58.
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