The study of animal behaviour is both interesting and practically important.

Studying behaviour is an important part of monitoring how an animal is interacting with both its environment and other individuals. Therefore such studies can help to tell us how an animal is adapted to the conditions in which it lives.

Observing behaviour is one way in which animal welfare can be monitored and improved, this is particularly important within a zoo environment.

There is a legal requirement for all European zoos to participate in scientific research. Chester Zoo far exceeds its research obligation,

and is now the biggest research training ground for zoo-based studies within the UK.

Our animals have benefited in many ways from the studies that researchers have carried out over the years, not only in terms of welfare but also in fulfilling our conservation goals.

Exploring Animal Behaviour

Action plan!

Which species can

I study?

General species to avoid:

• Group animals whose individuals look alike (e.g. lemurs, penguins, zebra, bats)

• Animals which are difficult to see (e.g. Spectacled Bears, jaguars)

• Animals with limited viewing space (e.g. fish in the aquarium)

There is a variety of species within Chester Zoo, but it is important to

choose your study animal/s carefully.

Once you know your focus species, start to think about their potential behaviour/s.

Think about how they move, what they eat and how, what environment they live in (on land, water, in trees), and whether they live in a group or are solitary.

Come up with a list of behaviours you may expect to see (see example table in this resource pack) - your teacher may want to refine your list to some key behaviours, ready for your data collection.

Your teacher will help you to decide on your focus species and also to decide if your group will be studying one animal over longer time periods, or a number of different animals over shorter time periods.

Action plan!

The most important part of the planning process for your visit is being familiar with your method and designing an effective data collection sheet.

• Firstly list your focus behaviours in the table.

• Decide how to record the length of time the focus animal spends doing these behaviours

Recommended equipment listper group:

- Clipboard, monitoring sheets and pencil - Binoculars (optional) - Stopwatch - Zoo map

Once you know who is working in your group, discuss who will be doing what, and if you want to share roles

For a team of 3, suggested roles may be:

Student 1: timing with stopwatch Student 2: observing behaviour Student 3: recording data from students 1&2

On the day

When you arrive at Chester Zoo, make sure you know where to find your study species or how long it will take to move between exhibits if studying different species.

Be punctual! The reliability of your work depends on you being focused on the time!

Make sure each person is focused on their role. You may want to do a practice 5-10 minutes first to get into the routine before you collect your real data.

Wrap up warmer than you think you need to – you will be standing still.

Most of all – enjoy your day!

There is an example recording sheet with this resource pack which lists some of the generic information you will need to record at the top.

Again your teacher can help with this and will also need to make sure that all groups are recording in the same way.

Delving into the data!

You may also be comparing results and answering questions as a whole group following you visit.

You may be collecting your data and then thinking about how to analyse it afterwards.

Whichever way you do it, the great thing about collecting data is that you can explore it in many different ways and find things out which may not have appeared obvious.

• How to organise the data

• How to get simple and meaningful outputs (e.g. charts and graphs)

• Suggest some statistical analysis to find out if there are significant relationships or differences in your results

For what proportio

n

of time did each

behaviour occur?

Did time of day influence

behaviours seen?Is there a statistical

relationship between

group size and time

spent being active?

Was the study period

long enough to see a full

range of behaviours?

…and many more!

If you are involved in planning this research project then prior to your visit you may get the chance to discuss and plan questions you would like to answer about the behaviour of your study species.

Your teacher will give guidance on how to use your data:

Primates Elephants Black rhinos Congo buffalo Giraffe Lion Hornbill

Not visible Not visible Not visible Not visible Not visible Not visible Not visible

Social interaction (moving towards/away from another animal, aggressive (e.g. bit, hit), carrying/holding young animal, chasing, being chased, displaying, grooming, play (e.g. wrestling, tickling),

Social interaction (moving towards/away from another animal, inspecting another, touching another animal, play (e.g. trunk wrestling, shoving, butting)

Social interaction (moving towards/away from another animal, touching another animal, play, rubbing horns, nursing young)

Social interaction (moving towards/away from another animals, touching another animal, nursing young)

Social interaction (moving towards/away from another animal, touching another animal (e.g. neck rub) inspecting another, nursing young)

Social interaction (moving towards/away from another animal, touching another animal)

Social interaction (moving towards/away from another animal, touching, feeding another animal)

Interacting with visitors (display, aggressive e.g. hitting glass, throwing)

Interacting with visitors (display, throwing item)

Interacting with visitors (spraying)

Interacting with visitors (inspecting)

Interacting with visitors (charge, inspecting)

Interacting with visitors (following)

Interacting with keepers Interacting with keepers Interacting with keepers Interacting with keepers

Interacting with keepers

Interacting with keepers

Interacting with keepers

Moving (walking, running, climbing, swinging, following another animal)

Moving (walking, running, following another animal)

Moving (walking, running, following another animal, charging)

Moving (walking, running, following another animal)

Moving (walking, running, following another animal)

Moving (walking, running, stalking, following another animal, pouncing)

Moving (flying, hopping)

Resting (sitting, lying, sleeping)

Resting (lying, sleeping) Resting (sitting, lying, sleeping)

Resting (lying, sleeping)

Resting (lying, sleeping, standing still)

Resting (sitting, lying, sleeping)

Resting/perching

Collecting food Collecting food Collecting food Collecting food

Feeding Feeding Feeding (browsing, grazing)

Feeding Feeding Feeding Feeding

Drinking Drinking Drinking Drinking Drinking Drinking

Tool use (e.g. ‘termite fishing’, scooping water)

Interacting with exhibit (wallowing in mud, bathing, dusting, manipulating object

Interacting with exhibit (wallowing in mud, bathing, soaking hay)

Interacting with exhibit (manipulating object, chewing)

Interacting with exhibit Interacting with exhibit (digging, scratching)

Interacting with exhibit

Vocalising Vocalising Vocalising Vocalising Vocalising Vocalising Vocalising

Self-directed behaviour (scratching, inspecting)

Self-directed behaviour Self-directed behaviour Self-directed behaviour

Self-directed behaviour

Self-directed behaviour

Self-directed behaviour (preening)

Suggested Species and associated behaviours

The following table gives an indication of a range of behaviours which may be seen by a selection of animals within the zoo. Do remember however that you may not see some, or any, of these behaviours, and that there may also be other examples.

Name………………..……………… Others in group ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Date………………………………….. Time span………..……………..…………………………Species……………………………………………………. Number of individuals in group……… Subject identification…………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Weather (if observing outdoors)……………………Other relevant information (e.g. how busy is the enclosure? Is a keeper present?)………………... ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Suggested monitoring sheet format