Keeping red pandas in captivity - Hållande av röd panda i fångenskap.
Sveriges Lantbruksuniversitet, Institutionen för husdjurens miljö och hälsa, Etologi- och Djurskyddsprogrammet, Skara: Studentarbete 197. 32 Seiten. ISSN 1652-280X.
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Conclusions:
The result demonstrates that zoos that keep the red panda not necessarily follow the husbandry and management guidelines for captive red pandas. The result shows that the keeping and management of red pandas in captivity can be improved. Enclosures are small indicating that enclosure size for pandas is not prioritized by zoos. Enclosures in some zoos are even smaller than the minimum recommendations of 80 m2. Almost half the zoos have visitors around big parts of the enclosure despite the recommendation of restricted visitors’ access to two sides of the enclosure. The result shows that carnivores are placed in nearby enclosures, despite the recommendation of at least 50 m. distance. Bamboo is not fed every day in all zoos and some zoos give it only rarely despite the recommendations of 200 g bamboo to each panda, every day. The results show that many zoos offer less nest boxes then recommend. The same survey or a complemented version could be sent to all keepers of the red panda to get results from all regions were the panda is kept. The survey could benefit from some additional questions and some modifications. The following improvements could be made. Instead of asking for the mean summer temperature it would be a good idea to ask for the maximum summer temperature. That way we can see all zoos that should be aware of the risk of high temperatures and consider cooling systems. Instead of asking how large part of the enclosure that is climbable it would be better to ask for the number of climbable structures. This would give better data for comparison. To complement the question of interiors we could ask how many logs, shrubs and rocks are available and how they are distributed. We could also ask if the water sources in the enclosures are used and in what way. This could help us determine if all zoos should have water sources in the enclosure. Another question that could be asked is if enrichments are used, what kind of enrichments that are used, and how often they are available. Future studies could investigate the cause of hair loss in captive pandas. If it is related to stress, the results could indicate that there are deficiencies in the captive environment, and in that case that has to be investigated further. Future field studies where camera traps could be placed near water sources could investigate in what way water is important for red pandas.
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