AEROBIC SALIVARY BACTERIA IN WILD AND CAPTIVE KOMODO DRAGONS

The Oral and Skin Microbiomes of Captive Komodo Dragons Are Significantly Shared with Their Habitat

Examining the way in which animals, including those in captivity, interact with their environment is extremely important for studying ecological processes and developing sophisticated animal husbandry. Here we use the Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis) to quantify the degree of sharing of salivary, skin, and fecal microbiota with their environment in captivity. Both species richness and microb...

Can Camera Traps Monitor Komodo Dragons a Large Ectothermic Predator?

Camera trapping has greatly enhanced population monitoring of often cryptic and low abundance apex carnivores. Effectiveness of passive infrared camera trapping, and ultimately population monitoring, relies on temperature mediated differences between the animal and its ambient environment to ensure good camera detection. In ectothermic predators such as large varanid lizards, this criterion is ...

Observational Learning in Wild and Captive Dolphins

Play in Wild and Captive Cetaceans

Although play behavior is difficult to define, it has been abundantly documented in the cetacean literature. Play behavior is prevalent among the various taxa and is exhibited by individuals of all age classes. However, it is often difficult to follow individuals, observe underwater behavior, and obtain multiple sightings of individuals when investigating free-ranging populations. Captive studi...

Helminthiasis in Captive Wild Carnivores and Its Control in India

Manuscript 1001; Received 14 Feb 2003; Revised finally accepted 29 April 2004; © Zoo Outreach Organisation 1540 ABSTRACT Helminthiasis in wild carnivores can cause high morbidity and mortality specially in young ones. This paper discusses in brief on the occurrence of helminthic infestation in wild carnivores as reported from India. They suffer from trematodes, cestodes, nematodes and acanthoce...