06 Oca 2025 Pazartesi
Winter activity pattern and behaviour of three sympatric felids at Kamala Nehru Zoological Garden, Ahmedabad
Abstract : Three sympatric cats of India, viz. Tiger, Lion and Leopard were observed to study their daily activity patterns and time budget under the captivity at Kamla Nehru Zoological Garden, Ahmedabad, Gujarat through focal animal sampling during the cold season of 2019. Total ten individuals of all the three cats were observed for 200 hours to know their daily activity in the display enclosures of the zoo. Total 12 different activities have been recorded during the study, which were merged as major and minor activities. The animal were studied according to their time and sequence of display in the display enclosure as decided by the zoo authority. The major activity includes, locomotion, resting and roaring. Whereas the minor activity includes drinking, scant marking, resting awake, staring, sand bath, playing, standing and liking. Resting activity is one of the most common among all the three cats throughout the day followed by the locomotory activities. Animals were found more active during the morning time (800hrs to 1100hrs) followed by the evening time (1600hrs to 1830hrs) and were found least active and performing resting activities during the noon time. The study recommends that future studies should include climatic and environmental variables, information about the time and number of visitors and studying the difference in behaviour patterns of male and females to understand the time budget and activity pattern of the animals in the zoos. Such studies can be a great help in developing zoo enrichment and welfare of the animal especially large mammals in the captivity.