We are developing a welfare monitoring tool, which is really species-specific welfare surveys
that can be completed online by caretakers.
So, we have zookeepers going online to our website right now completing weekly surveys
for individual animals.
And there’s a built-in web application that will track the keeper’s scores on various
welfare indicators.
So, for any given species, there’s ten to fifteen items with typical welfare indicators
like physical condition and appetite, but also some that we hope to capture the mental
and emotional well-being.
We think that the caretakers are the best to pick up on those sorts of changes.
And then, scores are tracked by the web application.
And then, the application can generate welfare reports that flag shifts in scores for the
species workers to discuss.
So, it’s meant to provide a first indicator of shifts in welfare status.
Looking at just mortality, and we want to have the welfare be good enough that it doesn’t
kill the animals, that’s setting the bar really, really low.
And so, what we’re trying to do is do our best to improve the welfare of gorillas, specifically.
And welfare track just seemed like a wonderful tool to add to the database of knowledge about--
first we started looking, again, at causes of death.
And then, based on that, looking at causes of disease that were related to mortality.
That sort of led to a different IMLS project.
The Great Ape Heart Project spun out of looking at cardiac disease in gorillas.
And so, we’re moving up the ladder towards finding out more about how the animals live
and their overall welfare, as opposed to just sort of the end result of a pathology exam.
We really want to highlight when we’re doing things well and promoting good well-being
because often in welfare research the focus is on the negative and the pain and suffering.
So this is about sometimes you may see scores improving, taking a look.
What did we do that week?
We must have done something right, and figuring out what we’re doing right to make sure
we’re making the best decisions for each individual.