Effects of Multiple Environmental Factors on Display and Location of Abnormal Behaviors in Captive Brown Bears ( Ursus arctos ): Individuality and Welfare Management

In captivity, ursids are more susceptible to displaying abnormal behaviors due to the seasonal variation in their particular biology concerning food resources, home range size, denning, or reproduction. We studied five brown bear females housed in two centers: Barcelona Zoo and Vallcalent Wildlife Recovery Centre. The data sampling involved a multi‐focal and continuous recording of the duration, interval, rate, and location of abnormal behaviors. This study investigated the relationships among display and location of abnormal behaviors and multiple environmental factors: the season, time of day, temperature, humidity, wind speed and number of visitors through the analysis of generalized linear models. The observations showed a high individual variability of the abnormal behaviors displayed: one female displayed bar licking and swaying simultaneously, three other females displayed only one type ‐log biting, head‐tossing and pacing‐, while another female did not display any type. The duration of log biting was associated with season and temperature. The rate of head‐tossing was associated with time of day, its interval was associated with season, time of day, temperature, humidity, and number of visitors; meanwhile, its location was associated with all environmental factors. The bar licking location was associated with temperature. The swaying duration was associated with time of day, humidity, and wind speed; meanwhile, its location was associated with temperature. These females tended to display abnormal behaviors in specific places of the enclosure. For the welfare of bears in captivity, it is crucial to disentangle the relationship between current and past single or multiple environmental and individual factors and the individuality of abnormal behaviors.