This study uses isotope and microbotanical data from the analysis of teeth and dental calculus to investigate camelid diet and foddering practices at Quilcapampa (AD 835–900). By providing taxonomically specific evidence of foods consumed, botanical data from dental calculus complement the more general impressions of photosynthetic pathways obtained through isotopic analysis. Results suggest that the camelid diet incorporated maize (Zea mays), algarrobo (Prosopis sp.), potato chuño (Solanum sp.), and other resources. The life-history profile of one camelid (Individual 3) reveals dietary change from mainly C3 plants to more C4 plant contributions as the animal aged. This pattern is supported by carbonate isotope results indicating that this individual spent its youth in the mid-valley ecozone before becoming more mobile later in life. As this life-history example shows, isotopic and microbotanical analyses are complementary approaches, clarifying a pattern of seasonal transhumance that linked the lives of humans and animals along the Middle Horizon (AD 600–1000) caravan networks that crisscrossed the central Andes.

Until recently, little attention has been focused on the influence of social interactions and the presence of conspecifics on stereotypic pacing in captive carnivores. This study examined the effect of adding a visual barrier between two tiger (Panthera tigris) exhibits on stereotypic pacing behaviour. Continuous sampling was used to record the duration of time tigers spent pacing and the total number of pacing bouts. The results show a significant decrease in stereotypic pacing for the group of six female tigers after obstruction of the view of neighbouring tigers. These results suggest that the opportunity for tigers to view conspecifics in other exhibits may influence time spent pacing therefore it is felt that the design or renovation of tiger exhibits should take the visibility of neighbouring individuals into account.

Much controversy surrounds the welfare of elephants within zoological institutions. Among the many concerns are lack of exercise and the prevention of sedentary health and welfare issues due to smaller exhibits in comparison to the home-range sizes for elephants in Africa and Asia. While many scientists have used GPS to examine distances travelled by wild elephants, there is currently little information on distance travelled by elephants within zoological institutions. In the wild, it is necessary to chemically immobilise elephants using a dart gun in order to put on or take off collars which are used to acquire GPS data. Within a zoological institution, elephants can be trained to wear a collar with a GPS device but this training can be time consuming and also dangerous depending on the level of expertise of animal care staff. However, training an elephant within a zoological institution to wear an anklet outfitted with a GPS device can be much safer and less time consuming. The purpose of the current research was to validate methods for examining the walking rates of elephants in a zoological facility. This included testing GPS units, examining walking rates of eight elephants at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park using collars and conducting trials on a subset of elephants wearing both a collar and anklet outfitted with GPS devices to determine reliability. The average distance travelled by eight African elephants (Loxodonta africana) within a 24-h period was 8.65 (± 0.64) km which corresponds to a rate of 0.360 (± 0.033) kph. Trials comparing anklets to collars were found to be highly reliable except on days when weather conditions were overcast or there was rainfall at the park. The methods used for the current study can be utilised in future studies to examine walking rates as a component of animal welfare for elephants or other large mammals within zoological institutions.

Atlantic bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops trucatus) are found in zoos and aquaria throughout the world. As the number of facilities with dolphin shows and interaction programmes increases, it becomes more important to understand the effects of such programmes on dolphin behaviour. The present study examined the short-term effects of dolphin shows and interaction programmes on the behaviour of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins at six facilities. Rates of affiliative behaviour, aggressive behaviour, repetitive behaviour and percentage of time spent socialising were found to be unrelated to dolphin shows or interaction programmes. Additionally, dolphins exhibited higher rates of behavioural diversity, diversity of swimming style, and play behaviour following shows and interaction programmes. These results suggest that dolphin shows and interaction programmes can be an important part of an enrichment programme for dolphins in zoological institutions. However, individual differences should be considered when animals participate in these types of programmes.

In the US Southwest and Northwest Mexico, people and turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) have had a reciprocal relationship for millennia; turkeys supplied feathers, meat, and other resources, whereas people provided food, shelter, and care. To investigate how turkeys fit within subsistence, economic production, sociopolitical organization, and religious and ritual practice in the Mimbres Valley of southwestern New Mexico, we report on genetic (mtDNA) and stable isotope (δ13C, δ15N) data from turkeys recovered from Mimbres Classic period (AD 1000–1130) sites. Results indicate that Mimbres aviculturists had haplogroup H1 and H2 turkeys, and most ate maize-based diets similar to humans, but some ate nonmaize and mixed diets. We contextualize these data to other turkey studies from the northern Southwest and discuss how the human-turkey relationship began, the evidence for pens and restricting turkey movement, and the socioecological factors related to turkey management during the Classic period, particularly the challenges associated with providing maize to turkeys during times of environmental stress. This study has broad relevance to places where people managed wild, tame, and domestic animals, and we offer new insights into how prehispanic, small-scale, middle-range agricultural societies managed turkeys for ritual and utilitarian purposes.

People living in Mesoamerica and what is now the eastern and southwestern United States used turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) as sources of meat, eggs, bones, and feathers. Turkey husbandry and domestication are confirmed in two of these regions (Mesoamerica and the American Southwest), but human-turkey interactions in Eastern North American (eastern United States and Canada) are not fully explored. We apply stable isotope (δ13C, δ15N) and ancient mitochondrial DNA analyses to archaeofaunal samples from seven sites in the southeastern United States to test whether turkeys were managed or captively reared. These combined data do not support prolonged or intensive captive rearing of turkeys, and evidence for less intensive management is ambiguous. More research is warranted to determine whether people managed turkeys in these areas, and whether this is generalizable. Determining whether turkeys were managed or reared in the southeastern United States helps define cultural and environmental factors related to turkey management or husbandry throughout North America. This inquiry contributes to discussion of the roles of intensified human-animal interactions in animal domestication.

Archaeological investigations of ‘desert kites’ in south Israel show them to have been animal traps of considerable sophistication and capacity, constructed in the Early Bronze Age or earlier. Extensive stone-wall arms gather in gazelles from their habitual trails and canalise them into a sunken enclosure, cunningly hidden from view of the galloping herd until it was too late…