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- Title
Development and Assessment of a Body Condition Score Scheme for European Bison (Bison bonasus).
- Authors
Zielke, Luisa; Wrage-Mönnig, Nicole; Müller, Jürgen
- Abstract
Simple Summary: Europe's largest terrestrial mammal, the European bison (Bison bonasus), has been successfully restored after the species had become extinct in the wild. In various reintroduction projects, captive bred European bison have been released into different habitats. Vigorous monitoring efforts are necessary to document how well the animals adapt to their new environment. In this study, we present a scheme that was developed for the observation of the body condition of adult European bison. Unbiased people with different professional backgrounds were asked to apply this scheme. While additional research is necessary to further validate the scheme, it was easy to use and covered the essential body traits. Therefore, it can be a helpful management tool. Resettlement projects of the strongly threatened European bison (Bison bonasus) require a monitoring phase to assess both population status and habitat quality. Schemes of animal body condition scores (BCS) are robust tools to meet this requirement in practice. However, so far, no BCS scheme has been designed for European bison. Here, we suggest a body condition score scheme based on the extent of soft tissue around bony structures. The scoring system was developed with scores ranging from 1 (emaciated) to 5 (obese). Condition scores can be deduced after visually assessing the European bison both from the side and behind. Robustness of the scheme was evaluated: Unbiased people from different professional backgrounds were asked to assess the BCS of photographed semiwild European bison under field conditions and results were compared. Results demonstrate the suitability of the method. Nevertheless, variability of the results among assessors illustrates the necessity for training as well as for further research to validate the scheme as a true measure of physiological condition. We discuss the prospects and limits of a broad use of this scheme within the European bison community, and recommend the BCS scheme as a management tool.
- Subjects
REQUIREMENTS for animal nutrition; EUROPEAN bison; ANIMAL health indicators; WILDLIFE reintroduction; HERBIVORES
- Publication
Animals (2076-2615), 2018, Vol 8, Issue 10, p163
- ISSN
2076-2615
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.3390/ani8100163