This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Pelicans have resided in St James's Park, London, for 360 years. But the current flock has been a summer sensation because of the first chicks to hatch in the park's history.
Pelican breeding in zoos is demanding for these birds because the right environmental and social conditions need to come together. Rather than simply being comfortable, the birds need to encounter and respond to cues that stimulate courtship, nesting and reproduction. This unusual nesting at St James's Park provides an interesting example of how responding to biologically relevant stressors is a positive part of an animal's life.
Multiple factors are likely to have contributed to the pelican nesting. The heat wave, the flock's dynamics and the compatibility of the individual birds seem to have created the right conditions for the first time in centuries. In my recent research, I evaluated the importance of positive stress to zoo and aquarium animal welfare and found it is crucial for the well-being of captive animals.
Researchers call the beneficial response to a stressor "eustress"—eu being the Greek prefix for good. Courtship, reproduction and chick-rearing are all natural stressors. Priorities change, energetic and physical needs alter, and adults spend more time on offspring.
This stress, however, is not necessarily bad. For example, it can provide learning opportunities and enhance the animals' behavioral repertoire. As we learn more about what good animal welfare is, it is becoming clear that meaningful challenges that reflect an animal's natural ecology help them have more autonomy over how they live.
Eustress also helps animals cope better with adverse situations. Zoos do not need dramatic changes to provide these experiences. Small challenges can be built into everyday care: Food can be hidden in different locations, and new scents and natural materials can be introduced.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
