University of Tartu Department of Semiotics Laura Kiiroja the ZOOSEMIOTICS of SOCIALIZATION

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University of Tartu Department of Semiotics Laura Kiiroja the ZOOSEMIOTICS of SOCIALIZATION University of Tartu Department of Semiotics Laura Kiiroja THE ZOOSEMIOTICS OF SOCIALIZATION: CASE-STUDY IN SOCIALIZING RED FOX (VULPES VULPES) IN TANGEN ANIMAL PARK, NORWAY Master’s Thesis Supervisors: Timo Maran, Ph.D Nelly Mäekivi, M.A Tartu 2014 CONTENTS Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………….4 1. The theoretical aspects of keeping wild animals in captivity ………………………………7 1.1. The main arguments on the ethics of keeping animals in captivity……………….7 1.2. Modern viewpoints on animal welfare……………………………………………9 1.3. Modern viewpoints on animal behaviour………………………………………..13 1.3.1. Behavioural display and animal welfare……………………………….14 1.4. The role of enrichment in animal welfare………………………………………..17 1.4.1. The essence of animal training in zoos………………………………...19 1.5. The importance of human-animal relationships in the zoo………………………21 1.5.1. The importance of Umwelt consideration……………………………...23 1.5.1.1. The functional circle ………………………………………...24 1.5.2. The effect of zoo visitors on animal welfare…………………………..26 1.5.3. The effect of keeper-animal relationships on animal welfare………….28 1.6. Explaining animal communication…………………………………………........30 1.7. Socialization – a method of improving welfare of captive animals……………...36 1.7.1. The need for socialization……………………………………………...37 1.7.2. The basic mechanisms of socialization………………………………...38 2. The research methodology of a zoosemiotic approach to socialization …………………...40 2.1. Thick description of socialization………………………………………………..40 2.2. Actor-orientedness of the research……………………………………………….42 2.3. Participatory observation………………………………………………………...43 2.4. The dimensions of interpretations presented in the thesis ………………………44 3. Case-study of the socialization of Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)………………………………46 3.1. General methods of socialization………………………………………………..46 3.1.1. The main levels of socialization ………………………………………46 3.1.2. Species-specific methods of socialization……………………………..48 ! 2! 3.1.3. Human-animal relationships and interactions required in socialization.51 3.2. Introducing the Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)...............................................................55 3.3. The socialization of three Red Fox in Tangen Animal Park……………………..61 3.3.1. The socialized foxes and their social relationships…………………….62 3.3.2. The methods of Umwelt reconstruction in socializing Red Fox with humans………………………………………………………………………..68 3.3.2.1. The main principles of animal management in the process of socialization…………………………………………………………..69 3.3.2.2. The main principles of establishing efficient human-animal communication in the process of socialization……………………….77 4. Discussion: socialization in the context of human-animal relationships and animal welfare programmes …………………………………………………………………………………..82 4.1. Different categories of human-animal relationships in captivity: a transdisciplinary field of terminology………………………………………………...83 4.2. Socialization as a contributing component of an animal welfare programme…...90 4.2.1. The benefits of socialization on animal welfare……………………….91 4.2.2. The secondary benefits of socializing zoo animals……………………94 Summary...................................................................................................................................96 References…………………………………………………………………………………….99 Resümee..................................................................................................................................104 APPENDICES………………………………………………………………………………106 Appendix 1…………………………………………………………………………………..107 Appendix 2………………………………………………………………………………......108 Appendix 3…………………………………………………………………………………..109 Appendix 4…………………………………………………………………………………..110 Appendix 5…………………………………………………………………………………..111 Appendix 6…………………………………………………………………………………..112 Appendix 7…………………………………………………………………………………..113 ! 3! INTRODUCTION Scientists of animal studies have agreed that man is a universal enemy for most wild animals. For this reason, wild animals that encounter humans will always seek for an opportunity to flee. The wild animals living in captivity do not have this opportunity. Since fear of humans has developed over generations, it is genetically inherited, which means that even the animals born in captivity are often suffering from this fear, which results in stress and display of abnormal behaviours (Hediger 1950: 28–29). The goal of socialization of an ex situ wild animal with humans is to reduce the animal’s fear of people as much as possible and thus improve the animal’s welfare in captive environment. It is possible to achieve the goal by establishing a partnership-based human-animal relationship and reconstructing the animal’s Umwelt (in terms of the meaning-carrier of humans). This is not an easy task as it needs more thorough comprehension in animal communication and requires orientation in various types of human-animal relationships, which reciprocal relatedness is still uncertain in animal studies. Socialization of captive wild animals with humans is yet an emerging field of animal studies, whereas its benefits for the main purposes of the zoo (including animal welfare, education and research) are still relatively poorly covered in scientific literature. Also its contribution to other animal welfare programmes, such as enrichment and training, remains unclear. One could claim that studying biological subjects requires some practical experience (at least observation) with the study objects in order to make valid arguments. One of the advantages of this thesis is enabling to compare the semiotic theory of zoo studies with practice and, by doing that, develop a more sufficient conceptualization of socialization. Namely, a socialization process of Red Fox was conducted during the research. The practice was based on participatory observation and took place in Tangen Animal Park, Norway. As a result of this thesis, a zoosemiotic approach to the subject is offered, enabling to better differentiate between various types of human-animal relationships and clearly position socialization in the field of animal welfare studies. An extra emphasis will be put on ! 4! investigating the communicative means used by both animals and humans in the process of socialization. The research itself is interdisciplinary, considering the main arguments of semiotics, zoology, animal welfare, animal behaviour, comparative psychology, and other relevant disciplines. Conclusively, a transdisciplinary theory will be suggested. It must also be mentioned that, in the following analysis, the concept ‘socialization’ is discussed in the context of (zoo) animal studies; its counterparts in the disciplines of human culture (including cultural anthropology, sociology, etc.) are not considered relevant for achieving the goals of the current thesis. The thesis is divided in four main chapters. The first chapter offers a theoretical foundation for the subject in question, comparing different modern views on animal management and welfare as well as their overlapping with socialization. The second chapter will explain the research methodology, sources of information and motives for participatory observation. The third chapter will give an overview of the socialization project of Red Fox in Norway and compare the practical aspects with the theoretical standpoints of the first chapter. The fourth and final chapter is dedicated to suggesting a transdisciplinary theory of socialization and its positioning in the field of both human-animal relationships and animal welfare studies. Whereas the whole thesis is guided by the three following hypothesis, which will find their approval or disapproval in the final chapter: • The processes of habituation, taming, imprinting and socialization have considerable differences in the effects on human-animal relationships, and man’s position in the phenomenal fields of animal’s Umwelt. • Different ways of establishing human-animal relationships have either a contributive or contradictory effect on animal welfare in captivity. Whereas none of them should be developed with animals living in the wild. • Socialization, enrichment, training, improvement of zookeeping routines, and other such programmes contribute to animal welfare, while each of their success is positively correlated with the success of the other programmes. When considering sources of information, the theoretical part of the research relies most on the views of Geoff Hosey, Vicky Melfi and Sheila Pankhurst in their book Zoo Animals: Behaviour, Management and Welfare, published in 2009. Also multiple works of Heini Hediger and Thomas A. Sebeok are represented. Another important role could be admitted to ! 5! Umwelt theory which, in this thesis, is predominantly based on the works of Jakob von Uexküll and Morten Tønnessen. The practical part of the research relies mostly on the author’s observations as well as the opinions of socialization experts among whom, Runar Næss deserves special featuring. Also, publications of the experts from Wolf Park (USA) were thoroughly analysed during the practice. The most important of those is the book of Jessica Addams and Andrew Miller (2007) Management of Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) in Captivity. Herein, the author would like to express her sincere gratitude for persons who made this work possible: the supervisors Timo Maran and Nelly Mäekivi for their patience and supportive guidance; Julian Brossé for his contribution to “puppy-parenting”; Steinar Næss for his kind assistance in language skills. Perhaps above all, the author is forever thankful for her mentor Runar Næss
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