BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENT OF THE CLOUDED LEOPARD (NEOFELIS NEBULOSA); A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS by Jilian M. Fazio A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of George Mason University in Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Degree of Master Science Environmental Science and Policy Committee: ________________________________ Dr. E. Christien Parsons, Thesis Director ________________________________ Dr. Larry Rockwood, Committee Member ________________________________ Dr. Hillary Cressey, Committee Member ________________________________ Dr. Robert Jonas, Department Chairperson Dept. of Environmental Science & Policy ________________________________ Dr. Richard Diecchio, Associate Dean for Graduate Programs, College of Sciences ________________________________ Dr. Vikas Chandhoke, Dean, College of Science Date: ___________________________ Spring Semester 2010 George Mason University Fairfax, VA Behavioral Assessment of the Clouded Leopard (Neofelis nebulosa); A Comparative Study of Reproductive Success A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science at George Mason University By Jilian M. Fazio Bachelor of Science University of Maryland, 2001 Director: E. Christien Parsons, Associate Professor Department of Environmental Science and Policy Fall Semester 2009 George Mason University Fairfax, VA Copyright 2010 Jilian M. Fazio All Rights Reserved ii DEDICATION To my husband, Patrick Kennedy who put up with many years of torture and rarely complained, you‟re my favorite. To Dr. JoGayle Howard who serves as my inspiration for all things clouded and without whom, I would still be in New Jersey. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to acknowledge the generosity of the following: Cosmos Club Foundation www.cosmosclubfoundation.org Smithsonian Women‟s Committee www.smithsoniancraftshow.org The grants awarded helped provide the supplies needed to complete this study. There are many individuals that I would like to acknowledge for their assistance and patience at various periods throughout this study including: Thanks to my family who has always encouraged me to follow my dreams no matter where in the world they take me, Dr. Nadja Wielebnowski for her advice and guidance in the initial stages, Dr. Erika Bauer for help with statistics and being my #1 fan, Rick Passaro for sharing his home and humor with me in Thailand, Ken Lang and Jessica Kordell for their support throughout the CRC portion of the study and always, Cathy Morrison for her attention to detail and urine collecting skills, Sarah Putman for her lab expertise and plate coating skills, Nicole Presley for advice and assistance with lab supply orders, Kathy McNamara and Kristen Dawson for lab assistance, Tony Barthel, and the entire staff of Asia trail and Cheetah Conservation Station at the National Zoo for providing me with the time and support I needed to complete this study. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page List of Tables .................................................................................................................. vi List of Figures ............................................................................................................... viii Abstract ........................................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................1 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................19 CHAPTER 3: RESULTS ................................................................................................30 CHAPTER 4: DISCUSSION ..........................................................................................60 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION .......................................................................................83 Appendices ......................................................................................................................98 List of References .........................................................................................................200 v LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1 Animal subjects ......................................................................................................... 21 2 Clouded leopard behavioral definitions and codes ................................................... 24 3 Test samples presented to each cat during scent test ................................................ 29 4 Hypotheses 1-7 predicting differences in Clouded leopard temperaments .............. 32 5 Four major components of temperament in the clouded leopard derived from keeper rated temperament assessments of 24 clouded leopards ............................... 33 6 Individual clouded leopard temperaments based on factor score ............................. 35 7 Mean and standard deviations of component scores of individual clouded leopards grouped by reproductive success, gender, rearing, and facility ................. 36 8 Hypotheses 8-11 predicting differences in reproductively successful clouded leopard temperament characteristics from keeper rated assessment ......................... 37 9 Hypotheses 12-17 predicting differences in male and female clouded leopards based on temperament characteristics from keeper rated assessment ...................... 38 10 Hypotheses 18-21 predicting differences in behavioral observations of 24 clouded leopards ....................................................................................................... 39 11 Hypothesis 18 - Significant correlations between reproductively successful and unsuccessful clouded leopards obtained by logistical regression from behavioral observations .............................................................................................................. 40 12 Hypothesis 19 - Significant correlations between male and female clouded leopards obtained by logistical regression from behavioral observations ................ 40 13 Hypothesis 20 - Significant correlations between hand-reared and mother-reared clouded leopards obtained by logistical regression from behavioral observations ... 41 14 Hypothesis 21 - Significant correlations between KKOZ and CRC clouded leopards obtained by logistical regression from behavioral observations ................ 41 15 Hypotheses 22-27 predicting differences in behavioral observations based on sex . 42 16 Hypothesis 22 and 23 – Significant behavioral differences between RS and RUS males and RS and RUS females obtained from logistical regression of behavioral observations from 24 clouded leopards .................................................................... 43 17 Hypothesis 24 and 25 – Significant behavioral differences between MR and HR males and MR and HR females obtained from logistical regression of behavioral observations from 24 clouded leopards .................................................................... 44 18 Hypothesis 26 and 27 – Significant behavioral differences between KKOZ and CRC males and KKOZ and CRC females obtained from logistical regression of behavioral observations from 24 clouded leopards .................................................. 44 vi Table Page 1 Hypotheses 28-30 predict differences in behavioral observations within the individuals housed at KKOZ .................................................................................... 44 2 Hypotheses 31-38 predict differences in behavioral observations of reproductively successful individuals based on trial ................................................ 45 3 Hypotheses 28-30 significant behavioral differences between RUS and RS clouded leopards housed at KKOZ ........................................................................... 46 4 Mean values of all behavioral observations for 24 clouded leopards separated by trial ....................................................................................................................... 51 5 Hypotheses 39-48 predict differences in behavioral observations of reproductively successful male and female clouded leopards during the different scent trials ................................................................................................... 52 6 Mean values for RUS and RS males and females obtained from behavioral observations of scent trials given to 24 clouded leopards ......................................... 54 7 Hypotheses 49-54 predict differences in behavioral observations of reproductively successful male and female clouded leopards during the choice, mirror image stimulation and novel object trials ...................................................... 55 8 Mean values for RUS and RS males and females obtained from behavioral observations of Choice test; Mirror Image Stimulation and Novel Object tests given 24 clouded leopards ........................................................................................ 56 9 Behavioral observations found to be significantly different between temperaments 24 clouded leopards ........................................................................... 58 10 Significant trends of behavioral observations across trials ....................................... 59 11 Temperament characteristics and behaviors exhibited by RS and RUS clouded leopards ..................................................................................................................... 84 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1 Results of preferences during