Meet our grantees
Wild Animal Initiative funds academic research on high-priority questions in wild animal welfare.
The goal of our grants program is to fund research that deepens scientific knowledge of the welfare of wild animals in order to better understand how to improve the welfare of as many wild animals as possible, regardless of what causes the threats to their well-being.
We showcase our grantees and their projects here and will be adding more in the coming weeks and months.
Integrating behavioral competency and post-release support for reintroduced wildlife: a shift in paradigm for rehabilitation and beyond
Grantee: Karli Rice Chudeau
Institutions: The Marine Mammal Center, University of California, Davis
Project summary
This project investigates post-release support and monitoring to improve outcomes for rehabilitated juvenile pinnipeds. Post-release support will include familiar cognitive enrichment to help released animals adjust gradually and buffer their affective state. Post-release monitoring will consider metrics such as behavioral diversity, energy expenditure, and body condition, and the animals’ specific behavioral profiles will be compared with those recorded from healthy, wild individuals. These metrics will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of post-release enrichment as an intervention for improving welfare outcomes. Cognitive bias tests for affective state carried out during rehabilitation and prior to release will also be considered as potential predictors of post-release welfare.
Grantee: Karli Rice Chudeau
Institutions: The Marine Mammal Center, University of California, Davis, United States
Grant amount: $30,000
Grant type: Seed grants
Focal species: Northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris), eastern Pacific harbor seal (Phoca vitulina richardii)
Conservation status: Least concern
Disciplines: Wildlife rehabilitation, animal behavior, animal welfare science
Research location: United States
Project summary
In many cases, the process of releasing a rehabilitated or translocated animal can be traumatic and removes the animal’s agency, potentially weakening their ability to thrive in the wild. This project investigates post-release support and monitoring to improve outcomes for rehabilitated juvenile pinnipeds. Post-release support will include familiar cognitive enrichment to help released animals adjust gradually and buffer their affective state. Post-release monitoring will consider metrics such as behavioral diversity, energy expenditure (distance traveled), and body condition, and the animals’ specific behavioral profiles (e.g. foraging behavior) will be compared with those recorded from healthy, wild individuals. These metrics will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of post-release enrichment as an intervention for improving welfare outcomes. Cognitive bias tests for affective state carried out during rehabilitation and prior to release will also be considered as potential predictors of post-release welfare.
Why we funded this project
We envision a world in which people take responsibility for improving wild animals’ lives and have the knowledge they need to do so effectively. Rehabilitation is a part of that. However, there has been relatively little research on post-release outcomes for rehabilitated animals. Understanding those outcomes and identifying strategies to improve them could have significant welfare implications, especially for the treatment of juvenile animals, whose life trajectories may be powerfully affected by the rehabilitation and release process. We appreciate that this project combines post-release monitoring with both a specific intervention and pre-release tests of affective state that would not be possible in a wild context.
Investigating ways to assess and improve the welfare of leopards captured in response to conflict, in Nepal
Grantee: Jessica Bodgener
Institutions: University of Kent, Wildlife Vets International
Project summary
In Nepal, the successful recovery of tiger populations is displacing leopards from protected parks and forcing them into urban areas. This has caused an increase in conflict with people and farmed animals. Organizations responding to conflicts have limited resources and must attempt to balance animal welfare and conservation aims with public safety and sociopolitical demands. This has resulted in an ad hoc approach, with frequent interventions but little opportunity to evaluate their success. This project will focus on validating non-invasive post-release monitoring techniques, including photogrammetric assessment of body condition and measurement of hair cortisol from fecal samples, to monitor the welfare impact of translocation of leopards away from conflict areas.
Grantee: Jessica Bodgener
Institution: University of Kent and Wildlife Vets International, United Kingdom
Grant amount: $16,850
Grant type: Small grants
Focal species: Leopard (Panthera pardus)
Conservation status: Vulnerable
Disciplines: Wildlife rehabilitation, animal welfare science
Research location: Nepal, United Kingdom
Project summary
Leopards are the most widespread and adaptable of the world’s big cats, occupying a wide variety of habitats ranging from remote rainforests to busy urban centers. In Nepal, the successful recovery of tiger populations is displacing leopards from protected parks and forcing them into more populated areas. Low densities of natural prey in these areas, coupled with an abundance of easily hunted feral dogs around settlements, have resulted in leopards colonizing urban and suburban environments. This has caused an increase in conflict with people, including the predation of farmed animals and occasional human attacks. Organizations responding to conflict events have limited resources and must attempt to balance animal welfare and conservation aims with public safety and sociopolitical demands. This has resulted in an ad hoc approach, with frequent interventions, but little to no opportunity to reflect and evaluate the impact or success of these actions. This project will focus on validating entirely non-invasive post-release monitoring techniques, including photogrammetric assessment of body condition and measurement of hair cortisol from fecal samples, to monitor the impact of translocation of leopards away from conflict areas on their health and welfare.
Why we funded this project
We funded this project because it addresses two of our research priorities by seeking to validate non-invasive monitoring techniques, including hair cortisol as a measurement of chronic stress (which may be more informative of welfare than short-term measures of stress physiology). Although it focuses on leopards, the validation of these methods should be transferable to other species. The researcher, Jess Bodgener, also seems to have a long-term interest in wild animal welfare, and has genuine partnerships in place to build capacity and regard for wild animal welfare in Nepal.
Pre- and Post-release Welfare Indicators for Recovery Programs
Grantee: Laney Hayward Nute
Institution: University of Mississippi
Project summary
Captive-raised animals translocated to the wild often suffer high mortality. This project seeks to identify a set of pre- and post-release indicators of welfare to target released Attwater’s prairie chickens for management interventions. Pre-release, the coping styles of birds will be identified during routine cage transfers and handling. Following release, the fine-scale movements of released birds will be traced using customized data loggers. Investigating the association of pre- and post-release behaviors with body condition, daily environment changes, and survival, will identify which birds from future releases will need special attention to aid their survival. The researchers hypothesize that individuals with a more proactive personality will disperse further post-release and suffer higher mortality rates compared to more reactive individuals.
Grantee: Laney Hayward Nute
Institution: University of Mississippi, United States
Grant amount: $30,000
Grant type: Small grants
Focal species: Attwater's Prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus cupido attwateri)
Conservation status: Endangered
Disciplines: Wildlife rehabilitation, animal behavior, ornithology
Research location: United States
Project summary
Captive-raised animals translocated to the wild often suffer high mortality; for example, Attwater’s prairie chickens have had a survival rate of only 17-18% post-release in recent years. The focus of many translocation programs is on investing resources to produce more individuals rather than to improve the welfare of released animals. This project seeks to reduce the stress and suffering of released Attwater's prairie chicken by identifying a set of pre- and post-release indicators of welfare to target individuals for management interventions. Pre-release, the coping styles of individual birds will be identified during routine cage transfers and handling. Following release, the fine-scale movements of released birds will be traced using customized data loggers. By investigating the association of pre- and post-release behaviors with the body condition, daily environment changes, and ultimate survival of these individuals, it will be possible to identify which birds from future releases will need special attention to aid their survival. The researchers hypothesize that individuals with a more proactive (“bold”) personality will disperse further post-release and suffer higher mortality rates compared to more reactive individuals.
Why we funded this project
Understanding of associations between coping style/personality and welfare outcomes/challenges could be used to predict at-risk individuals in need of interventions such as supplemental feeding, translocation, or medical treatment. For wildlife rehabilitation or “headstarting” programs, coping style associations could also be used to inform rearing protocols to promote resilient styles that result in improved individual welfare in the wild.
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Introducing a novel tool to compare stress levels in captive and wild Macaca fascicularis
Grantee: Vets4welfare
Institution: Vets4welfare Foundation
Project summary
This project will compare cortisol concentrations in the hair of Indonesian monkeys from three groups: one in the wild, one that has been kept in captivity for the entertainment industry, and one in the process of rehabilitation following rescue from the entertainment industry. The aim of the project is to compare stress responses under wild, poor-welfare captive, and high-welfare captive environments. The hair cortisol data will be compared with veterinary and forensic records and other welfare-relevant observations (e.g. of infections or injuries) where possible. The researchers also intend to determine whether mistreatment in captivity leaves a signal in hair cortisol that could be detected after the fact and used to identify monkeys who have been illegally trafficked.
Grantee: Vets4welfare
Institution: Vets4welfare Foundation, Netherlands
Grant amount: $20,000
Grant type: Small grants
Focal species: Crab-eating macaque (Macaca fascicularis)
Conservation status: Endangered
Disciplines: Physiology, wildlife rehabilitation, human-wildlife conflict
Research location: Indonesia, Netherlands
Project summary
This project will compare cortisol concentrations in the hair of Indonesian monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) from three groups: a group whose members have spent their whole lives in the wild, a group that has been kept in captivity for the entertainment industry, and a group that are in the process of rehabilitation following rescue from the entertainment industry. Hair measurements can reflect welfare over a long period, as they integrate cortisol as they slowly grow. The concentration of cortisol in a segment of a hair is thought to reflect the activity of the animal’s physiological stress response at the time that segment was produced. On that premise, the project aims to compare the stress response of M. fascicularis under wild, poor-welfare captive (entertainment), and high-welfare captive (rehabilitation) environments. The hair cortisol data will be compared with veterinary and forensic records and other welfare-relevant observations (e.g., of infections or injuries) where possible. The researchers also intend to determine whether mistreatment in captivity leaves a signal in hair cortisol that could be detected after the fact and used to identify monkeys that have been illegally trafficked.
Why we funded this project
Although this project focuses narrowly on anthropogenic harms in a particular threatened species, we funded it because their approach is interesting and very similar to one we have been interested in applying to study the welfare of stocked fish (i.e., fish raised in a hatchery and then released into the wild) using biological aging methods, another category of putative welfare indicators that integrate stress over time. Between these two funded studies, we are interested to see 1) how welfare indicators for wild and captive environments of varying quality compare and 2) whether hair cortisol from individuals whose environment changed is consistent (at the corresponding points in time) with that of individuals who were only exposed to one environment or the other. We anticipate that the relationship for the latter question is more complex than described, but investigating it will help us learn more about the validity of hair cortisol measurements and the importance of prior experiences in shaping animals’ stress responses.
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Improving the welfare of translocated individuals - European mink as a case study
Grantee: Maria Diez Leon
Institution: University of London
Project summary
This project will assess how levels of two behaviors thought to track positive and negative welfare states — play behaviors and abnormal repetitive behaviors — influence post-release welfare metrics in two on-going reintroduction programs for the European mink. Fecal glucocorticoid metabolite levels will be measured to validate these behavioral indicators pre- and post-release. By differentially raising mink in conditions known to improve welfare, the researchers will investigate whether captive environments that promote play and decrease abnormal repetitive behaviors improve pre-release and post-release welfare, whether individual welfare state pre-release correlates with post-release welfare outcomes, and how the welfare of captive-born individuals differs from that of wild-born individuals.
Grantee: Maria Diez Leon
Institution: University of London, United Kingdom
Grant amount: $28,965
Grant type: Small grants
Focal species: European mink (Mustela lutreola)
Conservation status: Critically endangered
Disciplines: Wildlife rehabilitation, animal welfare science
Research location: Spain
Project summary
Conservation breeding programs do not proactively consider or even assess welfare across all stages, nor track the welfare of released individuals. We therefore lack data on how individual welfare state pre-release might affect welfare post-release. This project aims to fill the gap by assessing how levels of two behaviors thought to track positive and negative welfare states — play behaviors and abnormal repetitive behaviors — influence post-release welfare metrics in two on-going reintroduction programs for the European mink, and compare the welfare of released minks to individuals in an established “benchmark” wild population. Fecal glucocorticoid metabolite levels will also be measured to validate these behavioral indicators pre- and post-release. By differentially raising mink in conditions known to improve welfare, the researchers will investigate whether captive environments that promote play and decrease abnormal repetitive behaviors improve pre-release and post-release welfare, whether individual welfare state pre-release correlates with post-release welfare outcomes, and how the welfare of captive-born individuals differs from that of wild-born individuals.
Why we funded this project
We are interested in the comparison of long-term welfare outcomes between individuals born and protected in captivity and individuals born in the wild, which can help us understand how welfare issues differ between captive and wild environments and how much early-life experiences influence long-term welfare. The project’s objective of identifying improvements for the early-life care of animals who are to be released into the wild also helps us assess “headstarting,” a practice in which juveniles of a species are reared in captivity before being released at a less dangerous life stage, as a near-term intervention for improving the lifetime welfare of animals who have vulnerable juvenile stages but are relatively long-lived as adults. Finally, the applicant has a background in conservation but has demonstrated a long-term interest in wild animal welfare, such as attending an April 2022 workshop on animal sentience (LSE/Rethink Priorities).
Find Maria’s other project, studying American minks and Eurasian otters, here.
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Evaluating short- and long-term impacts of injury and illness on wild bird welfare
Grantee: Katie LaBarbera
Institution: San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory
Project summary
Surprisingly little is known about how illness and injury impact the welfare and survival of wild animals, as detecting and assessing injuries and tracking animals to determine their fates is challenging. Yet bird banding stations and wildlife rescues require this information to decide whether birds can be ethically released with long-term impairments. This project will use the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory (SFBBO)’s long-term bird-banding dataset, which spans over 30 years and 100,000 captures, to investigate these questions in wild birds. Bird banding involves close examination of wild individuals who are frequently recaptured over time. With a high rate of recapture, the SFBBO tracks individuals over years, monitoring their injuries and health, and estimating survival.
Grantee: Katie LaBarbera
Institution: San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory, United States
Grant amount: $20,000
Grant type: Challenge grants
Focal species: Wild birds
Conservation status: Least concern
Disciplines: Wildlife rehabilitation, ornithology
Research location: United States
Project summary
There is surprisingly little known about how illness and injury impact the experience of wild animals. Studying such patterns can be limited by the challenges of detecting and assessing injuries and then following up to determine individual fate in wild animals. The San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory’s (SFBBO) long-term bird-banding dataset (>30 years and >100,000 captures) is well-suited to address these questions in wild birds.
Bird banding involves close examination of wild individuals, and individuals are frequently recaptured over time. The SFBBO has a high rate of recapture, which allows them to track individuals over years and to estimate survival, tracking the state of injuries and bird health over multiple years. Understanding how injury impacts individual welfare and survival is of both intellectual and practical value. Bird banding stations vary considerably in their criteria for deciding whether an injured bird should be released or taken to a wildlife rescue. Wildlife rescues must in turn decide whether birds can be ethically released with long-term impairments; for example, many rescues will euthanize rather than release one-legged songbirds. Banding stations and wildlife rescues need real data on wild birds' experiences and prognoses to inform such policies; otherwise, they risk enacting harm.
Why we funded this project
With thousands of wild animal rehabilitation centers in the US alone, this study could provide information that would allow wild animal rehab staff to make data-driven decisions about their bird patients. We think there may be potential to greatly grow interest in the wild animal welfare community via connections with wild animal rehabilitation groups, and this project could provide connections to that community. The project also advances one of our core goals — understanding what wild animals’ lives are like — using an existing and humanely acquired dataset, by providing data on injury rates, severity, and recovery processes. The data could be used to define a metric of “time spent suffering” for injured songbirds.
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