Declining and low fecal corticoids are associated with distress, not acclimation to stress, during the translocation of African rhinoceros

• Published in: Animal conservation Vol. 13; no. 1; pp. 104 - 111
• Main Authors: Linklater, W.L, MacDonald, E.A, Flamand, J.R.B, Czekala, N.M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Oxford, UK : Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2010; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: Acclimation; androgen; Androgens; Captivity; Ceratotherium simum; Conservation; Corticoids; Diceros bicornis; Fecal coliforms; glucocorticoid; Gonads; Metabolites; progestin; Steroid hormones; steroids; Stress; Translocation; Africa

Concentrations of adrenal steroid metabolites in feces are routinely used to assess the welfare of animals that are the subject of conservation efforts. The assumption that low and declining corticoid concentrations indicate the absence of stress and acclimation, respectively, is often made without...