Zane Cullinane Walsh conceptualized a project that compared social behavior of captive and wild American alligators. He enlisted Hannah Olson and Miranda Clendening to join the team. Their work started well before data collection as they needed to secure IACUC (Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees) approval before they could start observing alligators. After data collection, they worked to review the literature, learn new statistical and data visualization techniques, and develop their scientific writing skills.

Crocodilian behavior in captivity is understudied. We know that in the wild they are social animals but captivity can alter behavior. We found striking differences between the social behavior of wild and captive alligators. Wild alligators commonly use posturing, movements, and vocalizations to communicate with one another. For example, a wild alligator might growl to mitigate conflict or perform a head slap to establish its presence. We found that wild alligators perform social behaviors, on average, 827% more frequently than their captive counterparts. The diversity in social behaviors performed was also diminished in the captive congregation.

The study went beyond measuring differences in social behavior between wild and captive alligators to consider indicators of alligator wellbeing. The behavioral repertoire of the captive alligators was dominated by high walking, a nonsocial behavior. Across general and social behaviors, 94% of the observed behaviors, excluding feeding, was high walking. The pronounced frequency of this behavior may indicate stress and can serve as an indicator of wellbeing. Identifying indicators of compromised wellbeing is important for developing strategies to improve welfare such as environmental enrichment, changes in habitat structure, and encouraging natural behaviors.

The study was published in the Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens in a special issue: Fundamental Knowledge on Forgotten Species: An Exploration of Data from Rarely Studied Captive Animals:

Walsh, Zane C., Olson, Hannah, Clendening, Miranda, and Rycyk, Athena M. (2022) Social Behavior Deficiencies in Captive American Alligators (Alligator mississippiensis), Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens (Featured Paper), 3, 131–146, https://doi.org/10.3390/jzbg3010011

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