RESULTS: We found two reliable personality dimensions for African lions (dominance and agreeableness) and identified key factors (sex, age and location) that may influence their personality. Further, on testing if these factors influenced the stress physiology through variations in glucocorticoid levels, there was no significant difference. However, there was a strong negative association between agreeableness and glucocorticoid levels. These results suggest that the behavioural traits loading positively and higher for agreeableness are associated with lower glucocorticoid stress levels, which may assist a lion to cope with stressors in its surroundings.
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings highlight this integrated approach of linking personality and stress physiology of big cats can be beneficial for caretakers. For example, during stressful veterinary procedures or in reintroduction programs, recognizing the personality of lions can help in designing or providing them with resources that will alleviate stress. Thus, there is a need for more interdisciplinary approaches that will contribute towards enhancing the individual and overall welfare of big cats.
结果:我们发现了非洲狮子的两个可靠的人格维度(优势和随和),并确定了关键因素(性别,年龄和位置)可能会影响他们的个性。Further,在测试这些因素是否通过糖皮质激素水平的变化影响应激生理,差异无统计学意义。然而,同意性与糖皮质激素水平之间存在很强的负相关性.这些结果表明,积极的行为特征负荷和较高的一致性与较低的糖皮质激素应激水平有关。这可以帮助狮子应对周围环境的压力。
结论:我们的发现强调了这种将大型猫科动物的个性和压力生理联系起来的综合方法可能对看护者有益。例如,在紧张的兽医程序或重新引入计划中,认识到狮子的个性可以帮助设计或为它们提供减轻压力的资源。因此,需要更多的跨学科方法,这将有助于提高大型猫科动物的个人和整体福利。