WEBVTT
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Language: en

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We are developing a welfare monitoring tool,
which is really species-specific welfare surveys

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that can be completed online by caretakers.

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So, we have zookeepers going online to our
website right now completing weekly surveys

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for individual animals.

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And there’s a built-in web application that
will track the keeper’s scores on various

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welfare indicators.

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So, for any given species, there’s ten to
fifteen items with typical welfare indicators

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like physical condition and appetite, but
also some that we hope to capture the mental

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and emotional well-being.

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We think that the caretakers are the best
to pick up on those sorts of changes.

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And then, scores are tracked by the web application.

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And then, the application can generate welfare
reports that flag shifts in scores for the

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species workers to discuss.

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So, it’s meant to provide a first indicator
of shifts in welfare status.

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Looking at just mortality, and we want to
have the welfare be good enough that it doesn’t

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kill the animals, that’s setting the bar
really, really low.

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And so, what we’re trying to do is do our
best to improve the welfare of gorillas, specifically.

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And welfare track just seemed like a wonderful
tool to add to the database of knowledge about--

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first we started looking, again, at causes
of death.

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And then, based on that, looking at causes
of disease that were related to mortality.

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That sort of led to a different IMLS project.

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The Great Ape Heart Project spun out of looking
at cardiac disease in gorillas.

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And so, we’re moving up the ladder towards
finding out more about how the animals live

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and their overall welfare, as opposed to just
sort of the end result of a pathology exam.

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We really want to highlight when we’re doing
things well and promoting good well-being

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because often in welfare research the focus
is on the negative and the pain and suffering.

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So this is about sometimes you may see scores
improving, taking a look.

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What did we do that week?

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We must have done something right, and figuring
out what we’re doing right to make sure

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we’re making the best decisions for each
individual.