Unit name | Captive Wildlife Management |
---|---|
Unit code | VETSM0039 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | M/7 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
Unit director | Ms. Killick |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | Bristol Veterinary School |
Faculty | Faculty of Health Sciences |
The aim of this unit is to provide a thorough understanding of the principles of maintaining healthy populations of animals in captivity, including housing, nutrition, health, breeding and rearing. The groups to be covered include mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish. Topics to be taught include enclosure design, environmental enrichment, zoo animal behaviour (including husbandry training), dietary requirements of different species, preventative and diagnostic health (including quarantine, vaccination, parasite and disease control), population management and welfare issues. The unit will also teach students about captive breeding programmes for endangered species (including studbook management and the avoidance of inbreeding) and the reintroduction of captive populations to the wild, using case studies and practical examples. Finally the unit will give students a critical understanding of international zoo networks and the role of zoos in scientific research and field conservation.
On completing this Unit students should be able to:
This unit will be taught using a combination of lectures, seminars, group workshops and practical sessions at Bristol Zoo. The practical sessions will provide the students with hands-on experience of animal husbandry, including food preparation and enclosure maintenance, environmental enrichment, water testing and behavioural observations. The students will be provided with e-resources for this unit through the Blackboard online learning environment. These resources will include all the lecture notes and handouts, additional background reading, supporting material and links to subject-related websites.
The student's performance on this unit will be assessed using:
The following are some examples of basic texts - others will be recommended by individual tutors during their teaching sessions: