Fecal analysis, vet students and polar bears

Written by Katelyn Dingman

Ever wondered why after a long day at the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) your roommate comes home and immediately jumps into the shower?

Well, consider that smelling awful is perhaps just a small price to pay to improve the welfare of zoo animals.

The University of Guelph has a long history of working with the Metro Toronto Zoo. The OVC’s contribution to the Metro Toronto Zoo includes reproductive physiology research aimed at furthering wildlife conservation and nutrition, and veterinary medicine research to improve zoo animal welfare.

According to Laura Graham, a professor in the department of animal and poultry science, there are many advantages for the Metro Toronto Zoo having veterinary students conduct these studies.

“The advantage to the zoological institutions is that universities tend to be better equipped for research and has more staff trained in conducting research,” she explained.

There is also a benefit for U of G students as well, allowing them to dive into a variety of health issues related to specific animals.  Take Daniele Size, a masters student in animal behavior and welfare at OVC, who is currently studying three polar bears at the Metro Toronto Zoo, more specifically focusing on non-invasive assessments of endocrine functioning. Non-invasive endocrine techniques involve measuring hormone metabolites in the urine or feces, similar to the way home pregnancy tests are used by women. Size is also studying the mating practices of polar bears.

“The polar bears have recently exhibited mating behavior so I will also be looking at pregnancy hormones, such as progesterone to see if we can determine whether or not the females are pregnant,” she explained. “Non-invasive fecal hormone analysis can be a valuable tool…which can potentially provide information that can improve the management of these animals in the wild and captivity.”

Graham echoed Size in the importance of the development of non-invasive endocrine techniques.

“The reason to develop these techniques is to eliminate the need for blood collection to assess hormone levels since blood collection can be very stressful for animals not used to being handled,” said Graham. “In the past 20 years, the field of non-invasive endocrine monitoring has grown rapidly and is used routinely by many zoos, including the Metro Toronto Zoo, to assess reproductive status and detect pregnancy in a variety of species.”

Researchers from the OVC will continue to analyze the polar bears from the Metro Toronto Zoo, however it is still important to assess the hormone patterns in free ranging bears using non-invasive monitoring techniques. There continue to be several challenges that come from analyzing free ranging bears.

Not only does the Metro Toronto Zoo benefit from OVC student’s research, but according to Size, the Zoo is very helpful in answering any questions students may have about their data collection.

“The zoo has been wonderful so far about collecting samples for us and answering any questions I have about the bears. I travel there weekly to do behavioral observations on them as well,” she explained.

So next time your roommate comes home from a long day of non-invasive fecal hormone research, clear out of the bathroom and congratulate them for their contribution in improving zoo animal welfare and furthering wildlife conservation.

Your anonymous comment may be printed in The Ontarion's print publication.