Development of a fixed list of terms for qualitative behavioural assessment of brown bear (Ursus arctos) in Sanctuaries

Behavioural observation is an essential part of routine welfare assessment protocols for captive wild animals and Qualitative Behavioural Assessment (QBA) can be included as measure of their emotional state. This study aims to develop a QBA Fixed List (FL) for brown bears (Ursus arctos), to test its reliability and to investigate the potential effect of the individual characteristics of the bears and season on the QBA outcomes. Observations and/or video-recordings were performed on 24 brown bears kept in three FOUR PAWS (FP) Sanctuaries. A list of 20 terms was created based on preliminary observations and assessments. Reliability between four observers was tested by calculating the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) of the four main Principal Components (PC) and each QBA term scored on 20 two-minute videos, after online training sessions. The correlation between direct versus video observations was investigated through Spearman rank correlations calculated on the first two PC of QBA performed by one observer on 32 twenty-minute observations. Finally, the effect of sex, age, time since rescue (Length of Stay -LoS-), and season was investigated using non-parametric analysis on QBA PC performed by the same observer on 41 twenty-minute videos. Results showed a good sampling adequacy. The agreement between observers was met in all four PC with ICC values from 0.63 to 0.95 and in most terms with ICC values from excellent (> 0.90) to moderate (0.50–0.75), except for Apathetic and Bored. Data from direct and video observations showed a significant correlation among each PC (Rs =0.69 for PC1, p 0.001; Rs =0.67 for PC2; p 0.001). The four main PC on QBA performed on the 41 twenty-minute videos, used to test the effects of sex, age, LoS, and season, explained 74.5% of variance. Positive and negative mood descriptors loaded on PC1, PC2 described activity levels, PC3 dealt with emotions of joy and suffering and PC4 with frustration. Sex affected PC2, females were more Positively occupied and Inquisitive. Older bears (>20 years) were more Bored and In pain than younger bears. Newly arrived bears ( 4 years. Bears showed more positive mood during spring and more negative during summer. Results of the study encourage the application of the developed FL in routine welfare assessments in FP Sanctuaries to monitor bear welfare throughout the seasons, their adaptation process from rescue onwards and to promptly identify changes due to the aging of the animals.