Members of the pod: do marine mammal trainers perceive a bond with the animals they care for?

Welsh, T ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9246-3405, Brando, S, Hosey, G and Ward, S ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5857-1071, 2022. Members of the pod: do marine mammal trainers perceive a bond with the animals they care for? Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens, 3 (3), pp. 409-419. ISSN 2673-5636

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Abstract

Animals under human care interact with their caretakers, potentially resulting in human–animal bonds (HABs), which can enhance wellbeing for both. Previous research has suggested that keepers perceive bonds with their animals, but investigation of a different zoo role working with one species has not yet been completed. Here, we investigate the animal trainers’ perception of HABs with captive bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). A modified Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale (LAPS) was used to measure the strength of perceived HABs between trainers and both dolphins and companion animals in their care. LAPS questionnaires were completed by 128 trainers from 35 different collections worldwide. Most respondents perceived themselves to have a bond with a dolphin, although LAPS scores for attachment to dolphins (DA) were significantly lower than for companion animals (CA). Female LAPS scores were significantly higher than males for both DA and CA. Multiple regression demonstrated that the facility and trainer gender were significant predictors of CA. LAPS scores for trainers were comparable to those for zoo animals, which reflects a strong attachment to the dolphins they work with. However, this attachment was not as strong as for their companion animals, and was influenced by the collection they worked for.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens
Creators:	Welsh, T., Brando, S., Hosey, G. and Ward, S.
Publisher:	MDPI
Date:	5 August 2022
Volume:	3
Number:	3
ISSN:	2673-5636
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.3390/jzbg3030031 DOI 1579654 Other
Rights:	© 2022 by the authors. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).
Divisions:	Schools > School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences
Record created by:	Jeremy Silvester
Date Added:	05 Aug 2022 14:09
Last Modified:	05 Aug 2022 14:09
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/46834

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