Evaluation of Glucocorticoid Faecal Monitoring as a Non-Invasive Assessment of Stress in Captive Crab-Eating Fox (Cerdocyoun thous) After ACTH Stimulation

Abstract

Blood sampling is a common method in biological research of domestic animals for studying hormone mechanisms. However, this approach can be stressful for wild species, and compromise research concerning animal welfare. The crab-eating fox (Cerdocyoun thous) is a medium-sized canid found in South America and a popular zoo species in that region. However, almost nothing is known of their biology or what factors impact captive welfare. Thus, a non-invasive method to measure adrenal activity and stress was developed for quantifying fecal glucocorticoids non-invasively in this species. The physiological relevance of the cortisol immunoassay was demonstrated by injection of exogenous ACTH into two males and one female, which led to a significant increase in fecal glucocorticoid metabolites within 24-48 h. From these findings we conclude that fecal samples can be used for the non-invasive assessment of adrenocortical status in crab-eating fox.