Comparative analyses of longevity and senescence reveal variable survival benefits of living in zoos across mammals.

ABSTRACT: While it is commonly believed that animals live longer in zoos than in the wild, this assumption has rarely been tested. We compared four survival metrics (longevity, baseline mortality, onset of senescence and rate of senescence) between both sexes of free-ranging and zoo populations of more than 50 mammal species. We found that mammals from zoo populations generally lived longer than their wild counterparts (84% of species). The effect was most notable in species with a faster pace of life (i.e. a short life span, high reproductive rate and high mortality in the wild) because zoos evidently offer protection against a number of relevant conditions like predation, intraspecific competition and diseases. Species with a slower pace of life (i.e. a long life span, low reproduction rate and lo

SUBMITTER: Tidiere M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5098244 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature