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About Zoochosis
This term is used when talking about the stereotypical behaviour that some animals unexplainably develop while in captivity.The artificial environments that animals are surrounded by can lead to them feeling bored, stressed and frustrated. Typical behaviours include reptition of pacing or swaying, self harming, and feather plucking; actions that aren't seen in the same species in the wild. Although the reasoning behind these acts is not known for sure, there are many ideas and theories as to why this take place in captive environments.
In the wild animals belong to very complex ecosystems and habitats,interacting with several species is an imminent and important part of living in the wild, something zoos find problematic to recreate. In captivity they are unable to interact with different species that they would find in their natural habitat, for example a watering hole in Africa.
'Zoochosis' is not found in every captive animal, but often animals that have highly motivated behaviours in the wild; which they are unable to persue in captivity, such as predators. Predators have evolved to have a natural instinct to hunt for food, it is an instinct of survival, an instinct no longer needed when the animal is in a zoo. It is believed this loss of energy needs to be displaced, and this behaviour begins when an animal is unable to cope with their environment. Animals that do not seem to cope well in unnatural environments include: Elephants, Polar bears, Giraffes, Lions, Tigers, and generally other large animals that have a vast home range in the wild.
These stereotypical behaviours aren't easy to research because we do not know how animals control their emotions and experiences. Do they react to things in the same way as humans? For a long time people denied that they animals had any feeling or emotion at all.