Ros Clubb

Ros is a senior scientific officer and joined our wildlife team in October 2006.

She works on a wide range of captive wildlife issues, including the welfare of animals in zoos, circuses and other performing environments (e.g. film and TV), and non-domesticated animals kept as pets (e.g. primates).

Ros has a DPhil in animal behaviour. Her research looked at the repetitive pacing behaviour shown by captive carnivores like mink, polar bears and tigers. Her findings, published in the journal Nature, revealed that animals most confined by the captive environment (the most wide-ranging species) are most vulnerable to pacing, and other welfare problems, in captivity.

Other research projects have included the welfare of elephants held in European zoos. The results of the research, published in a report, ‘A Review of the Welfare of Zoo Elephants in Europe’, highlighted a suite of welfare problems linked to various aspects of the captive environment.

Continuing research on this issue was published in the journal Science, where survival rates of zoo elephants compared to those of animals in their native country were reported.