AUDITORY EVOKED POTENTIALS AND BEHAVIORAL CONSIDERATIONS WITH HEARING LOSS IN SMALL CETACEANS: APPLICATION AS A STANDARD DIAGNOSTIC TEST IN HEALTH ASSESSMENT.

The primary sense in odontocetes is hearing and a large portion of the odontocete brain is devoted to the auditory processing of echolocation signals. Hearing deficits in odontocetes potentially compromise the ability to forage, navigate, socialize, and evade predators. This presents a challenge to survival and reproduction in wild odontocetes and can affect the general welfare of odontocetes under human care.

Risk factors associated with cataracts and lens luxations in captive pinnipeds in the United States and the Bahamas.

Objective: To determine risk factors for lens luxation and cataracts in captive pinnipeds in the United States and the Bahamas.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Animals: 111 pinnipeds (99 California sea lions [Zalophus californianus], 10 harbor seals [Phoca vitulina], and 2 walruses [Odobenus rosmarus]) from 9 facilities.