01585nas a2200205   4500000000100000008004100001260007000042653001200112653001900124653001300143653002500156653002300181100001500204700001600219700001400235245008600249490000800335520102200343022001401365       2017                            d  c06/2017bSchlütersche Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KGaHannover10amammals10afaecal samples10asteroids10acortisol metabolites10aenzyme immunoassay1 aM Malikova1 aE Voslarova1 aV Vecerek00aNon-invasive faecal monitoring of stress in captive and free-ranging wild animals0 v1303 aNon-invasive monitoring of faecal metabolites of glucocorticoid hormones over the last two decades has become a frequently used method of assessing stress responses in wild animals. The number of studies focusing on this area of research is constantly growing, and also growing is the number of animals for which these methods have been described and validated in a variety of potentially stressful situations. The following text summarizes the advantages of non-invasive methods, particularly analysis of faecal samples, over invasive methods and their application in assessing stress in wild animals. Reference to species in which these methods have been successfully applied is given. Metabolism and excretion of glucocorticoid hormones and their elimination in the form of metabolites in faeces are described. Finally, the paper summarizes the principles of proper sample collection and their storage, and also discusses possible methods of analysis of those samples, which consists of extraction and immunoassay.  a0005-9366