The Personable Tiger

Anyone who works around animals - be it a pet owner, a farmer, or a zookeeper - would probably find it very hard to consider animals not having personalities.  Sure, some animals tend to have more personality than others, which may be lacking entirely.  I've never heard any aquarist speculate on the individual personality of a jelly, for example.  Still, when we talk about personalities of zoo animals, we tend to talk more about the personality of a species, rather than an individual.  

White rhinos are normally more sociable and gregarious than black rhinos.  Clouded leopards are more nervous and high strung than pumas.  Sometimes the personality is based on age.  Young cassowary are quite friendly - until they hit a certain age, and then they're not.  Or, it may be based on sex.  Male Andean bears, in my experience, are big, dumb, and loveable.  Females are smarter and sassier.  

That being said, there can be a lot of personality variation within individuals of a species, as primate keepers can be especially keen to tell you.  It's harder to document and quantify than many other aspects of biology, and more easily dismissed as anthropomorphism.  Some biologists feel that we've been overlooking this for too long, however - and one recent study of Amur tigers suggests that variations in personality can have a significant impact in conservation.

Tigers have distinct personalities, according to cat questionnaire

An implication I've worried about - does personality matter in zoos?  Do animals of some personality types - perhaps the more mellowed out, less stressed individuals - do better, leaving more offspring and being represented more in future generations?  Is there a risk that we are producing future generations of zoo animals with base personalities that are not representative of those in the wild?