ACTA THERIOLOGICA SINICA ›› 2023, Vol. 43 ›› Issue (1): 59-68.DOI: 10.16829/j.slxb.150651

• ORIGINAL PAPERS • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effects of olfactory enrichment using logs used by baboons on behaviors of captive carnivores

CAO Yani1, HUANG Xinrui2, ZHANG Yuanyuan1, ZHANG Yizhuo1, HE Shaochun1, ZHAO Jing1, MA Jun1, ZHANG Tao1, ZHANG Chenglin1, LIU Dingzhen2   

  1. 1 Beijing Zoo Management Office, Beijing Key Laboratory of Captive Wildlife Technology, Beijing 100044, China;
    2 Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, College of Life Sciences, Beijing NormalUniversity, Beijing 100875, China
  • Received:2021-12-23 Revised:2022-07-05 Published:2023-01-10

狒狒圈舍废弃栖杠的嗅觉丰容对圈养食肉动物行为的影响

曹雅妮1, 黄心蕊2, 张媛媛1, 张轶卓1, 何绍纯1, 赵荆1, 马骏1, 张涛1, 张成林1, 刘定震2   

  1. 1 北京动物园管理处, 圈养野生动物技术北京市重点实验室, 北京 100044;
    2 北京师范大学生命科学学院, 生物多样性科学与生态工程教育部重点实验室, 北京 100875
  • 通讯作者: 刘定震,E-mail:dzliu@bnu.edu.cn
  • 作者简介:曹雅妮(1984-),女,工程师,主要从事圈养动物饲养与管理;黄心蕊(1998-),女,硕士研究生,主要从事动物行为学研究.
  • 基金资助:
    北京公园管理中心项目(ZX2022018);国家林业和草原局项目(2018-BJ-001)

Abstract: The monotonous environment is thought to be one of the causes of the stereotypic behavior in captive carnivores. It is a challenging work for zoo managers to explore and use a simple, economical and effective method to conduct enrichment to prevent those carnivores from displaying stereotypic behavior. Here, we conducted an olfactory enrichment study using logs formerly used in baboon playgrounds in small (9 species), medium (4 species) and large (7 species) carnivores at Beijing Zoo. We used the scan sampling and instantaneous recording method to observe those carnivores'behavior and compared the five main behaviors of 28 animals before and after enrichment during the non-feeding period. The results showed that the relative ratio of using old enrichment items in small and medium carnivore groups decreased significantly after the enrichment (small:P=0.026; medium:P=0.038), but no significant changes were detected in large carnivores. In addition, small carnivores showed less stereotypic pacing, resting, and watching behavior than those before the enrichment (stereotypic pacing:P=0.023; resting:P=0.023; watching:P=0.017). There were no significant behavioral changes in other behaviors of medium and large carnivores (both P>0.05). Moreover, the behavioral diversity index in small carnivores decreased significantly after enrichment by displaying more exploring behavior to the newly added logs (P=0.008). No similar change was found in medium and larger carnivores (both P>0.05). Our results suggest that using items containing body odors of other animals like baboons in the zoo as environmental enrichment materials is only effective for reducing stereotypic behavior in small carnivores, but not for medium and large carnivores. It is a low-cost, simple and effective way to exploit items used in other animals'enclosures to conduct environmental enrichment for small captive carnivores and should be recommended to other zoos and wildlife parks.

Key words: Olfactory enrichment, Carnivore, Behavior, Log, Animal welfare

摘要: 单调的饲养环境是导致圈养食肉动物表现刻板行为的主要原因之一。为减少圈养动物刻板行为的发生,探索便于操作、经济且有效的丰容方式是动物饲养管理者面临的一个挑战。本研究以狒狒圈舍废弃栖杠作为嗅觉丰容材料,对北京动物园小型(9种)、中型(4种)和大型(7种)食肉动物进行嗅觉丰容实验。在非投喂时段,采用扫描动物取样和瞬时记录法,分别对28只动物在丰容前后的5种行为进行观察和比较分析。结果显示,小型和中型食肉动物在丰容后对旧设施的使用频次显著下降(小型:P=0.026;中型:P=0.038),而大型食肉动物无显著变化(P>0.05)。仅小型食肉动物的刻板性走动、休息和观望行为频次显著下降(走动:P=0.023;休息:P=0.023;观望:P=0.017),其他类群的各类行为均无显著变化(P>0.05)。同时,丰容后小型食肉动物的行为多样性指数显著降低(P=0.008),主要表现为动物花费较多的时间探究新的丰容设施;中型和大型食肉动物的行为多样性指数变化不显著。结果表明,使用带有狒狒身体气味的栖杠进行嗅觉丰容,仅对小型食肉动物有效,对中型和大型食肉动物无效。研究认为,以其他动物圈舍的废弃栖架等物品作为丰容材料,对小型食肉动物进行嗅觉丰容,是一种低成本、有效且操作简便的嗅觉丰容方式,具有一定的推广价值。

关键词: 嗅觉丰容, 食肉动物, 行为, 栖杠, 动物福利

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