ACTA THERIOLOGICA SINICA >

2023 , Vol. 43 >Issue 1: 59 - 68

DOI: https://doi.org/10.16829/j.slxb.150651

ORIGINAL PAPERS

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

  • CAO Yani ,
  • HUANG Xinrui ,
  • ZHANG Yuanyuan ,
  • ZHANG Yizhuo ,
  • HE Shaochun ,
  • ZHAO Jing ,
  • MA Jun ,
  • ZHANG Tao ,
  • ZHANG Chenglin ,
  • LIU Dingzhen
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  • 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 date: 2021-12-23

  Revised date: 2022-07-05

  Online published: 2023-01-10

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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

Cite this article

CAO Yani , HUANG Xinrui , ZHANG Yuanyuan , ZHANG Yizhuo , HE Shaochun , ZHAO Jing , MA Jun , ZHANG Tao , ZHANG Chenglin , LIU Dingzhen . Effects of olfactory enrichment using logs used by baboons on behaviors of captive carnivores[J]. ACTA THERIOLOGICA SINICA, 2023 , 43(1) : 59 -68 . DOI: 10.16829/j.slxb.150651

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