Department of Animal Sciences, University Centre Reaseheath, Nantwich, Cheshire, UK.
Department of Anthropology, Faculidade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.
Zoo Biol. 2023 Nov-Dec;42(6):757-765. doi: 10.1002/zoo.21790. Epub 2023 Jun 16.
Many species thrive in captivity, yet there is still much to be assessed regarding the often-unknown stressors present that can compromise welfare. Uncovering such stressors is of paramount importance if we are to ensure the zoo environment provides the highest levels of animal welfare that will contribute to species conservation. Zoo-housed primates are subject to many potential stressors, including daily husbandry routines which they may find aversive or habituate to, regardless of their outcome. The specific aim of this study was to assess the behavioral responses to daily husbandry feeding routines on a total of 33 Sulawesi crested black macaques (Macaca nigra), across two different UK zoological collections. Group scan sampling was used to record behaviors for 30-min periods before feeding (BF), for 30 min after feeding (AF), which we began 30 min after feed provision, and for 30 min when no feeding occurred (NF). The feeding condition significantly influenced behaviors recorded and post-hoc comparisons showed that BF conditions produced significantly higher frequencies of food anticipatory related activity (FAA). Furthermore, during BF periods, behaviors associated with FAA increased during the 15 min closer to a feed. This research finds that temporal feeding events cause changes in the behavior of two independent groups of crested macaques, indicative of food anticipation activity, during 30-min periods leading up to a feed. These results have implications for how animal keeper routines and advertised zoo feeds are managed for this species within zoological collections.
许多物种在圈养环境中茁壮成长，但仍有许多未知的压力因素需要评估，这些因素可能会影响动物福利。如果我们要确保动物园环境提供最高水平的动物福利，从而有助于物种保护，那么揭示这些压力因素至关重要。圈养灵长类动物可能会面临许多潜在的压力源，包括日常饲养程序，无论其结果如何，它们可能会觉得厌恶或习惯。这项研究的具体目的是评估 33 只苏拉威西冠黑猕猴（Macaca nigra）在两个不同的英国动物园中对日常饲养喂食程序的行为反应。使用群体扫描采样在喂食前 30 分钟（BF）、喂食后 30 分钟（AF）、喂食后 30 分钟（AF）和没有喂食的 30 分钟（NF）记录行为。喂养条件显著影响记录的行为，事后比较表明 BF 条件产生的食物预期相关活动（FAA）频率明显更高。此外，在 BF 期间，与 FAA 相关的行为在接近饲料的 15 分钟内增加。这项研究发现，时间性喂养事件导致两组独立的冠猕猴在接近饲料的 30 分钟内行为发生变化，表明存在食物预期活动。这些结果对如何管理动物园饲养员的日常工作和动物园广告中的饲料管理具有重要意义。
