BEHAVIOURAL EVALUATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENRICHMENT IN A FAMILY OF CAPTIVE JAPANESE MACAQUES ( MACACA FUSCATA)

1. BEHAVIOURAL EVALUATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENRICHMENT IN A FAMILY OF CAPTIVE JAPANESE MACAQUES (MACACA FUSCATA) Requeijão, V.1, Sousa, C.1,2 ,3, 1 Dep. Antropologia, Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas da Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal 2 APP – Associação Portuguesa de Primatologia 3 CRIA - Centro em Rede de Investigação em Antropologia, Portugal 1. INTRODUCTION This study focus on 2 males, Elli and Bart (infant) and 2 females, Okha (mother) and Ryotsu. The two females are sisters. They live in a naturalistic enclosure. The main goal was to determine if environmental enrichment influences the behaviour of the individuals, decreasing the stereotyped behaviours and increasing welfare. Okha 2. METHODS Observational sessions of continuous focal sampling during 66 days in three months, 2 hours a day, 30 minutes per individual. It totalizes 1980 minutes of observation per individual. There were three periods of observation: before enrichment (16 days), during enrichment (23 days) and after enrichment (27 days). Figure 3 – Evolution of some social and agonistic Figura 4 – Evolution of some stereotypied behaviour Behaviours. and others. Ryotsu 3. DISPOSITIVES OF ENRICHMENT Table 1 shows the different elements of enrichment used during the phase two – during enrichment. After this phase, the items that more succeed with the macaques were chosen and repeated and the others abandoned, as demonstrated in table 2, the after enrichment phase. Table 1 – Enrichment devices used in period “during enrichment” – June / July 2007 Figure 5 – Evolutionof some social behaviours. Figura 6 – Evolution of one type ofstereotyped behaviour and others. Bart Table 2 – Enrichment devices used in period “after enrichment” – July / August 2007 Figure 7 – Evolution of some social behaviours. Figure 8 – Evolution of some social and individual behaviours. 5. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION In all individuals, the most part of social behaviour increases. Stereotyped behaviours, like pacing, decreased in Elli and agonistic demonstrations too, specially to Ryotsu. Higher values in categories such as self-grooming during and after enrichment in Okha reveal that she probably felt more stressed with the new devices, reflecting that in interactions with her son, Bart. The infant, beside interacting well with the enrichments, is too young and showed not stereotyped behaviours, but social interactions increased with both females. Elli never performed social play or others similar. In conclusion, the environmental enrichment used in this study changed some occurrences of specific behaviours, reaching the principal aim of environmental enrichment: contribute to the animals welfare. 4. PRELIMINARY RESULTS The following charts results from the mean frequencies of categories of behaviour per individual that change during the three period times of observation. Elli 6. REFERENCES BRAMBLETT, C. (1994) Patterns of Primate Behavior, 2ª ed., Illinois, Waveland Press, Inc.. BOYD, R. & SILK, J. (2000) How Humans Evolved, 2nd ed., N.Y., London, W. W. Norton Company: 135 - 165 CASANOVA, C. (1996) Primatologia: Sobre o comportamento e organização social de um grupo de chimpanzés (Pan troglodytes) em cativeiro, Lisboa, ISCSP, UTL. MARTIN, P. & BATESON, P. (1993) Measuring Behaviour – An introductory guide, 2ª ed., Cambridge, Cambridge University press. ROWE, N., (1999) The pictorial guide to the living primates, New York, Pogonias Press: 5-9, 119-125 YOUNG, R. J. (2003) Environmental Enrichment for Captive Anima.Blackwell publishing,Universities Federation for Animal Welfare Series. Figure 1 – Evolution of some social and agonistic Figure 2 – Evolution of some stereotypied and behaviour. individual behaviour. ACKNOLODGMENTS Monte Selvagem – Reserva Animal: all team, in particular to Ana P. Santos and Manuel Luís.