Behavioral Evaluation of Herpailurus yagouaroundi (É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1803) in Response to Environmental Enrichment

The environment provided for animals in captivity is less complex than its natural habitat, which generates a stressful condition. Environmental enrichment tries to meet the animals' ethological and psychological needs. This paper aims to evaluate the effect of different environmental enrichmen...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of applied animal welfare science 2021-04, Vol.24 (2), p.149-158
Main Authors: Fischer Meinert, Rodrigo, Pitlovanciv, Ana Kelly, Marenzi, Rosemeri Carvalho, Silva Barreto, Andre
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal behavior
Animals
Captivity
Enrichment
Environmental effects
environmental enrichment
Exploratory behavior
felines
Herpailurus yagouaroundi
Locomotion
stereotypy
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Summary:The environment provided for animals in captivity is less complex than its natural habitat, which generates a stressful condition. Environmental enrichment tries to meet the animals' ethological and psychological needs. This paper aims to evaluate the effect of different environmental enrichment methods on the jaguarundi (Herpailurus yagouaroundi; É Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1803) behavior kept in captivity at Fundação Ecológica e Zoobotânico de Brusque - SC [Brusque Ecological and Zoobotanical Foundation - SC]. Four environmental enrichments were introduced, and the behaviors expressed by the animal were observed in three stages (pre-enrichment, during-enrichment, and post-enrichment), totaling 55 h. Differences in behaviors were tested using the Mann-Whitney test. After the "sensory enrichment" there was a decrease in the behaviors of Maintenance, Calm, and Inactive with an increase in the expression of Exploratory behaviors. On the other hand, both "physical enrichments" reduced the expression of Exploratory and Locomotion behaviors, with an increase of Inactive and Calm. The "occupational/nutritional enrichment" increased the Inactive behaviors reducing Locomotion and Pacing. These results reinforce that environmental enrichments in captivity are useful to reduce stress and increase animal well being.
ISSN:1088-8705
1532-7604
DOI:10.1080/10888705.2021.1872025