Análise do comportamento através de enriquecimento ambiental para onças-pintadas (Panthera onca, linnaeus, 1758) em cativeiro

Abstract

Animals living in captive environments need specific care, since in the wild they develop effective foraging strategies for the survival and perpetuation of the species. Jaguars are easily found in captive environments due to habitat destruction and illegal hunting, becoming increasingly common in zoos around the world. When necessary to live in human care, their wild habits are limited causing a number of behavioral problems. Therefore, environmental enrichment (EA) techniques become necessary and of great importance for the well-being of these animals. Therefore, it is appropriate to use strategic actions that encourage the expression of normal behaviors of the species, such as the use of environmental enrichments in order to reproduce the experience of its natural habitat, adding new stimuli and contributing to physical and mental health. The present work aims to reduce downtime with environmental enrichment techniques in the routine of three individuals of jaguars (Panthera onca) in captivity. The study was carried out at the UNISEP zoo, located in the city of Dois Vizinhos, Paraná. Carried out in three phases: pre-enrichment, during enrichment and post-enrichment. To catalog the behavior of individuals, the Animal Focal method was used. The animals were observed separately with a session of 1 hour per day, and every one minute a behavior was recorded, expressed by the animal, totaling 60 behaviors at the end of the one-hour session. Pre-enrichment occurred in the first two weeks (10h) of the experiment, where the animal's behavior was recorded under normal conditions. The enrichment phase was developed for 4 weeks (16h) through the application of food/cognitive (surprise box) and sensory (hay with odor) techniques. Post- enrichment was carried out for one week (4h) under normal conditions, without the application of AEs. The behaviors expressed during each session were quantified and noted in behavioral lists. The results were performed descriptively and the data graphically represented in percentage, according to the amount of behavior developed during each phase. It was possible to observe that the applied enrichment increased the animals' activity time, decreasing idle time, with the increase in the exploration of the enclosure through environmental enrichments. Therefore, it is extremely important to implement an environmental enrichment program for the studied species, as well as for all other captive specimens.