Efeito do enriquecimento de ambiente no comportamento animal: estudo com Ursos Pardos (Ursus arctos arctos)
Ficheiros
Data
2010
Autores
Título da revista
ISSN da revista
Título do Volume
Editora
Resumo
Com este trabalho pretendemos avaliar o efeito do enriquecimento ambiental sobre o comportamento de ursos pardos (Ursus arctos). Para o efeito, procedemos à observação diária do comportamento de dois ursos pardos machos, antes e após o enriquecimento do seu ambiente. As observações após a introdução do ambiente enriquecido, foram realizadas em dois períodos, o período P1 e o período P2, com o objectivo de avaliar a influência das condições climatéricas no comportamento dos ursos. Os resultados obtidos sugerem que a introdução de um ambiente enriquecido no recinto dos ursos contribuiu para uma melhoria do seu comportamento, tornando-os principalmente mais activos. As diferenças comportamentais foram mais significativas no urso 2 do que no urso 1, já que, por ser bastante mais velho, o segundo animal passou a maior parte do seu tempo a descansar, embora se tenha verificado um aumento da sua actividade no período P2. A melhoria das condições climatéricas, além de aumentar a actividade de ambos os animais, desenvolveu o comportamento de nadar/mergulhar. Contrariamente ao esperado, a introdução de enriquecimento ambiental não eliminou a ocorrência de comportamentos estereotipados, apenas reduziu a sua frequência, tendo até ocorrido um aumento significativo das estereotipias no período P2 por parte do urso 2.
Da análise global dos resultados resulta, finalmente, que o enriquecimento ambiental parece ser uma excelente forma de melhorar o bem-estar de ursos em cativeiro, devendo, no entanto, ser tomadas algumas precauções para evitar habituação, devendo, por isso mesmo, ser introduzido de forma gradual aos animais cativos.
To evaluate the effect of environmental enrichment on behavior of brown bears (Ursus arctos), two adult male brown bears were daily observed for two periods of time: before and after the enrichment of their environment. The second time period (after the introduction of the enriched environment) was also divided in two periods (P1 and P2), to assess the influence of weather conditions on the behavior of bears. The results show that the introduction of an enriched environment in the bears enclosure contributed to an improvement in their behavior, making them particularly more active. Behavioral differences were more significant in bear 2 than in bear 1. The fact that the bear 1 is older can probably explain why he spent most of his time resting, although there was an increase in its activity in the period P2. Improved weather conditions increased the activity of both animals, and developed the swimming/diving behavior. Against our expectations, the introduction of environmental enrichment did not eliminate the stereotypic behaviors, only reduced its frequency. There was even a significant increase of stereotypies during P2, by the bear 2. Environmental enrichment appears to be a good method to increase animal welfare. Nonetheless, care must be taken when implementing it, in order to avoid habituation and, therefore, it should be introduced gradually to animals in captivity.
To evaluate the effect of environmental enrichment on behavior of brown bears (Ursus arctos), two adult male brown bears were daily observed for two periods of time: before and after the enrichment of their environment. The second time period (after the introduction of the enriched environment) was also divided in two periods (P1 and P2), to assess the influence of weather conditions on the behavior of bears. The results show that the introduction of an enriched environment in the bears enclosure contributed to an improvement in their behavior, making them particularly more active. Behavioral differences were more significant in bear 2 than in bear 1. The fact that the bear 1 is older can probably explain why he spent most of his time resting, although there was an increase in its activity in the period P2. Improved weather conditions increased the activity of both animals, and developed the swimming/diving behavior. Against our expectations, the introduction of environmental enrichment did not eliminate the stereotypic behaviors, only reduced its frequency. There was even a significant increase of stereotypies during P2, by the bear 2. Environmental enrichment appears to be a good method to increase animal welfare. Nonetheless, care must be taken when implementing it, in order to avoid habituation and, therefore, it should be introduced gradually to animals in captivity.
Descrição
Tese de Mestrado em Engenharia Zootécnica
Palavras-chave
ursos pardos (Ursus arctos) , animais em cativeiro , comportamento activo , comportamento estereotipado , enriquecimento ambiental , brown bears (Ursus arctos) , animals in captivity , active behavior , stereotyped behaviors , environmental enrichment