Técnicas de enriquecimento ambiental aplicadas ao quati (Nasua nasua), vítima de atropelamento, cativo no Zoológico Municipal do "Parque do Sabiá” - Uberlândia, MG

Abstract

The deforestation of the Cerrado biome, the second largest in Brazil, causes a large fragmentation of habitats, leading to biodiversity loss and an increase in wildlife-vehicle collisions. Many animals victims of wildlife-vehicle collisions cannot be reintroduced into the wild and end up being destined for zoos. Providing welfare for these animals is necessary to give them a dignified life. To this end, environmental enrichment techniques are adopted, stimulating the natural behavioral repertoire of species in a captive environment. This study aimed to apply environmental enrichment techniques for a ringtail-coati (Nasua nasua, Procyonidae: Carnivora) in the Uberlândia Municipal Zoo and evaluate the behavioral changes of the subject. Behavioral observation sessions were conducted divided into four stages: 1) Preparation of the etogram; 2) Pre-enrichment stage; 3) Environmental enrichment stage and 4) Post-enrichment stage, between the months of October 2023 to May 2024, totaling 117 hours of observation. The enrichments used were 1) cardboard box with diet; 2) pet bottle with food; 3) bottle caps bow; 4) box with worms; 5) suspended coconut with diet; 6) pet bottle with seeds and mint essence. There were 34 behavioral acts classified in 10 categories, the most frequent: "not visible", "stopped active", "locomotion" and "stopped inactive". Stereotyped behavior was observed only in the first two stages. In the enrichment phase, more time was allocated to the categories "food", "exploration" and "locomotion" and less time to the category "not visible". The behavioral categories "inactive", " stopped active", "manipulation", "physiological" and "agonistic" did not differ statistically between the stages. The coati interacted more with the enrichments with food items. The results show an improvement in well-being, not being observed typical stress behaviors during and after environmental enrichment, evidencing the positive contribution of their application.