Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Harley, Heidi

Area of Concentration

Animal Wellbeing and Conservation, Biology

Abstract

Lemurs are at risk; 98% of Madagascar's 106 species of lemurs are threatened with extinction. As a result of this conservation emergency, research and conservation facilities have prioritized studying and breeding lemurs, especially in naturalistic conditions like fenced forests. However, sometimes lemurs in these facilities do not use the extent of the land available to them, and we do not always know why. This research investigates the effect of enrichment devices on the habitat preferences and behaviors of ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta), a species that often spends time on the ground, and red ruffed lemurs (Varecia rubra), a primarily arboreal species, at the Lemur Conservation Foundation (LCF) in Myakka City, Florida. The enrichment items were classified into two primary categories: ground and aerial, each serving distinct purposes in the animals' environmental engagement. Within these categories, three sub-categories were identified: familiar, novel, and fire hose enrichment. Familiar enrichment items consisted of those regularly employed at the LCF, while novel enrichments were approved items that had not yet been introduced to the lemurs. Fire hose enrichment refers to fire hoses attached to trees within and outside of the lemurs' initial range. The enrichment items were strategically employed to entice the lemurs into underutilized sections of the forest, to encourage exploration and activity. Familiar and novel enrichment items were placed both within and outside of the lemurs’ initial range. The enrichment items were moved to different locations 30 minutes into 60-minute observation sessions to control for habituation to the objects. During the enrichment observation sessions, I discovered that resting was the most prevalent lemur behavior, followed by locomotion, exploration, social interactions, species-specific activities, and enrichment interactions. The red ruffed lemurs preferred ground-based enrichment items over arboreal ones. The ring-tailed lemurs were more evenly distributed when it came to interacting with ground-based or arboreal enrichment items. Furthermore, after an enrichment item was placed in new territory, the lemurs did not interact with it. Because the lemurs already had and used fire hoses attached to trees to freely and safely explore their surroundings, we also installed more fire hoses in under-utilized habitat areas. After this installation, my findings indicate that the red ruffed lemurs used the fire hoses to increase their range: Red ruffed lemurs expanded their original range by 0.04 acres using fire hoses and 0.1 acres in response to a crow calling. In contrast, the ring-tailed lemurs did not expand their range at all. These findings emphasize the relevance of enrichment tactics for specific species in confined situations for promoting natural behaviors and potentially improving lemur welfare. Further studies should investigate the long-term consequences of such enrichment and the implications for lemur wellbeing and conservation.

Download

Share

COinS