L9 + L10 - Primate Husbandry Flashcards
What are the 2 suborders of primate?
- Strepsirhines
2. Haplorrhines
Where do the 2 suborders of primates live?
- Strepsirhines - Africa, Madagascar and tropical Asia
2. Haplorrhines - across the tropics, not Madagascar
Describe the physical characteristics of Strepsirhines
- large eyes and ears
- predominantly nocturnal
- smallest brains of primate order
- acute sense of smell
Describe why the Strepsirhines have an acute sense of smell
They have a Rhinarium (a wet nose)
Give 3 Strepsirhines species
- lemurs of Madagascar
- Gallegos (bush babies) and pottos from Africa
- Lorises from India and southeast Asia
Give 3 characteristics of Haplorrhines
- mainly diurnal
- majority have tails
- sexual cycles and specialised placental structures
Give 3 Haplorrhine species
New World Monkeys
Old World Monkeys
Apes
Humans
Give 4 differences between humans and primates
Bipedalism - difference in joints; feet, knee, spine, pelvis
Skull - jaw, cranium shape, exit point of the spinal cord
Social structure
Complexity of cognition and use of technology
What are the 4 types of primate diet?
- Gummivorous - gum
- Frugivorous - fruit
- Insectivorous - insects
- Folivorous - leaves
Most are a combination of 2 of these
Give digestive tract adaptions Frugivorous primates have, and give 3 example primates
Cellulose digested by bacteria and primates absorb the products - this can be in the stomach, as a foregut or hindgut fermenter
Gut can play a role in tackling toxins from poisonous plants
Wide incisors from scraping flesh from fruit
Colbine and Vervet monkeys, sportive lemurs
Give digestive tract adaptions Insectivorous primates have, and give an example primate
Shorter GI tracts, pointy cusps on the teeth for breaking through the insect skeletons
Golden pottos
Give digestive tract adaptions Gummivorous primates have, and give an example primate
Enlarged and adapted incisors o gouge holes into tree bark, to allow sap to drain out
Pygmy marmoset
Give 3 benefits of using chopped food
Enables individuals to obtain enough food, and reduces aggression
Prevents wastage caused by animals taking 1 bite and discarding the rest
It enables a wider scatter feed to encourage foraging behaviour and prolong feeding time
Give 4 disadvantages of using chopped food
Chopping food takes time and effort that could be targeting elsewhere - enrichment
Increased risk of bacterial contamination
Increased rate of nutrient loss
Leaving food whole may allow the animals to express more natural feeding behaviour and increased food processing time
‘Chopped food allows all animals to obtain a fair share of food and reduces aggression’
What does research show about this statement?
- subordinate females ate more food when left whole
- may be as easier to aware fewer larger pieces
- diversity didn’t change
- aggression was unchanged in terms of food
‘Chopping food allows a wider scatter feed to promote foraging behaviour and prolong feeding time
- feeding time and foraging tended to be longer when food left whole
- not statistically different between the 2
‘Chopping food prevents wastage’
- both species there was very little uneaten food in any condition, didn’t affect wastage amount
- increased time, contamination and nutrient loss
After all the studies, what is the consensus on chopping food vs. whole food?
Food shouldn’t be chopped, as it takes too much time, risks contamination and there is nutrient loss, as well as having on proven advantage
Food is only chopped when needed, such as young animals or individuals with poor dentition, or a certain enrichment exercise
What are the cons of a sterile environment?
- little stimulation
- animals cannot exhibit natural behaviours
- feed availably freely
- little shelter from the public
Describe the changes form the old system to the new system of housing primates
- Substrate - biofloor - foraging, reduces falling injury and sustainable (3-4 years) ALSO increases immunity
- freely hanging/moving branches to climb on
- hideaways from the public
- not sterile
- ability to scent and mark
What kind of primates can you have a free ranging enclosure for, and how would it work?
Only Callitrichidaie
- allowed in UK legislation
- small home nest/haunt
- BNC and Knowlesy are great examples
What should the lighting in a primate enclosure be like?
Mimic that of where the monkey is from
If inside, UV must be supplied
What temperatures averagely should you keep each at?
a) Callitrichidaie
b) Lemuridae
a) approximately 18 degrees inside
- basking light to warm up if cold outside
- restrict outside if below 5 degrees
- 60% humidity - low humidity can lead to alopecia
b) 18-24 degrees inside
- basking areas required
- restricted access to outside if cold, but more resilient
- 50-60% humidity
How many others should primates be housed with?
Primates are social animals therefore should be housed in groups no solitary
Occasionally aggressive primates will be housed alone
How would you integrate primates together?
Integration:
- can be dangerous as can be defensive and territorial
- not a lot of space in captivity
- careful plan needed:
assess both groups, olfactory and audio contact first, supervised access, if encounters friendly then can be left
Why do primates need large amounts of enrichment?
They have the largest brains to body mass ratio therefore strong minds get ‘bored’ easily
Give 5 examples of stereotypical behaviour shown by primates
- stereotyped movements - pacing
- self mutilation - self biting
- deviant sexual behaviour - self directed
- abnormal maternal care
- abnormal feeding behaviour
Give 5 types of enrichment for primates
- Physical
- Cognitive
- Social
- Sensory
- Enrichment through feeding
Give examples of physical enrichment
Enclosure design
- Hanging branches
- large as possible
- substrate appropriate
Novelty objects
Give examples of cognitive enrichment
puzzles or tasks - puzzle to get food
training
making animals ‘work’ for their food
Give examples of social enrichment
mixed exhibits provide more interactions
also other species - there in natural habitat
Give examples of sensory enrichment
Sight, smell and sound
Sound of another troop - howler monkey example, cotton top tamarin example
Give examples of enrichment through feeding
Presentation of feed
Seasonality - mimicking the wild
Browse feeding
Scatter feeding
Always take out of the normal daily diet the feed used for enrichment
