Reabilitação e monitoramento pós-soltura de Bradypus variegatusno Projeto Preguiça-de-garganta-marrom, Recife, PE

Abstract

Considering the alarming decrease in biodiversity in the last decades, conservation research has reached a high level of importance for the Brazilian fauna and the study of behavior has proved to be a useful tool. Monitoring the behavior of the animals, among other advantages, allows us to evaluate if the rehabilitation strategies used were good enough to guarantee the successful release in nature. The objective of the present study was to observe the behavior of a female sloth, Bradypus variegatus, in captivity during the period of her rehabilitation, to evaluate thepossibility of release her and, if positive, to monitor her free living behavior. For the behavioral observation the focal animal method was used. In 10-minute observation sessions, the behavioral sequences were recorded for five minutes (05 '), followed by five-minute intervals (05'), for three hours (03h) in the morning and afternoon shifts over the course of 12 non-consecutive days, totalizing 50 hours. After the release, a further 25 hours of observation were performed through the focal animal method and with the instantaneous recording.In general, in situand ex situbehaviors did not present major discrepancies, except for the "rest" behavior that, in nature, increased proportionally to a decrease in "eating" behavior. The results showed that sloths, even when they are still puppies, can be rehabilitated and succeeded in releasing, adapting fully to a free life.