Temperament in Captivity, Environmental Enrichment, Flight Ability, and Response to Humans in an Endangered Parrot Species

ABSTRACT

Temperament assessment is useful in reintroduction programs. Reactivity to humans and flight ability are also important behavioral aspects for captive parrots candidates to reintroduction. The study aimed: a) to evaluate if behavioral responses to environmental enrichment differ as a function of temperament in captive Vinaceous-breasted Amazon parrots (Amazona vinacea) and b) to evaluate if the behavioral responses to environmental enrichment are related to flight ability and animal’s reaction to human when offered food. A temperament assessment was performed and behavioral evaluations of parrots (n = 13) using an ethogram were carried out, in two phases: unenriched and enriched. Flight skill and food reward tests were also performed. Two temperament dimensions were described (“vigilance” and “risk-taking”). Parrots categorized as “vigilant” spent less time feeding on the feeder and interacting with environment. Animals with compromised flight ability spent more time preening, had lower frequency of vocalizations, tended to have fewer negative social interactions, and interacted less with the enrichment than individuals with better flight ability. Flight performance and temperament of captive parrots should be considered while planning and executing environmental enrichment techniques.

KEYWORDS:

• Amazona vinacea
• flight skill
• human-animal interaction
• personality
• reintroduction in wild

Acknowledgments

We thank the staff of the State Forest Institute (IEF/Juiz de Fora and Belo Horizonte) and Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA/Juiz de Fora), Cláudia Lourenço, Sarah Stutz, Érico Furtado, Glauber Barino, and André Neves (in memory). We also thank Renato Machado and Reserva do Ibitipoca for the support during the study, Polônia Nunes and Isadora de Castro Travnik (UFJF) for their collaboration with data collection, Dr. Tiago Valente (University of Alberta) and Dr. Robert Young (University of Salford Manchester) for revising the manuscript. This study is part of the master’s thesis of the first author prepared to the Graduate Program in Behavior and Animal Biology of the Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (UFJF), Brazil. The study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brasil (CAPES).