Effects of food distribution and external factors on the activity budgets of captive sun bears (Helarctos malayanus)

Effects of food distribution and external factors on the activity budgets of captive sun bears (Helarctos malayanus) Thesis by Jessica Barber Abstract All free-ranging bears spend a large portion of their day on foraging activities. In captivity, many bear species spend less time or energy foraging because of the highly predictable schedule and presentation of their diets. To combat this, zoos are increasingly using enrichment to encourage animals to engage with their environment. I used principles of optimal foraging theory to test whether manipulating food distribution could be used as a type of enrichment to alter behavior for three adult female sun bears at Oakland Zoo in California. I compared the effects of scattered vs. clumped food distribution on the sun bears’ activity budgets using continuous focal animal sampling. In addition, temperature and visitor presence were also measured using scan sampling to measure the effect on the sun bears behaviors. The results indicate that manipulating food distribution successfully increased the duration of feeding behavior and frequency of foraging in captive sun bears when food was clumped. Higher temperatures and increased visitor presence was correlated with increased stereotypic pacing and nighthouse use by the study subjects. This study may provide zoos with a relatively simple and cost-effective way to incorporate existing diets and enrichment devices to enhance animal welfare by focusing on the distribution of items. More broadly, these results may inform research into the behavioral ecology of sun bears, whose natural foraging behavior is little known. MS Program: Biology Date: 1 May 2018 Sonoma State University