Primates: Hide food in containers (including boxes and bags)

Overall effectiveness category Likely to be beneficial
Number of studies: 2
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How is the evidence assessed?

Effectiveness

75%
Certainty

50%
Harms

0%

Calculating overall effectiveness category

Background information and definitions

This intervention involves using boxes or bags to hide daily meals given to primates. This would normally be put in bowls or scattered within an enclosure, but instead it is put within a box or bag hidden within browse, with the aim of increasing individual foraging behaviours.

Study locations

Key messages

Two before-and-after studies in the USA and Ireland found that the addition of browse to food in boxes, baskets or tubes increased activity levels and foraging behaviours in lemurs and gibbons.

About key messages

Key messages provide a descriptive index to studies we have found that test this intervention.

Studies are not directly comparable or of equal value. When making decisions based on this evidence, you should consider factors such as study size, study design, reported metrics and relevance of the study to your situation, rather than simply counting the number of studies that support a particular interpretation.

Supporting evidence from individual studies

A before-and-after study in 2009 in Ireland (Wells & Irwin, 2009) found that when food was presented in food filled baskets or presented in tubes foraging of moloch gibbons Hylobates moloch increased and time spent outside the indoor enclosure increased compared to when fresh fruit and vegetables were presented in one place. With the food filled baskets significantly more instances of being outside and number of times gibbons were seen foraging were recorded when food filled baskets were presented (times outside: 106; times foraging: 44) compared to when fruit and vegetables were offered alone (times outside: 96; times foraging: 20). With the tubes significantly more instances of being outside and the number of times gibbons were seen foraging were recorded when food filled tubes were presented (times outside: 112; times foraging: 43) compared to when fruit and vegetables were offered alone (times outside: 96; times foraging: 20). A group of gibbons was presented with food in baskets or tubes for five days, with three baskets or tubes suspended within the animal exhibit each time. The gibbons’ behaviour was recorded every five minutes for five hours per day for 12 days. (CJ)
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Wells D.L. & Irwin R.M. (2009) The effect of feeding enrichment on the Moloch gibbon (Hylobates moloch). Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 12, 21-29.

Please cite as:

Jonas, C.S., Timbrell, L.L., Young, F., Petrovan, S.O., Bowkett, A.E. & Smith, R.K. (2020) Management of Captive Animals. Pages 527-553 in: W.J. Sutherland, L.V. Dicks, S.O. Petrovan & R.K. Smith (eds) What Works in Conservation 2020. Open Book Publishers, Cambridge, UK.

Where has this evidence come from?

List of journals searched by synopsis

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This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Management of Captive Animals

Related Actions

Actions	Effectiveness	Studies	Category
Primates: Hide food in containers (including boxes and bags) Action Link	Likely to be beneficial	2	Synopsis Link
Primates: Present food items whole instead of processed Action Link	Likely to be beneficial	1	Synopsis Link
Primates: Add gum solutions to drilled hollow feeders Action Link	No evidence found (no assessment)	0	Synopsis Link