Primates: Present food items whole instead of processed

Overall effectiveness category Likely to be beneficial
Number of studies: 1
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How is the evidence assessed?

Effectiveness

80%
Certainty

50%
Harms

0%

Calculating overall effectiveness category

Background information and definitions

Captive diets for many primate species consist of vegetables and fruit alongside pellets and browse. In captivity monkeys are primarily provided with chopped up vegetables and fruit, which is not what they would find in the wild. The aim of presenting vegetables whole instead of chopped is to increase the time spent foraging and manipulating the food before consumption.

Study locations

Key messages

One before-and-after study in the USA found that when macaques were presented with whole foods instead of chopped foods the amount consumed and time spent feeding increased.

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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 1989 in the USA (Smith et al. 1989) found that when lion-tailed macaques Macaca silenus were presented with whole foods instead of chopped foods the total amount of food consumed and the time spent feeding increased. The average macaque consumed 395g of whole food compared to 306g of chopped food per day. Time spend feeding was greater, as a result of increased consumption and processing requirements, when whole foods were offered. A group of 12 lion-tailed macaques was given fruits and vegetables whole or chopped on alternate days. Feeding data was collected by one observer between 09:00 h and 11:00 h, observing one animal’s behaviour each day for two consecutive days for the chopped control and whole treatment totalling 40 days of observations. (CJ)
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Smith A., Lindburg D.G. & Vehrencamp S. (1989) Effect of food preparation on feeding behavior of lion-tailed macaques. Zoo Biology, 8, 57-65.

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

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Primates: Present food items whole instead of processed Action Link	Likely to be beneficial	1	Synopsis Link
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