Primates: Provide live invertebrates

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

Effectiveness

85%
Certainty

50%
Harms

0%

Calculating overall effectiveness category

Background information and definitions

Releasing live insects or other invertebrates into enclosures aims to encourage more natural foraging behaviour in primates which hunt live prey in the wild. Live insects attract the attention of the primate, encouraging natural behaviours such as chasing, stalking and pouncing.

Key messages

One before-and-after study in the UK found that when provided with live insect prey inactivity reduced and foraging increased in captive loris to levels seen in wild loris.

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 2015 in the UK (Williams et al. 2015) found that when live insect prey were provided to captive loris Loris lydekkerianus nordicus inactivity was reduced and foraging increased to levels seen in wild lorises. Average inactivity time reduced from an average of 46% to 29% (wild loris averaged 43%) and average foraging time increased from 9% to 24% (wild loris averaged 27%). In addition, a significant increase in postures used in foraging in the wild and a wider behavioural repertoire was seen by recording positional behaviours. Observational data was collected over five consecutive days at five-minute intervals over six hours/day for each of the five animals for each of three conditions: pre-enrichment (usual diet); enrichment (usual diet plus live insects); and post-enrichment (usual diet). Approximately 200 crickets were scattered into an indoor enclosure at 10:00 h over the five days of the enrichment condition (approximately 40 each day) in addition to their normal diet. (CJ)
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Williams E., Cabana F. & Nekaris K.A.I. (2015) Improving diet and activity of insectivorous primates in captivity: Naturalizing the diet of Northern Ceylon gray slender loris, Loris lydekkerianus nordicus. Zoo Biology, 34, 473-482.

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: Modify ingredients/nutrient composition seasonally (not daily) to reflect natural variability Action Link	No evidence found (no assessment)	0	Synopsis Link
Primates: Provide nectar (including artificial nectar) Action Link	No evidence found (no assessment)	0	Synopsis Link
Primates: Provide fresh produce Action Link	Likely to be beneficial	1	Synopsis Link