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Experimental ethology of intensively reared lowland pacas (Cuniculus paca)

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Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate and to describe the main behaviors of family groups of lowland pacas (Cuniculus paca) raised in a commercial breeding facility. We used 24 adult pacas, 16 females and 8 males, with a mean live weight of 8.2 kg and age ranging from 2 to 4 years. The animals were kept in groups of two females and one male per enclosure. Cameras were used to monitor the animals. The behaviors identified were divided into five categories (maintenance, exploratory, social interaction, reproductive, and environmental interaction). A completely randomized design in a split-split plot arrangement with three treatment factors was used: sex, period of the day, and season. The frequencies of the maintenance and environmental interaction behavioral categories were significantly higher during the day compared to the nocturnal period (P < 0.05). The duration of each behavioral category differed significantly (P < 0.05) between day and night. The frequencies of the maintenance and reproductive behavioral categories were significantly higher during the dry season compared to the rainy season (P < 0.05) and the relative duration of behaviors of the environmental interaction category was shorter during the dry season (P < 0.05). Females exhibited a significantly higher frequency of maintenance and environmental interaction than males (P < 0.05) and the duration of environmental interaction was shorter (P < 0.05) in females. The present results add to the existing knowledge on the behavior of lowland pacas raised in captivity for production of this wild species which is in the stage of domestication.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr. Ronaldo Coelho for granting us access to his breeding facility and lowland pacas at the Fazenda dos Coelhos. We acknowledge the Animal Science Department of the Veterinary School, Federal University of Minas Gerais; CAPES (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel); CNPq (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development), and FAPEMIG (Foundation for Research Support of the State of Minas Gerais) for the financial support which enabled this experiment.

Funding

This study was funded by CAPES (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel, grant number 001); CNPq (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development, grant numbers 443305/2014–5 and 140335/2015–3), and FAPEMIG (Foundation for Research Support of the State of Minas Gerais, grant number CVZ-PPM-00247–16).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Animal Science, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Fábio Morais Hosken, Walter Motta Ferreira, Katiuscia Cristina das Neves Mota & Leonardo Boscoli Lara

  2. Department of Animal Science, São Paulo State University, Jaboticabal, São Paulo, Brazil

    Matheus Henrique Vargas de Oliveira & Eduardo Henrique Martins

  3. Federal University of Latin American Integration, Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná, Brazil

    Jessica Moraes Malheiros

  4. Department of Technical Services, Agroceres Multimix Animal Nutrition, Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil

    Felipe Norberto Alves Ferreira

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  1. Fábio Morais Hosken
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  2. Matheus Henrique Vargas de Oliveira
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Contributions

FMH, WMF, and LBL conceived and designed the research. FMH, MHVO, and EHM conducted the experiment. FNAF and KCNM analyzed the data. FMH, MHVO, and JMM wrote the manuscript. All authors read and approved the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fábio Morais Hosken.

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Ethics approval

This study was approved by the Animal Care and Use Ethics Committee of the Federal University of Minas Gerais (Date: 09/29/2015, No. 296/2015).

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Hosken, F.M., de Oliveira, M.H.V., Malheiros, J.M. et al. Experimental ethology of intensively reared lowland pacas (Cuniculus paca). Trop Anim Health Prod 53, 367 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-021-02801-4

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