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Discussion - Outdoor presence

Ring-tailed lemurs’ outdoor presence

No enrichment:

They were frequently present outdoors (around 75% of the time), which matches their diurnal activity patterns as found in previous studies.

Enrichment:

Their unexpected decrease in outdoor presence could be explained by the effect of visitor presence and meteorological conditions.

Visitor presence:

The ring-tailed lemurs were lured out by the caretakers when visitors were present, especially during the baseline, which partially explains the unexpected decrease in outdoor presence.

Meteorological conditions:

The ring-tailed lemurs preferred sunny and warm conditions, which happened more often during the baseline, also explaining the unexpected decrease in outdoor presence.

Red ruffed lemurs’ outdoor presence

No enrichment:

They were present outdoors somewhat infrequently (around 40% of the time), maybe because of their natural activity peaks at dawn and dusk as found in previous studies, combined with an initial skittishness.

Enrichment:

They significantly increased their outdoor presence during the food enrichment period, confirming the powerful effect of food as an enrichment tool.

Visitor presence:

The red ruffed lemurs were lured out by the caretakers when visitors were present, although the effect was weaker than for the ring-tailed lemurs.

Meteorological conditions:

As with the ring-tailed lemurs, the red ruffed lemurs preferred the sunny and warm conditions for being outdoors.


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Last updated: 05/28/21