COS 26-5 - Re-wilding Experience: Stimulating foraging competency in captive red pandas (Ailurus fulgens fulgens) selected for augmentation programme at Darjeeling Zoo, India

Abstract: The ultimate goal of conservation breeding is to reintroduce zoo-bred animals into their wild habitats. Enhancing naturalistic behaviour like foraging is essential for successful reintroduction. As part of the red panda augmentation programme four red pandas were selected for the behavioural training programme at Darjeeling zoo later to be released at Singalila Nation Park. Feeding enrichments were performed to induce foraging competency in individuals. The experiment was divided into two phases i.e. training and testing. Results showed increased foraging in subjects during the experiment (p < 0.001, R² = 0.44, range 0.21 – 7.5 min). Mean foraging was significantly different from zero between the training and test phase (p < 0.001, t = -4.92). The activity budget was positively shifted analogous to wild counterparts. The hypothesis that individual maintains foraging behaviour with consistent enrichments was found to be true for the subjects. The study conclusively recommends appropriately designed feeding enrichments to stimulate foraging behaviours in captive animals to be reintroduced.