Habituation of greater bamboo lemurs (prolemur simus) in the vatovavy forest, madagascar

摘要

© 2021 Global Wildlife Conservation. All rights reserved.Habituation is a preliminary process, allowing observers to become more familiar with animals and record their behavior. Few studies have described the habituation process for non-human primate species and there is a dearth of information on the habituation process among lemurs. This study describes the habituation of the Critically Endangered greater bamboo lemur (Prolemur simus). We used continuous focal animal sampling (384 hours) to collect behavioral data on seven individuals from two groups in the Vatovavy forest, southeastern Madagascar. We categorized our behavior data into two response types: Habituated behaviors and non-habituated behaviors. Study animals were considered habituated when they showed an increased tolerance to human observers permitting focal animal data collection with minimal non-habituated responses. There were no significant differences among individuals for both habituated and non-habituated behaviors, therefore, all data were pooled together. Distance from observer and height of animals in the forest significantly decreased during the habituation process. By the end of the study, the frequency of habituated behaviors significantly increased. In conjunction with previously reported findings for this species, this study concludes that greater bamboo lemurs can be habituated in approximately 13-16 weeks.