Effects of application of environmental enrichment in kangaroos (Osphranter rufus) at Aquário de São Paulo

: Programs of environmental enrichment have been widely conducted in zoos and similar institutions to promote the maintenance of animal welfare. In the case of kangaroos, many studies have focused on the behavioral repertoire expressed by some wild groups, but few regards on these animals in captivity. This study aims at applying environmental enrichment to a group of red kangaroos (Osphranter rufus) at Aquário de São Paulo in order to evaluate its behavioral effects in these animals. Observation (instantaneous sampling) was carried out over 60 hours equally divided into three stages: before (Pre-enrichment), during and after (Post-enrichment) the application of environmental enrichments, with the 10 most frequent behaviors expressed during all stages being considered to the statistical analysis. Behaviors associated to managing the environment and self-managing decreased their frequencies, and those related to self-maintenance increased their frequencies after the application of enrichments. Results showed that enrichments induced changes in the expression of behaviors and offered several positive stimuli to subjects. This routine could thus be applied to other groups of kangaroos in human care.