Abstract

The most common penguin species found in the coast of Brazil is the Magellanic Penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus). This species is distributed along the Argentinean Coast, the Chilean Coast and the Falkland Islands, where they reproduce. The migration process starts by the end of February, when penguins head towards the Brazilian Coast in search for a higher food offer. Debilitated animals are rescued at beaches and taken to rehabilitation centers, and later on, in some cases they are sent to zoos and aquaria. Almost all species of penguins spend around 80% of their time foraging for food in the oceans. Captive penguins are prone to bumblefoot lesions due to sedentary habits, changes in normal activity patterns, prolonged time on hard and abrasive surfaces, and less time spent swimming and in the water. These lesions can evolve from excoriations to osteomyelitis. The environmental enrichment allows the use of creative and ingenious techniques that aim to keep the captive animals occupied and with a greater diversity of behavioral opportunities, always respecting the ethological needs of the species. The main goal of this work was to use environmental enrichment techniques to reduce bumblefoot lesions in a group of captive penguins. Five captive Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) at the Aquário de São Paulo, that were showing bumblefoot lesions, were followed during this project. All animals were physically restrained 3 times a week, during 12 weeks, to monitor the lesions. For each foot (right and left) 3 measures were established (lesion size: vertical border to border, horizontal border to border and foot size). The environmental enrichment was introduced daily in the water (colored balls, rings, bubbles and frozen fish) with the goal of enhancing their time in the water for one extra hour daily. The results showed that, after 12 weeks, 4 animals showed significant reduction of the lesion (P < 0.05) in both feet, regarding that 2 of them had the lesions completely healed. The animal that didn't interact with the enrichment showed a significant growth in the lesions of both feet. The size of the feet showed significant statistic difference for 2 animals. With these results we can conclude that an aquatic environmental enrichment for this group of penguins allowed them to spend more time in the water, favoring the reduction of the bumblefoot lesions. We believe that using environmental enrichment can be a tool of great use in providing a better life quality for captive penguins as well as helping prevent bumblefoot.

Acknowledgements

We thank Shape Brazil for all support, Aquário de São Paulo staff, Animal Reproduction Department, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, University of São Paulo, Mr. Anael Fahel (Director of the Aquário de São Paulo) for funding the trip to the IAAAM Conference and Alice Reisfeld for reviewing this text.