Biological study of longtailed macaques (macaca fascicularis) which experience transportation

Abstract

During transportation of monkeys, environment conditions change, cause stress to the animals and consequently the rate of body metabolism increases. This condition influences the stability of biological and physiological activities of the animals, and could cause death. It is therefore necessary to apply appropriate management during transportation of the monkeys. This study was conducted in Bogor and Kuningan counties in two periods, 26 days in September 2003 for transportation time of eight hours, and another 28 days in October – November 2003 for transportation time of 24 hours. The transportation times were treatments applied in the experiment, in which 30 adult female monkeys of 2.5-3.5 kgs of weight were used for each treatment. In addition, five types of rations were given during transportation, and the monkeys were put in two types of individual cages, with and without windows, to observe the effect of open and closed cages. A complete randomized design, arranged factorially was used. Total feed consumption, coefficient of digestibility, changes in body weight, and behaviour of animals during and after transportation were measured in this study. The results of the study indicated that transportation caused changes in almost all aspects of the treatments but, there were no significant differences found due to the type of transportation cages used. Based on the recovery times needed to get back to normal non-stressed behaviour, it was found that longer transportation periods (24 hours vs eight hours) needed longer recovery times. It is recommended that rations during transportation have high levels of protein (monkey chow), and be supplemented with appropriate fruits to furnish the raw fiber and high palatibility.