Comportamento alimentar da preguiça comum Bradypus variegatus (Schinz, 1825) (Xenarthra, Bradipodidae) no Parque Centenário de Barra Mansa – RJ

Abstract

The Bradypus variegatus species (Schinz, 1825) has in the human activities its main threat. This reality suggests that half-captivity areas can represent shelters for these animals, however little it knows on its behavior and capacity of adaptation the environments so limited. The object population three-toed sloth of this study inhabits in the Parque Centenário, located in the city of Barra Mansa-RJ, and is deriving of remaining areas of Atlantic Forest. The present study aimed to describe the feeding behavior of B. variegatus investigating the diet composition, space use, and the positions assumed during feeding, to describing the interactive process mother-young as for the alimentary behavior and besides verifying the existence of laterality in individuals. O study was development in two stages, of august of 1999 the august of 2004, and august of 2006 the august of 2007. The employed comment methods had been ad libitum and animal focal sampling, in sessions with 8 hours of duration. In the first stage 568 hours of comment had been carried through 71 days of field. And in second, 28 days or 120 hours of effort. The studied individuals had presented selectivity in the diet, with consumption of nine species in the generality, in individual analysis this number scrumbled it four, itens more consumed had been sprouts and young leaves. Soil two was used, had been 11 positions classified in accordance with the number of involved members in the sustentation related to the feeding being, the biggest use of soil two also can be explained by the existence of trees gifts in the diet of the majority of the animals and by its localization. The average of the time of excused maternal care was of 4,7 months, was effected unknown register of ingestion of placenta for the species and had established the main activities of mothers and younglings, registering to the five positions categorized for the number of involved members in the sustentation of the body and the young position in relation to the mother. It had reduction time of permanence of the young with the mothers, of one the two months, and there is no synchronism enters the period of childbirths, beginning of the solid feeding, period of permanence with the mother with those registered in literature. The precocious abandonment can reflect a conflict situation and competition for resources that associated to other factors to have been the cause of the falls and death of the

young. The less diversity of positions presented for females with young probably is related to the limitation imposed for the transport, necessity of security, angle of comment of the youngling and facilitation in the attendance to the calls it. It had significant difference of use between all the categories Left Toracic Member, Right Toracic Member, Direct with the Mouth and Right and Left Toracic Member, even so the Right Toracic Member has gotten bigger average of use. The individual analysis on the basis of the HI disclosed a similar ratio between dexterous and left-handed individuals, only one male showed consistent preference for the LTM. Did not have significant difference between males and females, because the death of young was not possible to compare age categories due during the experiment. The population did not present manual preference in the food collection, these results can be related to the anatomy of the hand, the absence of postural pattern and complexity of task.