Pierre, P. J., Torres, N. A., Rosga, M. D. et al. 2013. Colony-wide assessment of the foraging devices: Refinement of delivery practices, cost and the caloric content delivered via foraging devices. American Journal of Primatology 75(S1), 82. (36th Meeting of the American Society of Primatologists Scientific Program, Abstract #163)

Foraging opportunities are a key component of enrichment in captive nonhuman primates (NHP) providing manipulative opportunities in which animals can engage in species-typical behaviors. Recent studies suggest captive NHP populations have increased body weight over time leading to negative health outcomes. Increasing food foraging opportunities provides added calories that are not directly measured. The goals of this long-term evaluation were to: assess the device types by the amount of foraging material they held; evaluate how our device preparation procedure contributes caloric content to our animals diet; and determine the labor and usage cost of our foraging devices. Five preparation areas were sampled. Each device was weighed prior to delivery. The amount of foraging material was calculated by subtracting the average empty device weight from the loaded device weight. A detailed description of food content was used to calculate nutritive and caloric content. Larger devices held more food (M=104.7 g) as compared to small volumes devices (M=62.1g). Suggested serving sizes were accurately applied to the smaller devices. Analysis of the weight of food applied and caloric content, suggest larger devices may provide a caloric load approaching the daily k/cal diet requirement. However, usage analysis will determine waste associated with each device. The results of the study inform how foraging device selection and food types can affect total caloric or nutritive content available in the daily diet.