Examining deep litter as environmental enrichment for a family group of Wolf's guenons, Cercopithecus wolfi

Manipulable substrates promote species-typical behavior and decrease abnormal behavior in a variety of primate species. However, the effects of providing litter to arboreal primates are not as well studied, and there is little information specifically concerning enrichment for guenons. To inform the captive management of an under-studied species, we evaluated deep litter substrate as environmental enrichment for a family group of Wolf's guenons, Cercopithecus wolfi. We expected it to promote species-typical behavior and to act as an intervention by reducing aggressive behaviors targeted toward a juvenile group member by his parents. We compared the guenons' behavior during baseline periods in which normal husbandry routines were followed to periods when the entire floor of their enclosure was covered with 30 cm of straw or wood wool. We then evaluated the group's preference between litters by comparing their relative use. The guenons spent more time feeding and were more active during both litter conditions, but relative to their respective baselines, they spent more time examining straw and less time examining wood wool. Straw, but not wood wool, promoted some affiliative behavior as well as greater tolerance of the juvenile's social proximity to others. However, the addition of deep litter did not ameliorate patterns of agonistic behavior among our subjects. Our results suggest that straw conferred greater behavioral benefits than wood wool as a deep litter substrate for this guenon group and may constitute a form of environmental enrichment for this species.