Fisiologia do estresse e enriquecimento ambiental na melhoria do estresse em felídeos mantidos em cativeiro.

Abstract

Stress physiology and environmental enrichment in the improvement of stress in felids kept in captivity. The study was conducted with academic purpose of improving the knowledge about the behavior of felines in captivity and benefits provided by environmental enrichment on stress acquired in enclosures. The physiology of stress in captive animals is described as the biological individual's response to a threat to homeostasis. Presents three successive stages, the alarm reaction, where the animal recognizes the stress and prepares for fight or flight, occurring to the release of hormones that increase heart rate and respiratory rate, increasing the supply of nutrients to the cells promoting effective defense reaction; resistance phase, which is longer, which occurs release of corticosteroids and increased energy production for the defense of the animal; exhaustion phase which is the continuation of the resistance phase, which may cause collapse in some organs and lead to death. The animal when under stress has four mechanisms of biological response: behavioral response, autonomic nervous system, neuroendocrine and immune. Felines bred in captivity outside their natural environment develop high stress levels, they produce excess cortisol, leading to organic disorders such as cognitive impairment, memory loss, reproductive problems, stereotypes. To measure stress hormones in captive animals are used saliva, hormone dosage in the blood and analysis of fecal samples. Environmental enrichment is being deployed in captivity wild felines to improve the quality of life of animals, reproducing in part the natural environment to provide comfort and make it attractive, through the provision of environmental stimuli to achieve the physiological well being of felines and ensure the perpetuation of the species in captivity.