Feeding behaviour of the Bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus)

Bc. Iva Pešková

Diplomová práce

Abstract:

The Bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus) is a large ungulate herbivore, which is commonly used as a livestock animal in its native ranges across central Asia. Nowadays, its popularity is on the rise even in different parts of the world, thus the need for understanding the feeding behaviour of these animals is becoming more important. In this study, one camel farm and three zoos in the Czech Republic were chosen for the observation of the potential effect of different factors on the feeding behaviour of this species. The observation was carried out between June and September 2022 and took place for twelve days in Prague Zoo and six days in other institutions, overall covering the hours from 7.00 AM to 9.00 PM. Thirty animals in total were observed. The scan sampling method was used, where every five minutes the behaviour with other factors were recorded. Furthermore, a number of bites and chewing time were recorded during feeding or rumination and lastly, every defecation and urination was recorded during the time of the observation. Obtained data were later statistically analysed in the STATISTICA software. It was found that in total 31.89% of observations were of feeding and 11.65% of observations were of ruminating. The low frequency of rumination probably occurs due to the assumed higher frequency at night, as other studies suggest. The frequencies of behaviour were significantly affected by the institution, temperature, weather, part of the day, age and the sex of the animals (p < 0.001 – for all these factors). The average chewing time and the average number of bites were significantly lower during feeding than during rumination (p < 0.01). All the above-mentioned factors also significantly (p < 0.05) affected the chewing dynamics of observed camels, except for weather (p > 0.05). Defecation and urination frequency was not found to be affected by these factors (p > 0.05), but the results of this study are limited in this regard. In conclusion, many factors showed a potential effect on the feeding behaviour of the Bactrian camel, but further research is still necessary to fully understand the different variations in the feeding behaviour of these animals.

Keywords

chewing, bite, Camelidae, rumination, digestion, two-humped camel

Jazyk práce: angličtina

Datum vytvoření / odevzdání či podání práce: 23. 4. 2023

Obhajoba závěrečné práce

• Obhajoba proběhla 30. 5. 2023
• Vedoucí: Ing. Tamara Fedorova, Ph.D.
• Oponent: Anna Kubátová, externi

Česká zemědělská univerzita v Praze

Fakulta tropického zemědělství

Magisterský studijní program / specializace:
Wildlife and Livestock Production, Management and Conservation / Sustainable Animal Production