Behaviors Of captive Ostriches(Struthio camelus) At UMK Bachok Campus

• Main Author: Sitie Nadia Zakaria
• Format: Undergraduate Final Project Report
• Published: 2015
• Online Access: http://discol.umk.edu.my/id/eprint/6323/

The behaviour pattern of ostriches (Struthio camelus) kept in captivity were studied by using six birds, age between five to seven years. The study was conducted at Universiti Malaysia Kelantan Bachok Campus between July to September 2014. The ostriches were observed for 45 days for 11 hours daily in three different periods (in the morning, at noon and afternoon) started from 0700 until 1800 by following the focal sampling technique. The order of the behavioural observation was carried out every thirty minutes. Seven categories of behaviours were observed including resting (sitting, standing, sleeping), locomotive (walking, running and trembling), ingestive (tolerance, pecking or drinking), comfort behaviour (grooming), aggression (threat), thermoregulatory and eliminative (defecation). The result of the study showed a significant difference of behavioural pattern of captive ostriches between different observational periods. Walking behaviour was the highest occurrence observed with total 764 frequencies compared to other behaviours while the least behaviour observed was the running behaviour with only 12 frequencies. The main purpose of the study was to determine the behaviour of ostriches (Struthio camelus) that kept in captivity and provide the useful information for better welfare management. The finding of the study showed that ostriches reared in captivity assume similar behavioural patterns to those remaining in the wild, although some captive circumstances impose minor differences.