Do captive-born greater rheas Rhea americana Linnaeus (Rheiformes, Rheidae) remember antipredator training?

Abstract

The antipredator training is a powerful tool now being used to help the reintroduced animals to recognise and escape from their predators. Testing the memory capacity of the animals after antipredator training is important to evaluate if the application of the training is worthwhile. A group of 15 captive-born greater rheas was studied at Belo Horizonte Zoo. Eight birds were antipredator trained and seven birds were not. After the end of the antipredator training sessions, we run four memory tests at 40, 55, 70 and 88 days after training was completed. The memory tests consisted of showing a predator model to the rheas and recording their behavioural responses. It was measured the capacity of antipredator information storage, the influence of the group size on the behaviour of the birds and the influence of the antipredator training on the elicitation of the correct behavioural responses of the birds when confronted by a predator. The results showed that the rheas retained predator recognition for almost three months, that the group size affected the responses of the birds (more defence behaviours expressed when tested alone) and that the antipredator training is essential to elicit the adequate antipredatory responses, since untrained birds behaved in a tranquil manner when confronted by a predator model. We concluded that antipredator training is worthwhile for future reintroduction programs for greater rheas, since their memory capacity is considerable.