Abstract

Captive animals that have experienced traumatic events require a high range of care prior to reintro-ducing them into their natural habitat; and this care should ensure their welfare in captivity. This re-port shows the ethological evolution of beneficial effects attributed to environmental enrichment. Specif-ically, the report focuses on the recovery of a white-throated toucan (Ramphastos tucanus: Ramphastidae) affected by a collision trauma resulting in a skull fracture, which received treatment and care in the Taricaya wildlife rescue center (Madre Selva, Peru). An environmental enrichment protocol was imple-mented for 30 days, recording all activities during this period. We performed generalized linear models to identify significant trends in the observed activities. We showed that inactive time and self-mutilation significantly decreased, while walking, eating, and washing activities increased during the study period. Temporal improvement in toucan welfare may be associated with higher energy (walking), better nutri-tion (eating), and decreased stress, as shown by reduced self-mutilation. Our report provides evidence on the favorable outcome of environmental enrichment in a toucan, raising its importance as a management tool for veterinary practitioners in wildlife rescue centers. (c) 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.