Preliminary Exploration On The Artificial Breeding Of Manis Javanica

The research on the artificial breeding of six manis javanica (2(?)4(?)) was carried out in breeding house of Zhejiang normal university and farm of Baibaoyuan deer Company from September 2012 to April 2013. Three manis javanica (1(?)2(?)) successfully adapted to our complete formula feed By the serises testing of developing gavage food formula,food inducing experiment, single food selective experiments and complete formula food experimnets. Meanwhile, we recorded daily behaviors of mixed captive manis javanica with two infrared video cameras, and analyzed the time budget and activity pattern by using with All Occurrences Sampling, Scan Sampling and Focal Animal Sampling method. And at last, we discussed the disease control and breeding techniques of manis javanica. The main results and conclusions are as follows:1. The single food selected experients showed that manis javanica tend to eat dry black ant (67.7%), and others were black ant powder (12.18%), cooked dry Tenebrio (8.27%), dry Tenebrio (6.21%), pure fresh milk (2.54%), Mixed liquid of milk powder (2.32%), and rice (0.83%). Complete formula food experimental results showed that dry black ants (45.7%)+ dry Tenebrio powder (45.7%)+Papaya protein powder (2.3%)+Shenqi vitamin (2.3%)+ taurine VC (2.3%)+cod liver oil (1.6%) is the best recipe. After the routine use of formula I, the weight of Changshan No.1, Changshan No.2, Changshan No.3 has increased.2. The behaviors can be divided into 5 major categories. Foraging and diggestion (eating, driking, and eliminating), locomotive behaviors (climbing, walking, exploration, pacing, digging), social behavior (mount and pursue,connection),others (standing,coiling,pause, secretive),and Hiding behavior. To self-feeding manis javanicas, foraging and digestion (40.41%), locomotive behaviors (45.10%) and social behavior (14.99%) are the main form of their activities. And in foraging and digestion, eating took 30.25%, drinking was 9.93%, eliminating was less observed. In locomotive behaviors, the main behavior is walking (25.08%), and others were climbing (6.14%), exploration (6.11%), digging (0.76%) and pacing behavior (1.76%). In social behavior, mount and pursue took 12.37%, connection is 2.61%. And others were secretive (3.10%), pause (0.92%), standing (0.46%) and coiling (0.16%). To Gavage feeding individuals (n=2), the time proportion spend on locomotive behaviors, social behavior and other behaviors are higher than self-feeding ones. Significant difference (P<0.05) were found on time budget of most behaviors between two eating styles, and having no difference on digging (P=0.858).3. The weekly changes of time buget of all behaviors showed:for self-feeding individuals, the time budget of drinking, eating and pacing were increasing with the number of the weeks (r>0, P<0.01). While standing, climbing, coiling, exploration, pause, climbing were decreasing with the weeks. But for Gavage feeding individuals, the time budget of standing and drinking were increased with weeks (r>0, P<0.05), exploration decreased with weeks (r=-0.964, P<0.05). Pacing increased but the difference was not significant (P =0.063). And the difference of the time budget of walking, standing, pause and pacing between two different groups were exsit in the majority of weeks.4. The daily activity rhythm of manis javanica showing a downward trend after the first rise from 6.pm to 6.am. But there are differences in the peak periods of the different behaviors. The peak activity time of eating, drinking, exploration, social and walking were at 20:00-21:00. The pacing was in 21:00-22:00. Digging, climbing, standing and eliminating were in 00:00-01:00. Pause and secretive behaviors kept at a high level between 20:00 to 24:00. To Gavage feeding individuals, some behavors have large peak time span. For example, exporating and pacing behavior maintained a high level between 21:00 to 02:00. And climbing kept high between 20:00 and 01:00. Visiblely, self-feeding or not having influence on the daily rhythem on mains javenica.5. Feeding differences in activity rhythm of all behavioral categories of Manis javanica showed that there were small difference on eliminating between self-feeding individuals and gavage-feeding individuals. At most time period, there were no difference of the time budget of explorating, climbing, digging and walking between two different groups (P>0.05). But pacing showed highly difference at some time period (P<0.05). At most of the time period, social behavior showed no significant difference between two groups (P>0.05). But other behaviors showed differences in the majority of the time period (P<0.05). There is a correlation between the behaviors from the activity rhythm of all behavioral categories of manis javanica. Each activity of mixed captive manis javanica are consisting of various behavioral factors, such as a foraging activity often contain secretive, walking, exploring, eating, drinking, and social behavior, thus leading to the main actors rhythmic similarity. We believe that food is an important factor in causing the daily activity rhythm of manis javanica.6. The time budget and activity pattern of long time mixed captive Manis javanica showed that the main behaviors of Manis javanica were eating (18.56%), walking (16.11%), climbing (11.51%), and social behavior (11.51%). Few digging behaviors (0.92%) appeared during the night, but abnormal repetitive behaviors (4.40%) occurred occasionally. Subjects were active intermittently from 19:00 to 06:00. The activity peak occurred between 20:00 and 23:00, which was also the most active period of eating, walking and social, behaviors. Eating showed a significant correlation with social behavior in time distribution (R2=0.920, P <0.001), and also correlated with walking behavior(R2=0.796, P<0.001). We considered that food giving time and feeding time might lead to the activity pattern of socially captive Manis javanica. In captive environment, the animals always exhibit stereotyped behavior but the trend might decrease in mixed captive environment. Therefore, in order to avoid the decreasing of the behavior diversity of Manis javanica, we can richen the captive environment, and also provide a mixed captive environment.7. The common disease of artificial breeding manis javanica were trauma, gypsum powder, parasites, esophageal bleeding, colds, runny nose, cough, pneumonia, dyspepsia, gastrointestinal and others. By adding saline, checking the body and removing the parasite, and injecting antibiotics to infecting ones can reduce casualties of manis javanica.8. On early morning January 25,2013, Changshan NO.1 mains javanica gave birth to a pangolin baby weight of 120 g, which head length 4.62 cm, body length 12.71 cm, tail length 13.54 cm, forelimb 4.28 cm, hind 5.33 cm.