Running wheels are frequently used to improve the welfare of captive animals, increase environmental enrichment, and, by doing so, reduce stereotypic behaviors. With the exception of a single investigation, all previous scientific literature investigating wheel running behavior has been based on animals in captive environments. This specific study reported that free-ranging animals in the Netherlands voluntary run in wheels placed in nature. Our study explores that same line of investigation, examining whether wild animals will voluntarily use running wheels in a natural area in Paraguay in comparison to the urban and semi-urban settings in the Netherlands. Of the 1857 small mammal visits we recorded, only two occasions showed evidence of what could be considered as wheel running behavior; over 100-fold fewer than previously reported. The potential reasons for the observed difference in wheel running activity, such as different species pool or seasonality, are discussed. The difference, however, is expected to be due to the much lower probability of Neotropical mammals in a remote natural site encountering man-made objects and experiencing urbanization-related behavioral patterns.

行走轮经常用于改善圈养动物的福利，增加环境的丰富度，并以此减少刻板印象的行为。除一次调查外，所有先前的研究车轮行驶行为的科学文献都基于圈养环境中的动物。这项具体研究报告说，荷兰的散养动物自愿在自然界中的轮子上奔跑。我们的研究探索了相同的调查思路，即与荷兰的城市和半城市环境相比，研究野生动物是否会自愿在巴拉圭的自然地区使用跑轮。在我们记录的1857个小型哺乳动物造访中，只有两次显示出可以被认为是跑轮行为的证据。比以前的报道少了100倍。讨论了观察到的车轮运行活动差异的潜在原因，例如不同的物种库或季节。然而，这种差异是由于偏远自然地区的新热带哺乳动物遇到人造物体并经历与城市化有关的行为模式的可能性低得多。