Includes structural, behavioral, food, and auditory enrichment.
Authors describe the "Wellness Program" of the Primate Foundation of Arizona (PFA) devoted to producing physically and behaviorally normal chimpanzees. Psychological well-being is a major focus. In this paper, the authors present protocols specific to...
A semi-natural habitat that was designed to house a group of squirrel monkeys is described. Animals maintained in this environment were healthy, and none of the animals exhibited locomotor stereotypies. This facility was easier and...
Ordinary feeder-boxes were converted into food puzzles by remounting them onto the mesh of the front of the cages, away from original access holes. The total amount of time [pair-housed] adult male rhesus macaques engaged...
An attempt was made to encourage more foraging behaviour in eight pair-housed adult rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). No special device and no special food were used. Daily commercial dry food rations consisting of 33 bar-shaped...
In order to assess the environmental enrichment value of a small swimming pool for captive juvenile rhesus macaques (Macaca. mulatta), observations of social and individual behaviours were made during baseline and experimental (pool) conditions. When...
In this study, the preference of X. laevis for different housing conditions were examined. X. laevis preferred dark backgrounds, a water temperature between 20C-22C and the deeper parts of the test basin. Red earthenware pipe...
In the wild, chimpanzees spend most of their time foraging, so any device that stimulates this behaviour in captivity could potentially be effective enrichment. A simple grass foraging device constructed of a polyvinyl chloride (PVC)...
The purpose of this article is to illustrate how recycled, throw-away, and donated materials have been used creatively at little cost for the daily enrichment of chimpanzees.
Summary of common enrichment strategies.
As always, the key to successful enrichment is variety. Use a different device each day. Load it with different foods each time. Sometimes don't load it with anything at all! (It keeps them guessing.) Before...