Posts Tagged ‘Enrichment’

May
23

Enrichment for a Fierce Hunter

Posted by in Children's Zoo,Enrichment

The Houston Zoo is home to one of the widest varieties of animal species that can be found in the country. Peaceful grazers and fierce hunters can be found side-by-side, and it is the responsibility of animal keepers to provide appropriate enrichment for these animals.

 

Swift Fox

Our Swift Fox

Here we have one of our (not so) fierce hunters… a swift fox (Vulpes velox)! While these small canids have a varied diet, small animals such as crickets and grubs are certainly favored food items. To increase the difficulty of obtaining the prey, these items can be placed in cardboard boxes or mixed among shredded paper to give our animals the opportunity to hunt their food. This gives the animals the chance to exercise both their minds and bodies, and the ability to act on their natural instincts.

 
Items such as boxes and paper are just a few of the items utilized by animal keepers here at the Houston Zoo to better the lives of our animals. Interested in helping out? Our enrichment team has a list of items regularly in demand, which can be found here. Come see our Swift Fox in the McGovern Children’s Zoo!

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May
16

Problem Solving with Apes

Posted by in Behind the Scenes,Chimpanzees,Enrichment,Primates

Chimpanzees and orangutans, two great ape species, can be found at the Houston Zoo. These amazing animals are incredibly intelligent. In the wild, this intelligence is constantly being put to the test as they encounter novel situations on a daily basis. To deal with these novel situations as well as completing everyday tasks, apes have developed keen problem solving skills. They use tools such as branches or rocks to help them obtain difficult food items such as nuts or termites. They build complicated nests out of branches and leaves each night high up in the trees to help keep them safe as they sleep. They use leaves to shelter them from rain or to collect water to drink.

Indah painting on iPad

Great apes that live in zoos such as the orangutans and chimpanzees have a team of dedicated keepers that ensure that their basic necessities such as food, water, and safe shelter are met on a daily basis. However, a zoo keeper’s job also involves ensuring that the animal has the highest quality of life possible. So not only are keepers interested in meeting the animal’s basic needs but also in making sure that the animals are constantly being engaged and stimulated by their environment. This is an especially important challenge when working with great apes due to their intelligence. The devices and activities that keepers use to accomplish this goal are referred to as enrichment as they enrich the lives of the animals.

Apes can quickly figure out many enrichment devices and keepers constantly are faced with the problem of trying to come up with new ideas to capture their interest. The Houston Zoo primate department’s newest solution to this problem is ……. the iPad!

Sally creating a masterpiece with a musical app.

 

Now many of you may wonder, what do the orangutans and chimpanzees do with an iPad? The answer is … they play with apps, of course! The iPad screen is the perfect fit for orangutan and chimpanzee fingers. Its small size makes it very easy to move so keepers can introduce it to the chimpanzees in the training room, to the orangutans at the viewing window or at any of the many rooms found in the animals’ holding area. The quantity and variety of apps available make it easy to keep the device novel and interesting for both the orangutans and the chimpanzees. Stay posted for more updates on this new fun enrichment project with our orangutans and chimpanzees!

 

 

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Apr
18

Polly Want a… Paintbrush?

Posted by in Birds,Children's Zoo,Enrichment

One of the most rewarding aspects of being an animal keeper at the Houston Zoo is the opportunity to interact with so many visitors who are continually impressed by the wide array of behaviors our animals exhibit. On any given day it is possible to see animals eating, playing, napping, bathing, running, jumping, swimming… and painting? 

Rainbo, the Eclectus Parrot

Rainbow the Eclectus Parrot Painting

Indeed, several of the animals at the zoo have demonstrated themselves to be talented artists. This is Rainbo, a male Eclectus Parrot found in the John P. McGovern Children’s Zoo. As we can all plainly see, Rainbo is quite the accomplished artist. He is able to utilize a variety of techniques to create outstanding and unique works. 

Some pose the question: Why painting? After all, you will not find a single keeper who will tell you that these animals can be found painting on canvas in the wild. However, animals readily problem-solve and socialize in the wild; keepers are able to help provide for the well-being of our animals by providing them necessary outlets for these crucial behaviors. Getting the paint to the canvas is a “problem” that results in much-desired treat food items (for a parrot like Rainbo, these food items could include a variety of greens, fruits and vegetables). Furthermore, some animals (such as parrots) benefit from a bit of special attention. 

Keepers at the zoo work hard to ensure the overall well-being of the animals under our care. Painting provides numerous benefits for a variety of species, and keepers closely supervise the interaction of the animals in these instances to maintain a positive experience?

Interested in having an animal masterpiece of your very own? Learn more about animal paintings here. Animal paintings from the Houston Zoo help to support a range of conservation efforts!

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Sep
23

Animal Enrichment: Well, They Certainly Have Something to Say About That…

Posted by in Birds,Enrichment,Events

People like to watch animals actively engaged in their environment – it’s true. It’s my opinion that natural behaviors are so inviting because they create the feeling of being somewhere special. Particularly when observed in the presence of our beautifully kept and planted grounds, animals presenting natural behaviors gives the feeling of being somewhere “wild.”

For our part, keepers do our best to encourage a variety of natural behaviors. Not only is it beneficial for our guests to see the amazing natural behaviors that cause us to love every minute of our jobs, it’s enormously beneficial to provide for the mental and physical wellness of our animals by providing enrichment opportunities. Did you know that an effective enrichment program can help to stabilize fluctuating weight, help with mild health concerns and even encourage breeding in some species? It really is that important to the overall well-being of our animals.

These are our Grey-winged Trumpeters (Psophia crepitans) utilizing a basic puzzle feeder. Such items are wonderful because they make enriching animals a much more viable possibility. The simple fact is that there are only so many hours in a day, and when keepers are responsible for such a diverse animal collection (more than 800 avian residents in our bird department, alone!) such readily prepared items are nothing less than magical.

Enrichment Day at the Houston Zoo is Saturday, September 24th.  This is a great opportunity to come and join in the fun.  Come out and see all of the animals enjoying special enrichment, hear keeper chats and loads of  fun games for kids of all ages!  Enrichment Day celebrates the meaning and joy of enriching our animals and visitors!

Find your favorite animals and see what they’re wishing for at Amazon.com. Then just sit back, shop, click and send your animal of choice a wonderful gift to enrich their life!  They really do appreciate it and so does the Houston Zoo!

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Sep
19

Animal Enrichment: Yummy for the Tummy

Posted by in Commissary,Enrichment,Events

The Commissary at the Houston Zoo works like a five star restaurant!  The staff prepare animal diets daily, consisting of fresh produce, fruits, meats and an assortment of many other foods.  But who doesn’t like a special treat now and then….many of the animals certainly do and the Commissary makes sure they get a favorite treat. 

Some of those treats are also part of the animal’s enrichment.  Those include ice pops, from 8 oz cups to 5 gallons!!

Now, I know you’re thinking who would get a 5 gallon ice pop!!!  Those lucky animals would be the bears and the elephant herd.  The bear’s pops are filled with fish or fruit.  The elephants’ pops are fruit filled with apples, pineapple, pears, mangos and grapes. 

Primates get the smaller ice pops.  Their pops contain fruit juices and another item such as currants, sunflower seeds, grapes, etc.  Here’s a picture of Rudi enjoying his ice pop, although it looks like he’s dreaming of a 5 gallon ice pop!

The Carnivores enjoy an assortment of bones once a month.  Watch the video below, they really seem to love stalking and capturing their “prey”.

Holiday food enrichment is also something different for the animals.  Putting something new and different in their habitat helps to enrich their lives by finding something unexpected, something unknown.  One of those items is pumpkins at Halloween.  Most animals receive pumpkins and have a great time playing and foraging through them.  Watch the Meerkat search for yummy treats in their pumpkin.

Enrichment Day at the Houston Zoo is Saturday, September 24th.  This is a great opportunity to come and join in the fun.  Come out and see all of the animals enjoying special enrichment, hear keeper chats and loads of  fun games for kids of all ages!  Enrichment Day celebrates the meaning and joy of enriching our animals and visitors!

Find your favorite animals and see what they’re wishing for at Amazon.com. Then just sit back, shop, click and send your animal of choice a wonderful gift to enrich their life!  They really do appreciate it and so does the Houston Zoo!

 

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Sep
16

Animal Enrichment: What’s That Smell!

Posted by in Enrichment,Events,Hoofed Stock

When potential food is all around, a good nose can help pick out the best tasting dinner.  The animals in the Houston Zoo’s Hoofstock collection have just that – a keen sense of smell.  Animals can tell which plants are sweet and delicious or bitter and noxious just from their odors.  Scent marks on trees and rocks can also signal a predator, rival or potential mate is nearby.

 

Such a strong sense enables a wide variety of enrichment opportunities for the keepers to maintain an interesting exhibit for the residents within.  Spices, perfumes, and other smells are conservatively sprinkled or sprayed in a few spots to attract and pique the interest of the animals.  Different types may illicit different reactions.  Calvin Klein’s Obsession™ has been proven to be one that animals like to rub on themselves.  Other colognes will keep the duikers busy all day re-marking their exhibits with the glands located on their faces. Some spices may be licked off for a unique taste while others merely make the animals sneeze. 

Colognes and seasonings aren’t the only options for olfactory enrichment.  Moving soiled bedding from a female into the exhibit of a male may cause great interest due to the female’s pheromones.  In contrast, urine from a predator can illicit a reaction that a lion or leopard may be near.

Perhaps most importantly, a variety of smells and their locations can encourage the animals to further explore and move about their exhibits.  Natural behaviors are a key element of the Hoofstock enrichment program and these foraging behaviors are indicative of how wild herbivores might spend their day.  What are your favorite smells and how do they make you behave?

By Tim Junker, Hoofstock Keeper

Enrichment Day at the Houston Zoo is Saturday, September 24th.  This is a great opportunity to come and join in the fun.  Come out and see all of the animals enjoying special enrichment, hear keeper chats and loads of  fun games for kids of all ages!  Enrichment Day celebrates the meaning and joy of enriching our animals and visitors!

Find your favorite animals and see what they’re wishing for at Amazon.com. Then just sit back, shop, click and send your animal of choice a wonderful gift to enrich their life!  They really do appreciate it and so does the Houston Zoo!

 

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Sep
14

Chimp Enrichment: Blankets,Termite Mounds and Painting! Oh My!!!

Posted by in Chimpanzees,Enrichment,Events

If you have visited the chimps in the African Forest at the Houston Zoo, chances are you’ve seen them toting around blankets or resting with them in the hammocks.  “Why in the world would a chimpanzee have a blanket?” you may be wondering.  Well, because they like them, that’s why!  Our chimps grew up having blankets to sleep with and to play with, and this affinity has carried over into adulthood.  Blankets are comfy, they smell nice (the keepers launder them regularly), they keep you warm in winter and sometimes, they have treats hidden inside them.  Who doesn’t enjoy a blankie?

Annie (on the ground) and Sally (in the hammock) enjoy their blankets

Sometimes, just to make it interesting, the keepers hide food in a folded blanket, or spread food out on it for a picnic.  A dash of perfume or essential oils makes it even more intriguing.

Blankets are just one of the many types of enrichment we use to keep the chimps engaged and to encourage the expression of  natual behaviors.  “What kind of ‘natural’ behavior can a blanket encourage?”, you are asking yourself.  Chimpanzees, as well as other apes, are nest-builders.  Meaning that whenever and wherever they rest, they will build a “nest” for themselves out of whatever materials are at hand.  In the wild this may be leaves, branches, grasses or even entire small tree limbs.  Often these nests are high in trees to avoid predators.  They rarely use the same nest twice and, except for infants, each chimp makes his or her own nest.  Can you think of a better material for making a nest than a blanket?  Me neither.

 “So what other types of enrichment do the chimps get?”, you are now asking.  You certainly are full of questions today!  Well, since this is one of my favorite subjects, I’ll tell you.

One of the most remarkable discoveries in the field of animal behavior was the observation in 1960 that wild chimpanzees make and use tools.  Previously, it was thought that only human beings were capable of this.  There are many ways in which chimps use tools, but one of the most well-known is using grass stems or sticks to “fish” for termites.  (Click this link for more info on termite fishing.)  Our chimps are not used to eating termites, but they do love a sweet snack, so we load our termite mound replica with semi-liquid food that might be sweet one day, or savory the next.  We try to keep it interesting and different each day.  The only way the chimps can reach their treat is to fish for it using whatever they can find, usually bamboo sticks.  This built-in innovative enrichment device never fails to captivate chimpanzees and guests alike.

Above you can see the chimps using the termite mound replica (clockwise from the top: Mac, Lulu, Willie, Riley and Annie). Guests can see, through the window on their side, what the chimps are fishing for inside the mound.

Being intelligent and curious, chimps love to investigate and manipulate objects.  They especially love cardboard and paper that can be torn up and rearranged to their liking. Cardboard boxes can hide food or treats and then be used for nesting when the food is gone.  Big ones like refrigerator boxes make great forts. (I bet you’ve done this, too, haven’t you?) This type of enrichment is usually reserved for the off-exhibit holding area as it can create quite a mess.

Not all enrichment has to encourage “wild” behaviors; Sometimes it is just something the animal finds interesting and fun. For great apes especially, one such behavior is painting.  Keepers generally hold the canvas with paint on it and hand the animal a paintbrush. Participation in this activity is completely voluntary, but we find the chimps rarely turn down the opportunity to smear the paint around on the canvas… and then eat some of it.  Don’t worry, it’s all non-toxic.  And apparently delicious, though I have not tried it myself.

Charlie working on his masterpiece. And having a paint snack. Bonus!

 For chimps, though, the ultimate enrichment is other chimps.  By nature chimpanzees are gregarious and have incredibly complex social lives.  Daily, they must negotiate their relationships with each other: cementing friendships and alliances, squabbling over food or toys, resolving conflicts and angling for a higher position on the social ladder.  Our group of five males and five females are incredibly interesting to watch and learn about.  They may just be a great source of enrichment for you!

Written by Judy McAuliffe
All photos by Ron Santos

Enrichment Day at the Houston Zoo is Saturday, September 24th.  This is a great opportunity to come and join in the fun.  Come out and see all of the animals enjoying special enrichment, hear keeper chats and loads of  fun games for kids of all ages!  Enrichment Day celebrates the meaning and joy of enriching our animals and visitors!

Find your favorite animals and see what they’re wishing for at Amazon.com. Then just sit back, shop, click and send your animal of choice a wonderful gift to enrich their life!  They really do appreciate it and so does the Houston Zoo!

 

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Sep
12

Animal Enrichment: Fruit Bats at Natural Encounters

Posted by in Enrichment,Events,Natural Encounters

The Houston Zoo keepers enrich all the animals, including bats!  Enrichment allows our animals to practice their natural, “wild” behaviors, such as foraging, exploring and even trying a new food.  This provides animals with the exciting and varied lives they would have  in the wild, but in a safe environment.  Keepers at the Zoo provide enrichment every day, but on September 24th we are bringing enrichment into the spotlight!

One of those spotlights will be the Straw-colored Fruit Bat colony located in the Carruth Natural Encounters Building.

Many people take one look at the bats and are frightened.  On Enrichment Day guests will be able to see these amazing and intelligent animals interacting with a variety of new enrichment in their habitat.  Be sure to stop by the Natural Encounters building at 10:40 am to see the bats explore their enrichment!  A bat keeper will be there to answer questions and help everyone understand why bats are so important.

Written by Kamryn Suttinger

Enrichment Day at the Houston Zoo is Saturday, September 24th.  This is a great opportunity to come and join in the fun.  Come out and see all of the animals enjoying special enrichment, hear keeper chats and loads of  fun games for kids of all ages!  Enrichment Day celebrates the meaning and joy of enriching our animals and visitors!

Find your favorite animals and see what they’re wishing for at Amazon.com. Then just sit back, shop, click and send your animal of choice a wonderful gift to enrich their life!  They really do appreciate it and so does the Houston Zoo!

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Aug
31

Animal Enrichment: Who Does the Parrot Want to Call?

Posted by in Birds,Enrichment,Events

As a child, I absolutely hated macaroni art. The act of gluing food parts to a sheet of paper seemed to me designed as some form of punishment, designed to punish me by having small pieces of pasta glued up and down my arms. Many other craft activities seemed to be along a similar thread, a waste of time with no real purpose. Being a zookeeper, I’ve had to re-evaluate my feelings because of a need to enrich a wide variety of animals.

 Animal care staff are fairly crafty people – we have to be. The simple fact of the matter is that a variety of crafts open up doors to creating new ways to interact with our animals and encourage natural responses. Being able to create our own enrichment has a variety of benefits:

 1) Purchasing enrichment pieces for all of our animals is simply not an option. With an animal collection numbering into the thousands, keepers at the Houston Zoo utilize their craftiness to come up with our own unique enrichment ideas for a fraction of the cost of purchased items.

 2) Items to be purchased are not necessarily meant for the wide array of exotic animals that are housed at the Houston Zoo. While there are a variety of objects available to encourage interaction, they are typically designed with more domestic species in mind. Designed objects can be created with a variety of animals in mind.

 3) Utilizing our creativity is a way for keepers to create many more nrichment opportunities than would normally be available. We can decide to change enrichment items to focus on different sensations or different natural behaviors.

　

This is our Pesquet’s Parrot (Psittrichas fulgidus) interacting with a phone book. As a novel item, this enrichment encourages a great deal of natural curiosity and observation. This bird is clearly observing the item from every feasible angle before finally reaching out to explore further using the nerve-laden tongue of a parrot.

 

 Want to help further? We also have a wish list of items that many people throw away in the course of their day; some days, these few small items can make all the difference in the world in helping to create a “new” zoo everyday

Enrichment Day at the Houston Zoo is Saturday, September 24th.  This is a great opportunity to come and join in the fun.  Come out and see all of the animals enjoying special enrichment, hear keeper chats and loads of  fun games for kids of all ages!  Enrichment Day celebrates the meaning and joy of enriching our animals and visitors!

Find your favorite animals and see what they’re wishing for at Amazon.com. Then just sit back, shop, click and send your animal of choice a wonderful gift to enrich their life!  They really do appreciate it and so does the Houston Zoo!

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Aug
24

Carnivore Enrichment: Hunting, Pouncing and Chasing!

Posted by in Carnivores,Enrichment,Events

The Zookeepers at the Houston Zoo strive to get natural behaviors from their animals by providing novel enrichment items.  Enrichment helps to improve an animal’s well being by stimulating them mentally and physically in order to encourage natural behaviors.  Each enrichment item is geared to stimulating one of their basic senses: sound, taste, sight, touch and smell.  You can help provide items for your favorite carnivore at Amazon.com.

If we want to encourage a Jaguar to hunt like they would in the wild, we will hide a barrel with meat inside on exhibit.  It’s not room service every day at the zoo!!!  In this example the Jaguar smells the meat but cannot see it.  He would have to use his sense of smell to find the food source and then he has to manipulate the barrel in order to get the meat out.  Manipulating the barrel stimulates the Jaguar physically and mentally, often turning into play as well. 

The Carnivore Department provides a different type of enrichment every day.  To prevent repetition and boredom we are constantly changing our enrichment schedule and trying to come up with fresh ideas.  Some of the most popular enrichment items for Carnivores include novel food items, bones, ice pops, various scents, bedding and boxes. 

Bonita, our Maned Wolf loves it when we give her a box of crickets.  The noise and movement created by the crickets stimulate Bonita’s hunting behaviors and she loves tearing the box apart. 

We recently installed a zip line for our African Wild Dog exhibit.  The zip line gives us a whole new way to present bones, hides and large chunks of meat to the African Wild Dogs.  The dogs have to chase their enrichment item and then pull it off the line.  You can see in the photo below it’s a group effort!  Chasing, tearing, pulling and working for their food are all behaviors the Dogs would exhibit in the wild.

By encouraging natural behaviors through enrichment guests visiting the Houston Zoo can see Jaguars hunting, Maned Wolves pouncing and African Wild Dogs chasing.  Hopefully these kinds of moments at the Zoo will foster an appreciation for the plight of all animals in the wild. 

Enrichment Day at the Houston Zoo is Saturday, September 24th.  This is a great opportunity to come and join in the fun.  Come out and see all of the animals enjoying special enrichment, hear keeper chats and loads of  fun games for kids of all ages!  Enrichment Day celebrates the meaning and joy of enriching our animals and visitors!

Find your favorite animals and see what they’re wishing for at Amazon.com. Then just sit back, shop, click and send your animal of choice a wonderful gift to enrich their life!  They really do appreciate it and so does the Houston Zoo!

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