Dr. Jessica Whitham is an animal welfare biologist at Brookfield Zoo Chicago. With over 20 years of experience designing, implementing, and analyzing behavioral studies for a variety of animals, she uses her research to help the animals at the Zoo thrive. Her current research focuses on identifying novel welfare assessment tools and indicators so that we can continually adapt our innovative welfare practices to best meet the animals’ needs.
Have you ever seen a polar bear pouncing on a pumpkin? Maybe you’ve been lucky enough to witness a gorilla cracking into a giant, homemade popsicle (an ice block with a fruity treat in the center). If you look closely enough, you may even notice puzzle feeders or carcasses in a habitat. These are forms of environmental enrichment, a key component needed for promoting good welfare for the residents of Brookfield Zoo Chicago.
As you stroll around the Zoo, you will notice a variety of enrichment items designed to:
Increase overall activity levels
Encourage animals to display a wide range of behaviors (e.g., exploration, play)
Provide both cognitive and physical challenges
By offering novel items and experiences, our animal care specialists can “keep things fresh” for the animals. For example, we can present food in diverse ways by hiding it or releasing small amounts from automated feeders. Inside Tropic World, the orangutans can climb a vine that leads to a rocky nook where food falls from an elevated timed feeder. You may catch the orangutans scaling this vine to search for snacks.
Our animal care specialists also promote natural behaviors by encouraging the animals to work or hunt for their meals. Perhaps you have seen polar bear Hope diving in her pool to catch live fish. There is evidence that animals who are given these sorts of opportunities to exercise choice and control over their environment have better well-being.
There are also forms of environmental enrichment that may be trickier to spot in the Zoo’s habitats. To stimulate a variety of senses, animal care specialists offer enrichment that may not be perceivable to the human eye, nose, or ear. Indeed, we can introduce unique substrates, apply stimulating scents around a habitat, or play certain sounds. In fact, the primates can receive both sound and video enrichment! Overall, the goal is to allow an individual animal to overcome challenges to gain agency and ultimately build resilience.
So how do we determine which enrichment devices, objects, and activities pique the interest of members of a particular species? The first step is to review previous studies and speak with our colleagues at other zoos. What has been successful in the past?
Our Animal Welfare Science team can also brainstorm with the animal care specialists to identify new forms of enrichment. Then, after we introduce the enrichment, we can test whether it is cognitively, emotionally, or physically beneficial by monitoring both behavioral and physiological welfare indicators (e.g., positive vocalizations, play, social behaviors, glucocorticoids). This allows us to evaluate whether we are providing the most suitable and stimulating environment possible.
What other forms of enrichment can be found at Brookfield Zoo Chicago?
Around the holidays, we repurpose the Christmas trees from Holiday Magic by offering them to our bison, polar bears, lions, and other animals. While some species may be most intrigued by the scent, others may be focused on clawing at the bark.
Pumpkins can be an exciting (and, if consumed, nutritious) form of enrichment.
A wide variety of species have access to automated feeders, from parakeets to warthogs to goats to okapi.
In Bramsen Tropical Forests, there are currently 28 automated feeders hidden in the trees and other features! Also, while you’re at Bramsen Tropical Forests, look for the vertical “sway poles” interspersed among the faux bamboo poles. These modified pole-vaulting poles encourage dynamic arboreal behavior!
Over a dozen species receive scent enrichment, including the naked mole rats, meerkats, binturongs, and tigers. The naked mole rats enjoy the scent of certain spices and colognes!
Can you think of creative ways that animal care specialists could help animals develop problem-solving skills and overcome challenges? Which enrichment devices, objects, and activities do you think would pique the interest of Galápagos tortoises? What about a woma python? On your next visit to Brookfield Zoo Chicago, keep your eyes peeled to see if you can spot various forms of enrichment in the animals’ habitats!
