Enrichment options: Food pods and mesh feeders (1994)

Sutherland, R.

Abstract

Food pods are a recent innovation and are constructed primarily of PVC tubing whish, in turn, is fastened to nets or firehose. The object is to extract foods which have been placed in the tubes via internalized, gorilla-proof, access seals. The variation of hole sizes as well as the type of food put in the tubes offers considerable challenge to apes and considerable ingenuity in the methods of extraction are seen. The following device is utilized by gorillas at the Calgary Zoo, and could possibly be used by other apes as well.