Environmental Enrichment

Assessment of commercially available environmental enrichment for laboratory mice: Ask the animal! American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 135-136 (Abstract)

Mice of all strains showed a strong preference for paper-based, but not for perspex nest boxes.

Year Published: 2004Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Van Loo, P. L. P., Blom, H. J. M., Meijer, M. K. et al. 2004. Assessment of commercially available environmental enrichment for laboratory mice: Ask the animal! American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 135-136 (Abstract).

The importance of learning young: the use of nesting material in laboratory rats

Unlike mice, adult laboratory rats do not spontaneously build nests when nesting material is offered. As a result, nesting material is often regarded as unsuitable environmental enrichment for laboratory rats. Wild rats and pet rats, however, have been observed to...

Year Published: 2004Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Rearing & WeaningAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Van Loo, P. L. P., Baumans, V. 2004. The importance of learning young: the use of nesting material in laboratory rats. Laboratory Animals 38, 17-24.

Short-term effects of a disturbed light-dark cycle and environmental enrichment on aggression and stress-related parameters in male mice

This experiment has shown that disturbed lighting for socially-housed male mice caused physiological and behavioural changes indicative of not only leading to much higher levels of corticosterone [via urine collection] but also to shorter agonistic within the groups. .. No...

Year Published: 2004Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Van der Meer, E., Van Loo, P. L. P., Baumans, V. 2004. Short-term effects of a disturbed light-dark cycle and environmental enrichment on aggression and stress-related parameters in male mice. Laboratory Animals 38, 376-383.

Enriching your enrichment program

Feeding enrichment and inanimate enrichment options for group-housed gorillas are described.

Year Published: 2004Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Nonhuman Primate, Other Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Jones, P., Cantrell, R., Chaplin, M. 2004. Enriching your enrichment program. Animal Keepers' Forum 31(10), 430-433.

Foraging in captive hamadryas baboons: implications for enrichment

Many animals will work for food even if food is freely available or the animal is satiated, suggesting that foraging behaviour is inherently rewarding and that there is a behavioural need to forage. We investigated whether members of a hamadryas...

Year Published: 2004Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Baboon, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Jones, M., Pillay, N. 2004. Foraging in captive hamadryas baboons: implications for enrichment . Applied Animal Behaviour Science 88, 101-110.

Old water hose, new enrichment device

Sections of water hose were combined with gnawing sticks or toys and suspended in the cage. We found that when these wood branches or chew-toys are hung from the top of the cage, the primates [unspecified species] pay more attention...

Year Published: 2004Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Hummel, D. 2004. Old water hose, new enrichment device. Tech Talk [The Newsletter for Laboratory Animal Science Technicians] 9(3), 1 & 4.

Proactive compliance – the team program approach to revitalizing primate enrichment

The Division of Laboratory Animal Resources (DLAR) at the University of Pittsburgh proactively instituted a nonhuman enrichment plan that is founded on the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Final Report on the Environmental Enhancement to Promote the Psychological Well-being...

Year Published: 2004Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Regulations & Ethical ReviewAnimal Type: Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Hopper, K. J., Newsome, J. T. 2004. Proactive compliance - the team program approach to revitalizing primate enrichment. Contemporary Topics in Laboratory Animal Science 43(2), 37-38.

The refinement of primate models for biomedical research

The relatively recent environmental enrichment practice of housing laboratory primates in pairs is beneficial to their mental and somatic health and a cage mates has been found to reduce stress in experiments involving restraint or similar fear-provoking situations. Apart from...

Year Published: 2004Topics: Animal Training, Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Hau, J. 2004. The refinement of primate models for biomedical research. Folia Primatologica 75(Supplement 1), 132. (Primate Meeting Abstract)

Mirrors as environmental enrichment for African green monkeys

Stainless steel circular mirrors were employed in an enrichment plan for 105 singly housed male African green monkeys. We observed 25 randomly selected males to measure mirror use and to assess the mirrors' effectiveness as an enrichment item. We conducted...

Year Published: 2004Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Nonhuman Primate, Vervet (African Green Monkey)

Citation: Harris, H. G., Edwards, A. J. 2004. Mirrors as environmental enrichment for African green monkeys . American Journal of Primatology 63, 459-467.

The appropriate use of enrichment items for captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

Year Published: 2004Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Chimpanzee, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Glaves, N. I., Griffith, M. 2004. The appropriate use of enrichment items for captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Primate Eye 83, 12 (Abstract).