Environmental Enrichment

Improving rabbit enrichment: Developing a rolling enrichment plan

A three-week enrichment preference study trialling different substrates, food and pen structures was carried out in three, group-housed female New Zealand White Rabbits (NZW). Preference results: structural - rabbits spent the most time with a circular table (repurposed empty wooden...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Environmental Enrichment, HousingAnimal Type: Rabbit

Citation: Pearson, K., Gant, J. 2018. Improving rabbit enrichment: Developing a rolling enrichment plan. Animal Technology and Welfare 17(2), 121-123.

Introduction of gang caging for group housed rats

Using an existing gang cage designed for ferrets, we developed a version that would be suitable for housing rats. Caging consisted of 3 floors with a combined floor area of 11620m, connected by 2 ladders. Each individual unit can be...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Environmental Enrichment, HousingAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Clarke, D., Ioannou, L. 2018. Introduction of gang caging for group housed rats. Animal Technology and Welfare 17(2), 136-137.

Up-regulation of IGF-1 in the frontal cortex of piglets exposed to an environmentally enriched arena

Environmental enrichment (EE) is widely used in the life sciences to study effects of environment on the brain. In pigs, despite lack of EE being a key welfare issue there is little understanding of brain effects of EE in pigs....

Year Published: 2017Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Brown, S. M., Peters, R., Lawrence, A. B. 2017. Up-regulation of IGF-1 in the frontal cortex of piglets exposed to an environmentally enriched arena. Physiology & Behavior 173, 285-292.

The effect of different genres of music on the stress levels of kennelled dogs’

Classical music has been shown to reduce stress in kennelled dogs; however, rapid habituation of dogs to this form of auditory enrichment has also been demonstrated. The current study investigated the physiological and behavioural response of kennelled dogs (n =...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Dog

Citation: Bowman, A., Scottish SPCA, Dowell, F. J. et al. 2017. 'The effect of different genres of music on the stress levels of kennelled dogs'. Physiology & Behavior 171, 207-215.

Tailored enrichment strategies and stereotypic behaviour in captive individually-housed macaques (Macaca spp.)

In this study, I combine both physiological and behavioural measures of well-being to comprehensively assess the unique needs of individually-housed captive macaques (Macaca spp.) at OPR Coastal Primate Sanctuary in Longview, WA, with the aim of developing tailored welfare strategies....

Year Published: 2017Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Macaque, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Cannon, T. 2017. Tailored enrichment strategies and stereotypic behaviour in captive individually-housed macaques (Macaca spp.). Canopy 17(2), 13-16.

Rescue-Enrich-Release: The environmental enrichment program for three species of captive primates at Colobus

It is widely known that the psychological wellbeing of captive animals can become compromised by a captive environment that lacks proper environmental stimulation. Environmental enrichment programs have become the norm in captive environments yet research conducting evaluations on the effectiveness...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Baboon, Capuchin, Chimpanzee, Lemur, Macaque, Marmoset, Nonhuman Primate, Other Nonhuman Primate, Owl Monkey, Squirrel Monkey, Vervet (African Green Monkey)

Citation: Palmer, S. 2017. Rescue-Enrich-Release: The environmental enrichment program for three species of captive primates at Colobus. Canopy 17(2), 27-30.

Relative response to digital tablet devices and painting as sensory enrichment in captive chimpanzees

Digital devices, including tablet computers and other touchscreens, can potentially serve as flexible and convenient means for providing behavioral enrichment activities to captive primates. Despite increased interest in incorporating technology into enrichment programs, no direct quantitative comparison has previously been...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Chimpanzee, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Grunauer, P. P., Walguarnery, J. W. 2018. Relative response to digital tablet devices and painting as sensory enrichment in captive chimpanzees. Zoo Biology 37(4), 269–273.

Behavioral responses of three lemur species to different food enrichment devices

Environmental enrichment is a tool used to promote the welfare and well‐being of captive animals by encouraging the display of species‐specific behaviors and reducing the stress or boredom induced by captive environments. Lemurs are highly endangered, yet few studies have...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Lemur, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Shapiro, M. E., Shapiro, H. G., Ehmke, E. E. 2018. Behavioral responses of three lemur species to different food enrichment devices. Zoo Biology 37(3), 146–155.

The effects of olfactory stimulation on the behavior of captive ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta)

Ring‐tailed lemurs reside in many animal collections worldwide. Lemur welfare may be a cause of concern due to some captive individuals exhibiting stereotypic behavior. Despite these concerns, there has been little exploration of methods of environmental enrichment for ring‐tailed lemurs....

Year Published: 2018Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Lemur, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Baker, B., Taylor, S., Montrose, V. T. 2018. The effects of olfactory stimulation on the behavior of captive ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta). Zoo Biology 37(1), 16–22.

Moving evidence into practice: Cost analysis and assessment of Macaques’ sustained behavioral engagement with videogames and foraging devices

Environmental enrichment plans for captive nonhuman primates often include provision of foraging devices. The rationale for using foraging devices is to promote species‐typical activity patterns that encourage physical engagement and provide multi‐sensory stimulation. However, these devices have been shown to...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Macaque, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Bennett, A. J., Perkins, C. M., Tenpas, P. D. et al. 2016. Moving evidence into practice: Cost analysis and assessment of Macaques' sustained behavioral engagement with videogames and foraging devices. American Journal of Primatology 78(12), 1250-1264.