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| Behavioral Research at the Zoo: How Behavioral and Environmental Manipulations Can Be Used to Promote Captive Animal Welfare |
| Tuesday, June 1, 2004 |
| 10:30 AM–11:50 AM |
| Fairfax B |
| Area: EAB; Domain: Applied Research |
| Chair: Nicole R. Dorey (University of North Texas) |
| Discussant: Karen W. Pryor (Indiana University) |
| Abstract: . |
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| Training Penguins to Interact with Enrichment Items for Lasting Effects |
| EDUARDO J. FERNANDEZ (Indiana University), William D. Timberlake (Indiana University) |
| Abstract: Over the past several decades, zoos have begun to focus more on the use of environmental enrichment to promote the “well-being” of their animals, (Markowitz and Aday, 1998). The past few decades have also seen a dramatic increase in the application of behavioral training techniques with captive animals in zoos. However, while training itself has been talked about as an effective enrichment strategy (Laule & Desmond, 1998), little has been done to manipulate the effectiveness of specific enrichment items through training. In many cases, whether or not an animal interacts with some item is all that is observed or documented. If an item is not interacted with, multiple items or other procedures might be continually tried until some item or other procedure is found that works. The following study examined the possibility of combining training and enrichment to produce continued interactions with an enrichment item. 2 species of penguin, magellanic (Spheniscus magellanicus) and rockhoppers (Eudyptes crestata) were used in the study. 2 measures were taken: whether a penguin was swimming or not swimming, and the continuous number of hits by a beak to each enrichment item. 2 different colored hamster balls were introduced as the enrichment items, and could be manipulated by placing smelt (a small fish) within and hanging out of each ball. During baseline sessions, no hits to either item were observed. During training sessions with and without smelt in the balls, several hits were recorded when smelt were in the balls, and overall swimming time increased during the training times. When baseline was reintroduced without smelt in the balls, little interaction with the enrichment items was observed, and swimming time for most of the penguins decreased. When the balls were re-introduced with smelt but without training, the highest number of interactions and largest percentage of time spent swimming were observed for the rockhoppers. The effects of training to encourage naturalistic behavior with enrichment items in captive animals will be discussed. |
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| The Effects of Environmental Arrangements and Reinforcement on the Stereotypic Behavior of Bears |
| NICOLE R. DOREY (University of North Texas), Andrea P. Gamble (University of North Texas), Jesus Rosales-Ruiz (University of North Texas) |
| Abstract: There is much debate about the causes of stereotypic pacing in captive bears. Most researchers agree that the majority of this behavior is a result of an abnormal animal-environment interaction (Bashaw, Tarou, Maki, and Maple, 2001). The purpose of this presentation is to show the effects of introducing new stimuli to the existing bear’s environment and the effects of various reinforcement contingencies on the stereotypic behavior of bears. The subjects were a black and brown bear (Ursus americanus; Ursus arctos). During baseline the occurrence of 8 behaviors were recorded. The first intervention consisted of introducing a beehive and some toy items. The second intervention consisted of shaping the occurrence of typical bear behavior with respect to the new stimuli introduced to the environment. The typical bear behaviors included shaking a wooden beehive, rearing up on its hind legs, scratching a post, and playing with a toy item in or out of the pool. The occurrence of any of these behaviors was scheduled for reinforcement. The last intervention was to change the schedule of reinforcement to increase the variability of responding. The experimental design consisted of a multiple baseline across subjects. The results will be discussed in terms of procedures to increase the variety and frequency of the bear’s behavior. |
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| Fixed-Time Food Schedules and their Effects on Activity Patterns in Two Adult Polar Bears (Ursus Maritimus) |
| EDUARDO J. FERNANDEZ (Indiana University), William D. Timberlake (Indiana University) |
| Abstract: Stereotypies have been described as repetitive, invariant behavior patterns with no obvious goal or function. While specific conditions or contexts are highly correlated with such stereotypies, in many cases little has been done to systematically examine the function of those behavior patterns. One such setting has been captive environments for numerous species of animals. The following study examined the effects of several fixed-time (FT) food delivery schedules with two polar bears at the Indianapolis Zoo. Two stereotypic responses, pacing and repetitive swimming patterns, were recorded, along with several other non-stereotypic responses. All behaviors were recorded in baseline, non-food conditions, and several FT schedules, while reversals were run across the study. The project attempted to answer two questions: can we use certain timed food delivery schedules to better understand the relation between food searching/getting and stereotypic behavior, and can we effectively reduce those stereotypes and other aberrant responses while increasing species-typical foraging patterns with some of the schedules. Polar bears have been documented to exhibit an extremely high number of stereotypies in captivity, which have been correlated in several species with lower breeding success and higher health risks. A simple, easy to use behavioral treatment for reducing stereotypic behaviors could have valuable applied benefits for numerous endangered species breeding programs, as well as maintaining the health and longevity of captive species in general. |
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