Zoo animals, especially those with a higher
intelligence, should be encouraged to express natural
behaviour. One can imagine that a human locked in
an enclosure is easily bored when not having anything
to do. The same goes for some animals that could
develop stereotypical behaviour as a result (box
31). To improve the living conditions of the animals
in captivity, environmental enrichment should be
provided. Environmental enrichment makes the lives
of the animals in the zoo more active and interesting.
Enrichment is not necessarily expensive and can be
implemented quite easily with a little imagination
(image 20). To be effective, environmental enrichment
should be new, challenging and varied. Image 21 shows
an example of a programme for the enrichment of lions
in a zoo. A calendar like this can be used to plan the
enrichment on a daily basis.
Always be cautious when implementing enrichment;
some animals might undergo serious stress when
exposed to new items or scents. You should also take
care to prevent transfer of parasites or diseases.
The life of an animal in the zoo could be enriched
in many different ways. Four main types of enrichment
are listed in this chapter:
• Novel items
• Food presentation
• Sensory enrichment
• Enclosure design
Enrichment should be based on the natural
behaviour of the animal. It should stimulate or assist
the animal to do things that it would normally (have)
to do in the wild:
• Sleeping or resting
• Grooming or other body care
• Exploration
• Foraging
• Sexual behaviour
• Playing
• Social interaction