Anglia Ruskin Research Online (ARRO)
Browse
- No file added yet -

Material and food exploration by zoo-housed animals can inform cognition and enrichment apparatus design

Download (1.23 MB)
journal contribution
posted on 2023-08-30, 20:14 authored by Fay Clark, Lucy Chivers, Olivia Pearson
To robustly study zoo animal cognition and provide effective enrichment, we must provide animals with carefully designed apparatus made from appropriate (safe, attractive, practical) materials. However, all too often, this design phase is overlooked or omitted from the literature. We evaluated how a troop of 12 ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) explored a range of novel materials and whole foods during outdoor social testing. These items were not intended to test cognition or be enriching; rather we viewed them as the potential “building blocks” from which to build our future apparatus. Lemurs preferred to explore wooden surfaces, but had no preference for manipulanda made from different materials. Large amounts of metal and untreated wood should be avoided in the future; metal produced too much heat and glare, and wood was damaged by biting/chewing. Lemurs used one or two hands to explore manipulanda, and simple touching was more common than twisting or pulling. However, lemurs were most likely to explore by smell than touch or by mouth. Social testing preserved “normal” conditions for the lemurs, including natural food stealing and scrounging in high- and low-ranking individuals, respectively. Our findings culminated in the development of a static, low-level cognitive task apparatus, constructed from modular plastic units. We encourage other researchers to report how they develop cognitive and enrichment apparatuses and consider a similar preference-testing approach.

History

Refereed

  • Yes

Volume

0

Issue number

0

Page range

1-12

Publication title

Zoo Biology

ISSN

1098-2361

Publisher

Wiley

File version

  • Accepted version

Language

  • eng

Legacy posted date

2022-09-06

Legacy creation date

2022-09-06

Legacy Faculty/School/Department

Faculty of Science & Engineering

Usage metrics

    ARU Outputs

    Categories

    No categories selected

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC