This post written by Marissa Talamantes

Whenever guests visit the carnivore section, I notice they spend a good amount of time watching the animals on exhibit. While observing them, I am sure they notice random objects in the exhibits such as toys, butcher paper, bones, or even a distinct smell. We put these objects, known as enrichment, on exhibit for the animals.

Enrichment is something the Carnivore Department does every day in different forms. We use ENRICH as an acronym for Encouraging Natural Responses In Creative Habitats. Every day the keepers want to encourage natural responses in the animals by stimulating them with different objects and scents.

Here is Pandu, the male tiger playing tug-of-war with his enrichment object. This enrichment would receive a 5 for the day!

Each month the Carnivore Department makes a chart for every animal in the department. This chart is set up like a monthly calendar, and every day is labeled with a different behavior to encourage, as well as an example of an enrichment item that could be used. Some behaviors we encourage are playing, digging, and even jumping! Underneath the type of enrichment is a rating scale of 1 to 5. After we set up the enrichment for the day, we observe and rate the animal’s response. A score of one would be given if the item or activity is completely ignored. If there is a lot of interaction with the item or activity, a score of five would be given.

Here is an example of the calendar the Carnivore Department uses. The date is next to the behavior the keepers want to encourage, and the object of enrichment is underneath!

On certain days of the week, different animals in the department receive a gorge diet, meaning a large amount of food is given. This high amount stimulates behavior that is similar to making a large kill. The day after the gorge diet, the participating animals have a fasting day. This means they do not receive their raw meat diet, but bones instead; not only are they fun to chew on, but bones are also good for their teeth! This is similar to how food might be consumed in the wild where large meals are followed by days of fasting. The gorge diet enrichment helps simulate the uncertainty of finding food. Animals in nature are unsure of when their next meal will occur. Due to this uncertainty, the animals eat as much of the prey as possible in order to withstand the next possible days of not eating.

The Carnivore Department has different types of enrichment options, but some animals appear to have favorites. Jonathan (the male lion) and Ivy (the black leopard) appear to really enjoy poop from an Ankole steer, a livestock breed exhibited here at the zoo. Jonathan and Pandu (the male tiger) also appear to have favorite scents. Jonathan seems to like Polo cologne more than others, while Pandu seems to enjoy Stetson more.

Many items are donated by generous guests, docents, volunteers, and even staff. If you would like to learn more about enrichment at the zoo and the possibility of donating a toy for our animals, check out our Amazon Wishlist!

Here is Patty (an Andean Bear) scratching at the Christmas Tree she and her exhibit-mate, Willie, received for enrichment.

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