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Information about Environmental Enrichment

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An Asian elephant in a zoo manipulating a suspended ball provided as environmental enrichment.
Environmental enrichment, also called behavioral enrichment, refers to the practice of providing animals under managed care with environmental stimuli. The goal of environmental enrichment is to improve an animal's quality of life by increasing physical activity, stimulating natural behaviors, and preventing or reducing stereotypical behaviors. In principle, enrichment can be beneficial to any relatively intelligent animal, including mammals, birds, and even octopuses.[1]

Environmental enrichment may be offered to animals in the following situations: Any novel stimulus which evokes an animal's interest can be considered enriching, including natural and artificial objects, scents, novel foods, and different methods of preparing foods (for example, frozen in ice). Puzzles that require an animal to solve simple problems in order to access food or other rewards are considered enrichment. An animal's environment may also be enriched by the presence of other animals of the same or different species. A stimulus can be considered enriching even if the animal's reaction to it is negative, such as with unpleasant scents, although stimuli that evoke extreme stress or fear should be avoided, as well as stimuli that can be harmful to the animal.

Enclosures in modern zoos are often designed with enrichment in mind. For example, the Denver Zoo's exhibit Predator Ridge allows different African carnivore species to rotate among several enclosures, providing the animals with a larger environment and exposing them to each others' scents.

Notes

1. ^ Octopus enrichment program. Smithsonian National Zoological Park. Retrieved on 2006-06-11.
2. ^ Ron Hines, D.V.M. (2006-04-24). Synopsis of the Environmental Enrichment Program of 2nd Chance Sanctuary. Retrieved on 2006-06-11.

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Zoos, aquaria and aviaries
stereotypical behavior or stereotypy is a repetitive motor behavior without obvious purpose or function. It is considered an abnormal behavior and is sometimes seen in captive animals, particularly those held in small enclosures with little opportunity to engage in more
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Mammalia
Linnaeus, 1758

Subclasses & Infraclasses
  • Subclass †Allotheria*
  • Subclass Prototheria
  • Subclass Theria

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Aves
Linnaeus, 1758

Orders

About two dozen - see section below

Birds (class Aves) are bipedal, warm-blooded, egg-laying vertebrate animals.
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Octopoda
Leach, 1818

Suborders

†Pohlsepia (incertae sedis)
†Proteroctopus (incertae sedis)
†Palaeoctopus (incertae sedis)
Cirrina
Incirrina
Synonyms

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captivity. Captivity can be used as a generalizing term to describe the keeping of either domesticated animals (livestock and pets) or wild animals. This may include for example farms, private homes and zoos.
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animal sanctuary is a facility where animals are brought to live and be protected for the rest of their lives. Unlike animal shelters, sanctuaries do not seek to place animals with individuals or groups, instead maintaining each animal until his or her natural death.
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Animal testing or animal research refers to the use of animals in experiments. It is estimated that 50 to 100 million vertebrate animals worldwide [4][5][6]
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puzzle is a problem or enigma that challenges ingenuity. In a basic puzzle you piece together objects in a logical way in order to come up with the desired shape, picture or solution.
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The Denver Zoo is an 80-acre [1] facility located in City Park of Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1896, it is owned by the City and County of Denver and funded in part by the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD).
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Carnivora
Bowdich, 1821

Families
  • 17, See classification

The diverse order Carnivora (IPA: /kɑrˈnɪvərə/
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A zoological garden, zoological park, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures and displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred.
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public aquarium (plural: public aquaria or public aquariums) is the aquatic counterpart of a zoo, housing aquatic species for viewing. Most public aquaria feature a number of smaller tanks, as well as those greater in size than could be kept by most any home aquarist.
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An aviary is a large enclosure for confining birds. Unlike cages, aviaries allow birds a larger living space in which to fly and simulate a natural environment. Large aviaries are often found in the setting of a zoological garden.
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Menagerie is the term for a historical form of keeping wild and exotic animals in human captivity and therefore a predecessor of the modern zoological garden. The term was foremost used in seventeenth century France originally for the management of the household or domestic stock,
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oceanarium is not well defined. It can either mean a marine mammal park such as Marineland of Florida or a large-scale aquarium presenting an ocean habitat with marine animals, especially large fish (e.g. sharks).
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A tourist attraction is a place of interest where tourists visit. Some examples include historical places, monuments, zoos, museums and art galleries, botanical gardens, buildings and structures (e.g.
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safari park is a zoo-like commercial tourist attraction where visitors can drive in their own vehicles and observe the wildlife, rather than viewing animals in cages or small enclosures.
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The following is a partial list of zoological gardens (zoos):

Africa

 Algeria
  • Oran Zoo
 Cameroon
  • Mvog-Betsi Zoo
 Cte d'Ivoire
  • Abidjan Zoo
 Egypt

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This is a list of aquaria (Public aquariums):

Africa

Egypt

  • Alexandria Aquarium - Alexandria

South Africa

  • Two Oceans Aquarium - Cape Town
  • UShaka Marine World - Durban

Asia

China


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This is a partial list of zoo and aquaria associations:

Global

  • World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA)
  • International Marine Animal Trainers Association (IMATA)

Regional


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captivity. Captivity can be used as a generalizing term to describe the keeping of either domesticated animals (livestock and pets) or wild animals. This may include for example farms, private homes and zoos.
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endangered species is a population of an organism which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in number, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters.
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Conservation biology, or conservation ecology, is the science of analyzing and protecting Earth's biological diversity. Conservation biology draws from the biological, physical and social sciences, economics, and the practice of natural-resource management.
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Biodiversity is the variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome or for the entire Earth. Biodiversity is often used as a measure of the health of biological systems.
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endangered species is a population of an organism which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in number, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters.
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extinction is the cessation of existence of a species or group of taxa, reducing biodiversity. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of that species (although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point).
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In-situ conservation means "on-site conservation". It is the process of protecting an endangered plant or animal species in its natural habitat, either by protecting or cleaning up the habitat itself, or by defending the species from predators.
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Ex-situ conservation means literally, "off-site conservation". It is the process of protecting an endangered species of plant or animal by removing part of the population from a threatened habitat and placing it in a new location, which may be a wild area or within the care of
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A frozen zoo is a cryogenic facility for the long term storage of animal and plant genetic material such as DNA, sperm, eggs, and embryos.

Zoos such as the San Diego Zoo[1] and research programs such as the Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species
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Conservation biology, or conservation ecology, is the science of analyzing and protecting Earth's biological diversity. Conservation biology draws from the biological, physical and social sciences, economics, and the practice of natural-resource management.
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