The Use Of Behavioral Enrichment In Galapagos And Aldabra Tortoises At Phoenix Zoo By Hilda Tresz, International Zoo News Vol. 55, No. 3 (2008), pp. 147151 (Reprinted with permission of IZN) pdf version of entire article available courtesy HerpDigest)
The goals of behavioral enrichment are to encourage captive animals to use their natural abilities and promote species-appropriate behaviors. This offers the animals a sense of control, allowing them to make choices and have new experiences. Enrichment ideas have their limits, however, especially when it comes to giant tortoises. These animals are unique in many ways, in particular with regard to their size, physical abilities and behavior. So enrichment ideas for them generally need to reflect on the fact that these animals are: Mainly herbivorous; Cold-blooded; Slow moving; Peaceful and mild tempered; Large sized. The article then outlines its efforts as follows: 1. Foraging enrichment 2. Structure and substrate 3. Social enrichment 4. Training 5. Stimulating the five senses 6. Manipulanda Conclusion In general, in terms of encouraging specific behaviors, two things are necessary for a chosen behavior to be elicited: opportunity and motivation. Giving the opportunity is basically providing the necessities (nesting materials, water, leaf litter, browse etc.) of what the animal could need. However, if the appropriate motivation is not there, the animal will usually choose not to exhibit that behavior. By their nature, reptile species restrict us in providing the best opportunities, and it requires a lot of knowledge and dedication on the caregivers part to achieve a successful enrichment program, but it is worth every minute! For a pdf copy of entire article please email us at [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Editor - Articles, even casual discussions in the herp zoo world are rare on this topic. The assumption all they need is food a large enough tank, a hiding place, water, and maybe the opportunity to breed. Hence, so many barren, empty, tanks, with bored herps inside that you see at zoos, herpetolculturists, pet shops, and hobbyists.) Allen Salzberg HerpDigest.org: The Only Free Weekly E-Zine That Reports on The Latest News on Herpetological Conservation and Science To subscribe go to www.herpdigest.org
