Animal Enrichment at the New York Aquarium
by Martha Hiatt, Behavioral Husbandry
Animal enrichment at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is not a new practice. For many years WCS keepers have put effort and creativity into enriching the lives of our animals. Within the last few years, WCS made a commitment to formal, science-based enrichment programs at all of our wildlife parks, and thus the Animal Enrichment Program (AEP) was born. The fundamental objective of AEP is that all animals in the WCS collection receive optimal physical & mental stimulation for their health and well-being.
When we talk about enrichment we are referring to a process that structures and changes an animal’s environment in a way that provides choices to animals. Ultimately we hope to draw out their species-appropriate behaviors and enhance their welfare.
At the New York Aquarium, we believe good enrichment programs are holistic…they consist of more than tossing a ball to an animal. Enrichment is an integral part of the animals’ lives. We have built a number of items which we think will be stimulating, and which we are certain will be safe for animals and trainers to use. But that is just the first step. We plan what items will be given, when they will be delivered, how long they will remain in an enclosure, and the method we will use to deliver it to the animals (ie, toss it in/ hide it in the exhibit/ present two items and let the animal “choose” which he prefers). Our motto is clear: variety is the spice of life, so we extend this philosophy to all other aspects of the animals’ lives. For example, we try to vary the times at which we feed the animals, as well as the trainer who feeds them, the length of the session, and the amount of fish they receive. Sometimes we give them a training session full of new challenges, and sometimes they are fed quietly. We approach their pool from differing directions… in fact, sometimes we sneak up to their pool, “surprising” them. Between feeds we vary the access they have to the pools in their enclosure. We schedule times to hang a mirror for them to interact with. We “play” in front of their windows, exhibiting high energy and unusual movements…something for them to observe. We even schedule times when they will have no enrichment items for an hour or two; if they always have enrichment items the items will begin to lose their value. Time without any such items may encourage them to interact differently with one another.
The otters receive a wide variety of food items, and the delivery method is just as diverse. Sometimes they are handed a crab, Sometimes they find a fish-shaped block of ice in which clams are frozen, and sometimes they find an enrichment item that is complex in shape at which they have to work in order to extract fish deep in the center. The actual fish “treat” may be quite small; the enrichment value is in problem solving their way to the fish. The sea lions spend their days in separate enclosures, then at the end of each day they are mixed together; sometimes all of them, sometimes in smaller groups. The walruses provide unique enrichment challenges; they are thoroughly capable of destroying almost anything other than the most carefully designed enrichment item! The keepers need to consider every possible way in which these powerful animals could break or pull apart an enrichment item, or harm their exhibit. The challenge is in making safe items that are still interesting.
Enrichment is no longer something we do when we have extra time; it is a focus of our animal care program. The animals thrive when stimulated in this manner. And we do too; the satisfaction of creating a more perfect environment for the animals makes the extra effort entirely worthwhile.
