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Enrichment For Zoo Housed Callitrichids: William Pinder Enrichment Coordinator at Zoolokal

This document discusses enrichment for callitrichids (marmosets and tamarins) housed in zoos. It defines enrichment as enhancing captive animal care by providing environmental stimuli for optimal well-being. Enrichment increases natural behaviors, decreases aggression, and improves reproduction and survival. There are 5 categories of enrichment: feeding, sensory, cognitive, behavioral, and environmental. Examples provided include puzzle feeders, flowers, herbs, hiding spaces, and social interactions. Safety and evaluating effectiveness are also discussed.

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122 views15 pages

Enrichment For Zoo Housed Callitrichids: William Pinder Enrichment Coordinator at Zoolokal

This document discusses enrichment for callitrichids (marmosets and tamarins) housed in zoos. It defines enrichment as enhancing captive animal care by providing environmental stimuli for optimal well-being. Enrichment increases natural behaviors, decreases aggression, and improves reproduction and survival. There are 5 categories of enrichment: feeding, sensory, cognitive, behavioral, and environmental. Examples provided include puzzle feeders, flowers, herbs, hiding spaces, and social interactions. Safety and evaluating effectiveness are also discussed.

Uploaded by

LeaAnne
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Enrichment for Zoo

housed Callitrichids
William Pinder
Enrichment Coordinator at Zoolokal
What is enrichment?

“An animal behaviour principle that seeks to enhance the quality of


captive animal care by identifying and providing
the environmental stimuli necessary for optimal psychological and
physiological well-being.”
- David Shepardson, 1998
Why it is important

 Increases natural behaviours


 Decreases aggression
 Increases physical activity
 Improves reproduction
 Increases survival rates on captive animals which are
rereleased into the wild

(Carlstead & Shepardson, 2000).


5 Categories of Enrichment

Environmental
Feeding
Sensory

Cognitive Behavioural
Feeding Enrichment

 Foraging makes up one of callitrichids highest activity budgets

Supported in research:
- Geoffroy’s marmoset (Callithrix geoffroyi) spent 22% of their
day foraging for food (Passamani, 1998)
- Golden lion tamarins (Leontopithecus rosalia) spent 15-20% of
their day (Redshaw & Mallinson, 1991).
- Cotton top tamarins (Saguinus Oedipus) spent 25%-30%
(Redshaw & Mallinson, 1991).
Feeding Enrichment
 Boomer Balls
 Puzzle Feeder
 Scatter Feeds
 Gum feeders
 Flowers
Flowers for enrichment

Nasturtiums
Flower from summer all
the way to autumn
Hibiscus flowers
Flowers in mid –
late summer

Passion Flower
Flowers in mid to
late summer
Sensory Enrichment

 Perfumes
 Herbs and spices
 Swapping perching
 Auditory enrichment
 Textured toys
Cognitive Enrichment
Important to mentally stimulate callitrichids, this can be
achieved through:

 Problem solving
 Puzzle feeders
 Exploration
 Training
Environmental & Social
Enrichment
 Aims to enhance the quality of captive animal care by providing
environmental stimuli which is necessary for optimal psychological
and physiological well-being
 Provide a range of wooden perching, ropes and branches
 Provide nest boxes
 Hiding spaces
 Moving perching around
 Adding new perches
 Densely planted enclosures
 Gnawing plants for marmosets
 Social interactions with keepers
Safety
IMPORTANT that enrichment is safe for callitrichids

Have to ensure that they do not:


 Hang themselves
 Eat any foreign materials
 Get hands and fingers stuck
 Enrichment is securely fixed
 Cut themselves
Evaluating your enrichment

 Hasto have clear aims which are


measurable
 Is it encouraging natural behaviours?
 Right amount of enrichment for your group
size
 Difficulty level
Things to remember!

 Enrichment can and should be both fun for the


animals, zookeepers and public

 Share enrichment ideas with each other

 Post videos and photos on the Facebook forums


such as the EAZA Callitrichid TAG News page.
Thank you!
References
 Vitale, A. and Manciocco, A., 2004. Environmental enrichment techniques in non-human primates. The case
of Callitrichids. Rivista trimestrale dell’Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 40(2), pp.181-186.
 Bloomstrand, M., Riddle, K., Alford, P., & Maple, T. L. (1986). Objective evaluation of a behavioral
enrichment device for captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Zoo Biology, 5, 293–300.
 Corrine K. Lutz, Melinda A. Novak, Environmental Enrichment for Nonhuman Primates: Theory and
Application, ILAR Journal, Volume 46, Issue 2, 2005, Pages 178–191,
 Passamani, M., 1998. Activity budget of Geoffroy's marmoset (Callithrix geoffroyi) in an Atlantic forest in
southeastern Brazil. American Journal of Primatology, 46(4), pp.333-340.
 McKenzie, S.M., Chamove, A.S., and Feistner, A.T.C. (1986): Floor coverings and hanging screens alter
arboreal monkey behaviour. Zoo Biology 5: 334-348.
 Redshaw, M.E., and Mallinson, J.J.C. (1991): Stimulation of natural patterns of behaviour: study with golden
lion tamarins and gorillas. In Box, H.O. (Ed.): Primate Responses to Environmental Change (Chap. 12).
Chapman and Hall, Cambridge, U .K.
 Shepherdson, D.J. 1998; In: D.J. Shepherdson, J. D.. Mellen, & M. Hutchins (eds.), 1998. Second nature:
Environmental enrichment for captive animals. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC
 Carlstead, K. and Shepherdson, D., 2000. Alleviating stress in zoo animals with environmental enrichment.
The biology of animal stress: Basic principles and implications for animal welfare, pp.337-354.
 Neptune, D. and Walz, D., 2005, July. Thinking outside the cardboard box-taking enrichment programs to
the next level. In Proceedings of the seventh international conference on environmental enrichment (pp.
90-95).
 National Research Council (US) Committee on Well-Being of Nonhuman Primates. The Psychological Well-
Being of Nonhuman Primates. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 1998. 6, New World Monkeys:
Callitrichids. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK232183/
 Shettleworth, S. J. (2010). Cognition, evolution and behavior, 2nd ed. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

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