Patterns of animal–enrichment interaction in captive brown bears

Abstract

We studied the behavioral responses of three brown bears (Ursus arctos) to different types of enrichment devices to assess the predominant pattern of animal–enrichment interaction (PAI) to each type of enrichment. We assessed the bears' responses to feeding, sensory, and occupational enrichments over nine sessions. Using Pearson's correlation (r) and the coefficient of variation (CV)—we describe four models of PAIs: habituation, increasing, continuous, and fluctuating. The habituation model (r < 0 and p < 0.05; CV (%) > 0) consists of a loss of interest in the device over time and it occurred with the occupational device. The increasing model (r > 0 and p < 0.05; CV (%) > 0) consists of a sustained interest in the device over time and it was not observed for any device of this study. The continuous model (0 > r > 0 and p > 0.05; CV (%) < 100) consists of a consistent and unchanging interaction over time and it occurred with the feeding enrichments used in this study. The fluctuating PAI (0 > r > 0 and p > 0.05; CV (%) ≥ 100) consists of wide oscillations in the degree of interaction over time and we observed this pattern with sensory devices. Review of previous literature supports these classes of PAI, and suggests similar relationships between PAIs and the type of enrichment as we observed in this study.

Survey on the Past Decade of Technology in Animal Enrichment: A Scoping Review

“…This prominence of mammalian enrichment has been seen in other reviews as well, particularly in zoo contexts [2]. In this group, primates [3, and carnivores [20][21][22][23]25,31,31,39,40,[53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72] are the most utilized species. Second to mammals, birds make up a little over 6% of the literature.…”

“…However, multi-point sampling has been critiqued for the limited ability to capture rare behaviors [ 68 ]. Along with ethograms, evaluation tools were also utilized for evaluating enrichment, such as the PAI model [ 64 ], tongue-dip ratio [ 79 ], and interaction time [ 45 ]. Behavioral testing [ 59 , 65 , 77 , 80 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 , 86 ] and training [ 59 , 67 , 86 ] are also commonly used.…”

“…This focus on welfare has produced a variety of enrichment strategies explored in this context. Food [ 40 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 79 , 120 ] and object [ 40 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 79 , 120 ] are the most utilized (as also noted by [ 3 ]), with auditory [ 38 , 52 , 73 ] following. Structural [ 40 , 65 , 103 ], visual displays [ 37 ], and social interactions [ 65 , 103 ] (including animal–human interaction [ 39 , 43 , 108 ]) are less common.…”

“…Most interesting was the use of animal–human interaction [ 62 , 75 ], though was only for interactions with care staff for animals in sanctuaries. Evaluations all use general observations [ 36 , 61 , 62 , 75 ], with some participatory observation [ 64 ] and choice testing [ 61 ] utilized. Overall, enrichment is found to aid animal welfare [ 61 , 62 , 75 ], and there is a need for more technological support in care and management [ 36 ].…”

“…These changes ushered in new enclosure designs and a stronger focus on animal welfare [41]. Many of the studies in this context are motivated by improving welfare [37][38][39]41,64,65,108,120], with a few including zookeeper considerations [37,63]. Zebra Fish [100] Behavioral [100], Physiological [100] -7…”