The Ultimate Benefits of Learning

Baker, Kathy; Melfi, Vicky

doi:10.1002/9781118968543.ch3

Cited by 2 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…Sambrook and Buchanan-Smith [ 24 ] speculate that the acquisition of control may be a more enriching process than the execution of control, and this acquisition requires cognitive skills. The process of learning itself and the provisioning of learning opportunities (or cognitive challenges) to zoo animals may offer welfare benefits beyond immediate survival, including improved psychological well-being and enhanced cognitive function [ 167 ]. Foraging in a new area and in new ways involves cognitive mechanisms, such as environmental perception, memory, and problem solving.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Supporting Zoo Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus) Welfare and Herd Dynamics with a More Complex and Expanded Habitat

Glaeser

Shepherdson

Lewis

et al. 2021

Animals

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Ensuring good health and welfare is an increasingly important consideration for conservation of endangered species, whether free-ranging or managed to varying degrees under human care. The welfare-based design of a new habitat for Asian elephants at the Oregon Zoo focused on meeting the elephants’ physical, physiological, psychological, and social needs 24 h a day and across life stages. The habitat was designed to encourage activity, promote species-typical behaviors, support changing social dynamics, offer increased opportunities for choice, and provide biologically meaningful challenges. In this 4-year study, we monitored elephant health and welfare indicators throughout the transition and acclimation from the previous habitat to the new habitat. Several welfare indicators obtained through longitudinal hormone analyses, behavior assessments, and GPS measurement of walking distance and space use provided evidence that these goals were achieved. The elephants were more active and walked farther on a daily basis in the new habitat, with an average walking distance of over 15 km per day. A switch from primarily caretaker-delivered food to seeking food on their own indicates that the disbursement of food with less temporal and spatial predictability increased foraging opportunities, which better satisfies appetitive motivations important for psychological well-being. All individuals showed adaptive and normal adrenal responses to change and challenge, with the highest fecal glucocorticoid metabolite (FGM) concentrations and variability during the construction phase, and a return to previous baseline concentrations in the new habitat, suggesting they acclimated well to the new environment. The elephants expressed a diverse range of species-typical behaviors and demonstrated social dynamics of a healthy herd in both habitats with transitions of individuals through life stages. They exhibited more autonomy in choosing whom to associate with socially and also by choosing different aspects of their environment with regular indoor/outdoor access and extensive resource use in the new habitat. Findings indicate that the complexity and flexibility of the new habitat and habitat management has been effective in improving overall welfare by providing meaningful challenges and the opportunity to express appetitive behaviors, by offering choice in environmental conditions, and by providing the space and resource distribution to support evolving herd dynamics and increased social equity for individuals.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Supporting Zoo Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus) Welfare and Herd Dynamics with a More Complex and Expanded Habitat

Glaeser

Shepherdson

Lewis

et al. 2021

Animals

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“…Learning new skills and solving problems is enriching to captive animals [4] and training confers benefits to both animals and staff [118][119][120]. Fundamentally, training allows people to have a dialogue with animals.…”

Section: Trainingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While learning clearly confers benefits to wild animals, what about for captive animals whose environments are less variable and more predictable? Animals do not stop learning or responding to their environment simply because they are housed in captive settings [3], and animals' proclivity to learn can be leveraged to enhance behavioral management practices [4]. Moreover, individual animals' learning is often influenced by their social environment, and such social learning can be co-opted to refine behavioral management practices and enhance captive animal welfare.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Leveraging Social Learning to Enhance Captive Animal Care and Welfare

Hopper

2021

JZBG

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From ants to zebras, animals are influenced by the behavior of others. At the simplest level, social support can reduce neophobia, increasing animals’ exploration of novel spaces, foods, and other environmental stimuli. Animals can also learn new skills more quickly and more readily after observing others perform them. How then can we apply animals’ proclivity to socially learn to enhance their care and welfare in captive settings? Here, I review the ways in which animals (selectively) use social information, and propose tactics for leveraging that to refine the behavioral management of captive animals: to enhance socialization techniques, enrichment strategies, and training outcomes. It is also important to consider, however, that social learning does not always promote the uniform expression of new behaviors. There are differences in animals’ likelihood to seek out or use socially provided information, driven by characteristics such as species, rank, age, and personality. Additionally, social learning can result in inexact transmission or the transmission of undesirable behaviors. Thus, understanding when, how, and why animals use social information is key to developing effective strategies to improve how we care for animals across settings and, ultimately, enhance captive animal welfare.

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The Ultimate Benefits of Learning

Cited by 2 publications

References 57 publications

Supporting Zoo Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus) Welfare and Herd Dynamics with a More Complex and Expanded Habitat

Supporting Zoo Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus) Welfare and Herd Dynamics with a More Complex and Expanded Habitat

Leveraging Social Learning to Enhance Captive Animal Care and Welfare

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