Enjoyable for All Ages: How Enrichment Seems Completely different for Older and Youthful Penguins

Enrichment for youthful birds

Painting is a favourite exercise for Bray, a two-year-old African penguin. To assist create her masterpieces, trainers place paint on Bray’s ft. Then, she walks throughout the canvas which is laid out on the ground—getting plenty of reward and reinforcement for every go.

But it’s not only for enjoyable. Painting additionally helps birds like Bray acclimate to having their ft touched, getting ready them to obtain obligatory well being care—resembling foot checks and ointments—sooner or later.

Mirrors present enrichment for curious birds, who take a look at their reflections and revel in having one thing shiny, novel, and reflective to discover of their atmosphere.

“We have a variety of behaviors we’re looking to encourage, whether it’s exercise, exploration, manipulation, or foraging,” Mia mentioned.

To obtain that, Mia and her group “get creative,” she mentioned, testing out new objects and supplies that supply new sensory, visible, and auditory experiences—and even simply have enjoyable. “Play is a natural behavior for these species,” Mia added. “So, we use the enrichment to try and mix things up.”

The rockhopper penguins will take ice cubes supplied by their trainers and carry them round, provide them to mates, play, or use them in nesting. Other birds are additionally desirous to seek for meals that’s scattered all through their habitat.

Enrichment may also be a social exercise for the penguins, too—resembling when as when Brenton performs tug-of-war with a coach over automobile wash strips, which make a wonderful plaything for our penguins.

“We’re always working to get new objects and materials approved to use by our Animal Health department,” Mia mentioned. “If we’re not being creative and we’re getting bored—well, we can probably assume it’s not hitting for the birds, either!”