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VetBooks.ir in managed care experience environmental already provides it. Animal participation in
pure cognitive research trials (i.e. research set
changes these are not at the same frequency
or magnitude as the wild. Environmental
particular cognitive skill) will actively stimu-
enrichment is an established management up to investigate whether an animal has a
tool which stimulates captive animal learn- late learning, and could be a form of cognitive
ing, whether learning is a conscious goal of enrichment for many cognitively advanced
enrichment or not (refer to Chapter 6). species (Hopper 2017).
At the upper end of the enrichment scale is Some of the learning mechanisms involved
what I refer to as ‘cognitive enrichment’, which in complex problem solving are trial‐and‐
requires an animal to use its evolved cogni- error learning, and insight learning. Trial and
tive skills to solve a complex (yet species‐ error learning was discussed earlier, where
appropriate and skill‐level‐relevant) problem animals make repeated responses to ‘see
(Clark 2011, 2017). Solving the problem what works’. Insight learning, on the other
should be connected to some sort of outcome hand, occurs when an animal uses its past
or reward; the animal should realise that the experiences and reasoning to solve a novel
problem was solved, perhaps by receiving a problem (see Figure 5.6). Unlike operant
food reward (Clark 2017). There is research conditioning, insight learning does not
to suggest that, in addition to the feel‐good involve trial and error. Rooks (Corvus frugile-
experience of the ‘aha’ moment when the gus) are not known to habitually use tools in
problem is solved (Hagen and Broom 2004), the wild, but in captivity birds were found to
the learning process in itself can have welfare use insightful learning to use tools to acquire
benefits (Langbein et al. 2004). In contrast to a piece of food from a tube (Bird and Emery
the unstructured learning contexts of play 2009). Insight was also identified in an Asian
and exploration (discussed earlier), learning elephant Elephas maximus (Foerder et al.
through complex problem solving requires 2011) who, similar to the rooks, was able to
caregivers to actively provide animals with acquire hidden food using tools by piecing
that problem, unless their normal exhibit together several prior experiences. Armed

Figure 5.6 It is likely that different learning styles are being used by this Goeldi monkey as it learns how to get
food from the puzzle feeder, which compromises of a simple log with food hidden inside, but to access the log
a film canister has to be pushed aside. Source: Nicky Needham.