Page 34 - Gateways_2017_Fall

Welfare at Home continued

TRY THIS AT HOME

For You
We humans and our pets are not so different from the animals
at Brookfield Zoo. After all, we are all members of the same
animal kingdom. When we eat healthfully and enrich our lives
with fun activities, we feel better and happier.

Sign up for a guitar class. Try your hand at knitting or making
models. Register for our September 10 ZooRunRun. (See
Active Minds and Bodies the pullout calendar for details.) Just like nonhuman animals,
The zoo term “enrichment” refers to objects, when we are immersed in activities, we feel more engaged.
devices, and methods that encourage mental and
physical stimulation. This term also encompasses
practices such as proper nutrition and wellness
checkups. Enrichingactivities are important to We also apply enrichment down to the level of
the animals at Brookfield Zoo, just as they are individuals. Some gibbons enjoy climbing, others
to us and our pets, because they engage and prefer to swing. Eachdog, cat, parakeet, and gecko
challenge minds and bodies and lead to feelings has its own uniquepreferences.
ofsatisfaction.
Tim Sullivan, the Society’s curator of behavioral
husbandry, and his team are responsible for
devising enrichment strategies for the animals
and determining how enrichment is incorporated
into animal care. Every type of animal, from birds
to reptiles, can benet from enrichment, and we
continuously engage all the animals in numerous
stimulating activities.
e techniques we employ are always related to
a species’ biological, social, and cognitive needs. In
the wild, life is anything but routine. Animals must
engage in activities like seeking shelter, sning out
food, relating to others in their social groups, and
sometimes escaping predators. Tothat end, we try
to add the element of surprise in their day. Surprise
is mentally stimulating to them and keeps them
active and engaged. Wefocus rst on the most
fundamental needs—eating or nding the most
comfortable area to rest, for example—and then
work our way towardplay.

The animal care specialists at Brookeld Zoo oer the
creatures in their care tactile experiences such as frozen
foods (top) and interesting substrates (above).

34 GATEWAYS | IS YOUR HOME A ZOO?