Page 35 - Gateways_2017_Fall

Popular Playthings

Decades ago, we thought giving a bear a ball was
a good way to keep it active. Now we know that
a ball may not be the most meaningful or helpful
TRY THIS AT HOME activity for the bear. Today at Brookfield Zoo,
we keep pace with new research and knowledge
about animals (see the next page) and make
adjustments based on findings.
We place peanut butter high up on the wall of
the orangutan habitat. ese primates use twigs
and branches from the browse they eat as a tool to
reach the peanut butter.
Red pandas check and recheck a tree in
their habitat. A hidden sliding door occasionally
features a treat.
Giant anteaters poke their snout into an
automatic feeder disguised as an anthill or
termite mound. Sometimes they nd food,
sometimesthey don’t.
We make sure our Madagascar
hissing cockroaches have materials
inwhich toburrow.
For Your Pet

Automatic feeders enable pet
owners to automatically dispense
food at different times of day
instead of ringing the dinner
bellevery evening at 5:00 p.m.

In the wild, cats scratch trees. In your home,
they stay busy with scratching posts. Movement
also transfixes cats. Give them a cozy spot by the window
for optimal squirrelandbirdviewing.
Orangutans are known to
Give your dog a walk instead of sending him or her to the yard. use tools to achieve goals
Dogssniffing the neighborhood use their senses and intellect to such as retrieving food.
gather information about recent visitors, plus they can leave their
ownmark, providing information for the next dog.

Offer activity for when you are away from home. Provide a scent trail
for your pup. Before you set out in the morning, when the pup isn’t
looking, drag one of his or her favorite treats across the floor. Instead
of idly waiting for the mailman, the pup will activate canine senses
tofind the treat.

Try placing a nontoxic floating object in your fishbowl and see how
your fish interact.

At his own home, Tim Sullivan, our head of animal behavior, built
an elaborate multitunnel warren out of PVC for his pet guinea pigs.
It contains plenty of Y-joints so furry friends can make choices.

BROOKFIELD ZOO | FALL 2017 35