Behavioral Enrichment Protocols
Animals at Play
What is behavioral enrichment?
It is the environmental enhancement of the lives of captive animals by providing them
with mental and physical stimulation to increase natural and healthy behavior. In
other words making our animals' lives fun!
Why is it necessary to provide behavioral enrichment for our animals?
Captivity can drastically affect animal behavior. Confining an animal to a enclosure
reduces the complexity, and increases the predictability in an animal's behavior.
It can induce behavioral responses, such as boredom and stereotypes. Enrichment
should be random, interesting and novel. The goals of enrichment are to offer a sense
of control by allowing animals to make choices and to stimulate species-appropriate
behaviors while interpreting these behaviors to our guests. If the animals maintain
natural behaviors in captivity, they will be valuable for education and research programs,
enhancing the visitor and volunteer experience through individual and group activities.
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The Phoenix Zoo considers it a priority to evolve the materials and methods used in our practice to reach the highest level of care in management. We have extended our purpose to:
- Exhibition
- Conservation
- Captive breeding
- Rehabilitation and reintroduction
- Public involvement
- Social grouping
- Structure and substrate
- Foraging opportunities
- Manipulanda
- Stimulating all five senses
- Training
The management of the Phoenix Zoo maximally promotes Behavioral Enrichment by providing a successful, goal-oriented, self-sustained program that integrates into the daily management of the animals.
Behavioral Enrichment Articles
- Black Footed Ferret Article
- Common squirrel monkey intro article
- ABMA Contra freeloading
- Contra freeloading at the Phoenix Zoo
- Contra Freeloading (Working for Food) at the Phoenix Zoo
- Mentor program for ChimpanZoo
- Tactics for training apprehensive animals article
- Training programs at the Phoenix Zoo
- Working against nature article
- Behavioral Enrichment 101
- Providing Enrichment at No Cost
- Providing Enrichment at No Cost Part II
- Community involvement in behavioral enrichment at the Phoenix Zoo
- Behavioral Management Zoo
- Let them be Elephants Article
- Giant Tortoise Article
- Coyote Article
- How volunteers can aid a Zoo's behavioral management program
- Incorporating Behavioral Enrichment into husbandry
- Rita Chimpanzee A success story at the Doha Zoo - Presentation
- The Start of an Enrichment Program at the Doha Zoo, Qatar - Article
- Enrichment at The Phoenix Zoo for Animals with Limited Space
- Contra freeloading at the Phoenix Zoo short version, 2008 Animal Behavior Management Alliance
- Specific guidelines for diet based training at the Phoenix Zoo, 2010- International Zoo News
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ChimpanZoo newsletter
Behavioral Enrichment Articles (Arabic)
Behavioral Enrichment Articles (German)
- Enrichmentangebot ohne Kosten - Teil I
- Behavioural Enrichment bei Galapagos-Riesenschildkröten (Geochelone nigra) und Aldabra-Riesenschildkröten (Geochelone gigantea) im Phoenix Zoo
Behavioral Enrichment Articles (Hungarian)
Behavioral Enrichment Articles (French)
Do you have questions regarding Behavioral enrichment? Contact Us - use Behavioral Enrichment as your subject.
Phoenix Zoo Protocols
