Enrichment Preferences of Raptors at Elmwood Park Zoo

Elisa Tyler Tyler

doi:10.33687/zoobiol.001.01.2239

Abstract

Environmental enrichment is often offered to animals in captivity to aid in enhancing quality of life by providing appropriate environmental stimuli that improve psychological and physiological well-being. Due to the limited amount of research conducted on raptors and enrichment, I sought to determine raptor preferences of enrichment types through the observation of captive bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) in the education department at Elmwood Park Zoo. I predicted that the raptors would interact more with natural enrichment items compared to ones that were man-made. Although results showed only the female bald eagle to interact enough with the enrichment items to gather an adequate number of observations, she was found to interact significantly more frequently with natural enrichment items compared to ones that were man-made (p 0.0001, FET). These results are not meant to infer that all female bald eagles prefer natural enrichment items over man-made ones, or that all male bald eagles and female and male red-tailed hawks do not prefer any enrichment items. Nonetheless, they justify future research on environmental enrichment preferences involving many more individuals and many more taxa to determine more appropriate enrichment regimens for captive birds of prey.

Highlights

Captive animals rely on their caretakers for the provision of food, water, and shelter, all of which are necessary for survival
Environmental enrichment refers to the enhancement of the quality of life of captive animals through appropriate environmental stimuli that are needed to maintain and/or increase psychological and physiological well-being (Swaisgood and Shepherdson, 2005)
In accordance with the literature, the hypothesis anticipated was that the bald eagles and red-tailed hawks housed at Elmwood Park Zoo’s education department would prefer the natural enrichment items over those that are man-made

Summary

Introduction

Captive animals rely on their caretakers for the provision of food, water, and shelter, all of which are necessary for survival. Previous studies have shown some bird species that interact with natural enrichment items including hay and sticks (Ohara et al, 2015). In accordance with the literature, the hypothesis anticipated was that the bald eagles and red-tailed hawks housed at Elmwood Park Zoo’s education department would prefer the natural enrichment items over those that are man-made.

Results

Conclusion