Investigating the Effect of Enrichment on the Behavior of Zoo-Housed Southern Ground Hornbills

James Edward Brereton,James Ali Shora,Mark Nigel Geoffrey Myhill

doi:10.3390/jzbg2040043

Abstract

Enrichment is essential for the welfare of many zoo-housed animals, yet the value of enrichment is not well understood for all taxa. As an intelligent, long-lived species, the southern ground hornbill (Bucorvus leadbeateri) is a good model for enrichment research. A pair of southern ground hornbills, housed at Beale Wildlife Park and Gardens, were observed during study periods in 2014, 2018, and 2019. Three types of enrichment were provided for the birds; these enrichment types were developed based on information on the habits of the species as found in natural history papers. The enrichment types consisted of a pile of twigs, small animal carcasses, and plastic mirrors. Overall, the carcass feeds and the mirrors resulted in the greatest changes in behavior, with hornbills engaging in long periods of food manipulation with carcasses. For the mirror condition, hornbills spent time stalking around and pecking at mirrors, similar to the ‘window smashing’ behavior seen in wild hornbills. Overall, the research suggests that not only can enrichment modify the behavior of southern ground hornbills, but non-nutritional enrichment may be equally valuable to the animals. Natural history papers may have some value in inspiring novel enrichment items for zoo-housed animals.

Highlights

Enrichment is fundamentally important for the welfare of many animals in zoos, yet there remain gaps in the knowledge of provision of enrichment for some taxa [1]
Carcass provision resulted in hornbills spending much longer periods of time engaged in feeding and food manipulation, and mirrors were highly effective at engaging hornbills
Mirrors were very well utilized by the birds, linking to the behavior of wild southern ground hornbills and their interest in reflective windows

Summary

Introduction

Enrichment is fundamentally important for the welfare of many animals in zoos, yet there remain gaps in the knowledge of provision of enrichment for some taxa [1]. Many enrichment studies have been conducted for some taxonomic groups, such as the mammalian families, Felidae and Elephantidae [2]. The availability of studies allows researchers to evaluate and compare enrichment strategies, and put in place the most effective plans. This reduces the information available to practitioners to help improve the welfare of their animals. Many avian families are susceptible, expressing unnatural behaviors, such as stereotypy, if enrichment is insufficient. Enrichment has been well studied for the Psittacidae, and as a result, animal keepers have several effective strategies available to reduce the prevalence of stereotypy [1,2,3]

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