|
Animals in the wild spend a great percentage of their
time finding food. Captive animals are too often fed mixtures or
mashes that offer them no opportunity to forage and deprive them
of the pleasure of eating recognizable foods in their natural states.
For the adult animal, a lack of foraging opportunity leads to boredom
and depression. For the young animal, it can have more serious consequences,
as foraging ability and food recognition are vital parts of its
education and crucial to post release survival.
Mixtures and mashes also deprive the animal of the opportunity
to pick and choose, thus it cannot balance its diet and meet its
requirements for various nutrients in the way it would in nature.
The adult animal cannot properly wear down its teeth, or the bird
its bill.
Research has shown beyond doubt that captive wild animals are physically
and psychologically healthier when they receive dietary enrichment.
Diets are based as much as possible on natural diets, and substitute
foods are similar in composition, appearance, texture, and flavor
to natural foods. Diets reflect seasonal changes and are presented
in a manner designed to stimulate the animal. Foods can be harvested
from nature, and some can be dried or frozen. Insects can be cultured
for live feeding.
Foraging enrichment involves presenting foods in such a way that
the animal has to look for them as it would in nature. Zoos provide
foraging enrichment by hiding foods in logs or crevices, hanging
them high, etc. In the rehabilitation setting, foraging enrichment
would only begin when the animal has sufficiently recovered from
its injuries or illness.
Links to more complete information on enrichment can be found in
the 'caging and housing' section of this site.
|
