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enriching
Photo!by!Tony!Bates!
Spring!2015!

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enriching ZSL’s Forum for Enrichment & Training
!Foraging!In!The!Dark!
By Christina Stender
ZSL London Zoo
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On a day-to-day basis, when these magnificent nocturnal
prosimians chance upon enrichment, it typically takes the
Slender Loris (Loris lydekkerianus) a few encounters to
familiarise themselves with a device they have not confronted
before. Normally they patiently take their time all the while
building up the necessary courage required to approach the
new device. However, this was certainly not the case when
they were introduced to these spring feeders, the type of
which is often used for birds.
When stuffed with a bit of woodwool and a few tantalising
mealworms, the lorises went straight to it without hesitation.
The mealworms are the familiar element in this scenario of
course and they would encourage the lorises to approach the
springs and provide
reassurance that it would be
safe to encounter. The idea
behind the spring feeder and
stuffing it with woodwool would
to be for the lorises to spend
just that bit longer foraging for
the mealworms and it worked!
They didn’t just spend half an
hour extra or even one hour but they actually spent an
amazing three hours approximately with these spring feeders.
This certainly exceeded our expectations of the lorises
utilising these feeders to their absolute fullest.
I believe most keepers would
agree that it is rewarding to
witness the animals getting the
most out of any new enrichment
concepts as well as assisting us
in analysing their behaviours
even further. The spring feeders
are a success as far as the
lorises are concerned. Who
knows when a mealworm might just wiggle its way in reach of
an expectant loris?
Gone!Fishing!
By Sara Parbery
ZSL Whipsnade Zoo
This is enrichment has been nicknamed the fishing line.
We start off by gutting and chopping whole herring into pieces.
This meant there were small hollow pieces of fish, perfect for
threading onto a piece of rope. The rope used was then
stretched from one side of the pool to the other. The herring
was spread evenly across the rope. The rope was then tied at
either side of the pool a few feet away from the water surface.
Lara is our most inquisitive
sea lion and spent a great
deal of time jumping out of
the water and pulling the fish
off the line. It took her a little
while to realise that the fish
were attached to the rope
but once she had realised
she even continued jumping
out of the water the next day!
The public enjoyed watching
her and were surprised by
her curiosity. The next challenge is to get Dominic and Bailey
on board!
We have recently introduced
the concept of feeding Jello to
our sealions, Jello is 98%
water and 2% protein, it can be
used as enrichment or as a
secondary reinforcer. It can
also have veterinary benefits
as it can be used to administer
vitamins, medications and
keep our sea lions hydrated.
All 3 sea lions have shown
interest in the Jello, although
they were a little unsure to begin with due to its unusual
texture!
THIS MONTH’s ISSUE
p.2!When was the last time you
took your vulture for a walk?
p.3!Parrot Enrichment: Do’s & Don’ts.
p.4!ZSL’s Training Workshop. Success!
Join us for the Behavioural Management Committee Presentation Evening
Wednesday June 3rd
6pm-10pm
Held In The Prince Albert Suite
Food & Drink Will Be Provided
Contact Luke.Harding@zsl.org If You Wish To Attend.

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American!Black!Vultures!Big!Day!Out!
By Grant Kother
ZSL London Zoo
At ZSL London Zoo in Animal Activities we house 2.0
American Black Vultures (Coragyps atratus). Gudio 11 who
has been at the zoo since his birth in 2005 and Jafar 10 who
arrived late 2014. The pair was introduced shortly after
Jafar’s arrival on section. Black vultures are a gregarious
species and often found
scavenging in groups so it
would be ideal that they would
be housed together. The two
vultures are currently housed
together and are getting along
fine. Jafar came from Puy du
Fou in France where he was
hand-reared and is especially
affectionate with keeping staff,
enjoying tactile interaction.
Shortly after his arrival a training programme was initiated to
get Jafar out flying free in the Animals in Action/Deadly Birds
Live demonstrations. He picked up the behaviours almost
immediately, possibly due to his seeking out of keeper
interaction. Along with tactile rewards, food rewards were
also given.
During the winter months some birds are given time off from
displays in order to allow them time to moult their feathers.
These developing feathers are called pin feathers or blood
feathers, which have a blood supply flowing through it, hence
the term blood feather. As such, if the blood feather is
damaged, a bird can bleed heavily.
We have had a few occasions of Jafar plucking/picking at
blood feathers, possibly due to irritation, or possibly
something psychological. Therefore it was decided to set up
a more frequent enrichment/training plan were Jafar receives
some sort of interaction several
times daily. It was decided that
instead of boxing Jafar to take
him to the Animal in Action
demonstration, he was to be
taken for a walk prior to the
demonstration and then walked
to and from the amphitheater
to his aviary.
Along with this morning walk and training session he also
receives one in the afternoon but this one also includes
Guido. Guido who was given the winter off has also started
being taken out during these occasions to give him exercise
and stimulation. The vultures do not have set routines or
behaviours they have to preform during this outing and are
free to fly, bound and skip where they like, within reason.
They both tend to stick close to keepers and are rewarded
randomly with food rewards when behaviours are asked of
them and to keep them focused on us. Since beginning this
enrichment programme there have not been any episodes of
Jafar picking at his wing and we will continue to monitor his
progress.
Bats!
By Tegan McPhail
ZSL London Zoo
As# part# of# the# enrichment# committee’s# donation# of# items# to#
our# section# for# the# partaking# of# the# Zoo# Lates,# we# received#
some#spiral# whirly<gigs# that# have# proved# fantastic# for# use# as#
flower based enrichment for the Rodrigues Fruit Bats (Pteropus
rodricensis).#Many#of#the#species#of#flower#that#I#offer#to#them#
can#be#provided#and#arranged#on#the#long#stalks,#so#the#bats#
can#forage#them#themselves,#for#instance#Lilac#and#Buddleia.#
However# we# received# from# the# horticulture# department# a#
selection# of# Hibiscus# and# many# Nasturtium# plants,# which# we#
planted# and# cultivate# ourselves# on# section.# These# can# only#
really#be#picked#as#‘flower#heads’#and#as#such#are#difficult#to#
offer#directly#to#the#bats.#With#the#help#of#the#whirly<gigs#I#can#
now# offer# them# a# selection# of# both# flower# types# directly# to#
their#level,#which#they#love#to#eat#and#interact#with.##These#can#
be# provided# daily,# for# the# more# frequently# hibiscus# and#
nasturtium#flowers#are#picked,#they#then#make#more#flowers.
Please#see#the#photos#of#bat#frivolity.#
These!Little!Piggies!Love!Enrichment!
By Jessica Jones
ZSL London Zoo
Our family of Kunekune Pigs can be found in Animal
Adventure. The group consists of five sisters, Arona, Reka,
Kiri, Lani and Takira. They are all 6 years old and all have
different personalities. Like Takria, who is the bossy one and
Lani is the sleepy one of the group. Here in Animal Adventure
we try and enrich all of our animals as often as possible, the
pigs are a fantastic species to enrich. Pigs have an amazing
sense of smell and love nothing more than to destroy things
utilising their incredible strength or root around in piles of
substrate looking for food. Because of their excellent sense of
smell they are an ideal species for sensory enrichment. Giving
them objects such as hessian sacks sprayed with different
perfumes or cardboard boxes filled with hay and live food, so
that they have to use their sensitive noses to locate the
insects. We use boomer balls with small pieces of vegetables
to increase the foraging time. Or even something simple like a
‘new’ log which is covered in insects for them to eat, flip over
and basically destroy.

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Birds!Of!The!World!Parrot!Enrichment!
By Rebecca Feenan
ZSL Whipsnade Zoo
If you haven’t seen our group of parrots fly at Whipsnade yet you
have missed a treat. Their beautiful colours flying high over the
amphitheatre is jaw dropping on a bright sunny day when their
vibrant feathers seem to reflect
more than usual. We fly 8
macaws, an Amazon and 2 African
Grey parrots in our Free flight
Birds of the World Show and
although they fly 3 times a day,
their down time is filled with
enrichment. Enrichment doesn’t
need to be a mammoth task if you have a pick n mix of suitable
materials always at the ready. We use a mixture of bought and
salvaged materials. All of which are nontoxic and if maintained
can keep potential injury to a minimum. No toy is 100% safe but
our creations are well thought out to minimise the risks. There
will always be a difference in opinion, the following list of
materials are what works for us, and in 22 years of working with
parrots have caused no harm.!
Plain cardboard boxes of all sizes are great but they must
contain no staples or Sellotape, this includes packing tape.
Amazons tape is a glue that reverts to paste again when wet
(parrot saliva?). It also has fine strips of plastic fibre to add
packing strength that makes these boxes a big no no. The
cardboard should also be free from sticky labels and large areas
of ink. Shiny ink is also unwise as the potential for toxicity is
greater. We visit ZSL’s warehouse regularly to collect unwanted
cardboard boxes. All these boxes are flat packed and stored
ready for quick use. Never underestimate the intrigue a box,
inside a box, inside a box, inside a box can create. These forage
boxes are the most anticipated enrichment we ever seem to
give.
We use untreated sisal rope in many widths. Fine string sisal is
used for only short work, each length must be no longer than
150mm. The thicker 8mm sisal is great for toys, which hang or
have wood blocks attached to them and can be cut longer.
Splicing (always remove tape used to aid process) is always
better than tying knots although frayed rope should always be
removed to prevent strangulation and parrots catching toes or
nails. We have used cotton rope but prefer sisal. Cotton is easily
chewed and ingested by our larger Macaws.
Purchased wooden blocks of various shapes and sizes are very
enriching with their bright colours, although this is kept to a
minimum due to the financial
implications of purchasing large
amounts. The parrots love these
blocks. We use pine wood blocks
that are stained with natural colours.
Food colours should not be used as
they are usually flavoured and you
do not want the birds to ingest the
wood. We also make our own using
50mm by 50mm untreated pine and
cut them down into disks.
You can also purchase, quite cheaply, swings that have the
wood blocks attached to them which are always very appealing
to our group of experienced chewers.
Hawthorne, beech and willow branches
are cut into disk shapes and holes
drilled through the centre. We have
reasonably regular access to all these
trees.
Bamboo is a controversial plant to use for enrichment as it is
claimed to contain cyanogenic glucosides, but when
researched, seems to appear in all safe (nontoxic) lists for
plants used for Parrots. Parrots may not process the plant in
the same way mammals do but we have used it for
many years without any issues. I guess it is everything in
moderation. Bamboo sticks are great, cut about 200mm long
and are fabulous for our large Macaws to strip and chew.
Broad leaf bamboo sticks can be cut the same and the
leaves are stripped and cut up for packaging in the forage
boxes along with ripped up egg trays. Cardboard rolls such
as toilet and paper feed rolls (large carpet rolls are great as
long as they have no glue on them) are also excellent.
We do not use newspaper or shredded paper as I have seen
our macaws at times chewing it up in their water bowls and I
was concerned the print was leaching into their drinking
water.
We never use plastics of any sorts. It is well documented
that some plastics contained lead. For this reason all
plastics/ acrylic are considered unsuitable. Macaws are very
capable of chewing up plastic and can consume it. Metal
poisoning and choking are therefore a real risk. Some parrot
owners use cable ties to attach furnishings and toys in
enclosure. Potentially they are unsafe so we do not use
them. 100mm strips of sisal string or Stainless steel quick
links are used to attach toys and browse to the enclosure.
Perching is also enriching. It should be nontoxic and natural;
we use mainly Hawthorne with the spikes knocked off as it is
a rough hard wood and is difficult to chew through. Willow
and Beech are also fine but are too smooth if they are the
only available perching. Foot legions in birds can be a
common problem but not so if the parrot has variety of rough
barked wood perches, which they can chew and alter the
shape of. Browse is an essential aspect of enrichment. We
have a Beech hedge right outside our kitchen door, which
supplies us with enough browse for constant access to our
parrots from April to November. Caution is advised when
the buds are out as I knew a breeder of parrots once who
said he had a cockatoo choke on one, so again we pull them
off before feeding. We drape natural beech branches across
our perches always being mindful to prevent tail and feather
damage and give them free clearance as they move about.
Willow is available to us also but we tend not to use it when
the sap is visible.
If you are lucky enough to have access to it bamboo is also
a great browse. During winter we deck the parrot aviaries
out with Bamboo for them to
chew up. Once they have dried
out too much or are no longer
enriching they are removed
and the leftover bamboo stem
are cut up into stick chews as
mentioned above and
packaged into a foraging box.
We always know when our parrots have had fun. The
leftover mess the next morning speaks for itself.

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ZSL’s!2nd!Animal!Training!for!Husbandry!&!
Veterinary!Care!Workshop!
By Kelly-Anne Kelleher
ZSL London Zoo
In February this year, 35 delegates from British & Irish
zoological collections attended ZSL’s 2
nd
Animal Training for
Husbandry & Veterinary Care workshop in conjunction with
BIAZA and ABWAK, hosted by ZSL’s Animal Training &
Behaviour Officer Jim Mackie. The day consisted of a series
of talks on the science of animal training including a number
of examples of its applications to make routine veterinary
procedures or enclosure moves less stressful for the animals
and keepers involved.
We were very lucky to have Chirag Patel [BSc (Hons), CPDT-
KA, DipCABT] founder of Domesticated Manners - Animal
Training Consultants, join us as a guest speaker throughout
the day. After a morning of inspiring talks by both Jim and
Chirag, keepers took part in a workshop activity to plan a
training program for themselves in small groups.
In the afternoon, delegates were invited on a whistle stop
training tour of the zoo and were given live training
demonstrations from several of the animal sections.
Robert Harland, Angel Lawson and Lisa Ayres from animal
activities demonstrated claw trimming and stethoscope
training with several parrot species demonstrating to
delegates that procedures such as this do not necessarily
require manual restraint.!!
WI$H LIST:
Are!there!any!items!that!you!think!would!benefit!your!section!or!
your! animals,! which! fall! under! the! category! of! behavioural!
management?! If! so! please! forward! your! ideas! to! either! Alison!
Parbles!or!Jim!Mackie!for!London!and!Steve!White!for!Whipsnade.!!!
Delegates were given a talk from senior aquarium staff
Kienan Parbles and Alex Cliffe on how training benefits the
staff and animals in the
aquarium and were shown
training sessions involving
the Copperband butterflyfish
and the arapaima.
This was followed by a demonstration
of reptile training with Caiman lizard
and Galapagos tortoises by keeper
Luke Harding.
Mammal North keeper Gemma Metcalf then carried out a
target training session with the Chapman’s Zebras. To
demonstrate the target training that has been carried out this
year on the Into Africa department.
Positive feedback was received from delegates who
described the day as educational, inspiring and a good
representation of some of the advances in zoo animal
training currently being made at ZSL.
NEWS & UPCOMING
EVENTS
• ICEE$–$International$Conference$On$Environmental$
Enrichment$in$Beijing,$China$24th
:28th
$May$2015
• ICZ$5th
$Conference$in$Leipzig,$Germany$9th
:
13th
$September$2015
We want to give a big ‘THANK YOU’ to
everyone who contributed to this edition
of ‘enriching ZSL’. If any of the readers
have any questions, please feel free to
contact the author of the article directly
or us via email.
Grant Kother <grant.kother@zsl.org>
Alison Parbles <alison.parbles@zsl.org>

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Enriching ZSL Spring 15

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