Tongue twisters: feeding enrichment to reduce oral stereotypy in giraffe

Abstract

Stereotypic behavior has been well-studied and documented in a variety of animals including primates, carnivores, and domesticated ungulates. However, very little information is known about stereotypic behavior of captive exotic ungulates. Giraffe have been found to perform a wide range of stereotypic behaviors. According to a survey of zoological institutions, oral stereotypies, specifically the licking of nonfood objects are the most prevalent stereotypic behaviors observed in giraffe. Their performance appears to be related to feeding and rumination and may be a result of the inability of a highly motivated feeding behavior pattern, tongue manipulation, to be successfully completed. To test this hypothesis, the indoor and outdoor feeders for three giraffe housed at Zoo Atlanta were modified to require the giraffe to perform more naturalistic and complex foraging behaviors. Data were collected using instantaneous scan sampling in both exhibit and holding areas. Our results showed that, for the giraffe that engaged in the highest rates of oral stereotypic behavior in the baseline, more complex feeders that required tongue use to access grain or alfalfa had the greatest effect on behavior. For the giraffe that performed low baseline rates of oral stereotypic behavior, adding slatted tops to the alfalfa feeders indoors virtually eliminated the behavior. Although some changes in ruminating and feeding behavior were observed, the decreases in stereotypic behavior were not associated with the changes in ruminating or feeding behavior. These results provide evidence for the hypothesis that oral stereotypy in herbivores can be reduced by encouraging giraffe to engage in more naturalistic foraging behavior.

Effects of guest feeding programs on captive giraffe behavior

“…Time spent eating routine diets was significantly associated with reduced performance of oral stereotypies, and this relationship was strengthened when combined with time spent participating in GFPs. This relationship supports the hypothesis that increased time spent feeding reduces time spent performing oral stereotypies [Koene, ; Tarou et al, ; Fernandez et al, ]. Guest feeding programs, in combination with increased feeding duration of routine diets, can significantly reduce performance of oral stereotypic behavior, reinforcing the proposition that these programs can serve as environmental enrichment for captive giraffes.…”

Nightly selection of resting sites and group behavior reveal antipredator strategies in giraffe

“…The active animals were recorded as vigilant while feeding or standing. Considering that giraffe spend half of their time feeding (e.g., Fennessy, ; Fernandez, Bashaw, Sartor, Bouwens, & Maki, ), the need for food intake continues during the night and requires a resting site offering sufficient feeding possibilities. Young and Isbell () reported that the choice of feeding sites for giraffe during the day depends on age, sex, and group constellation.…”

Benefits of a Ball and Chain: Simple Environmental Enrichments Improve Welfare and Reproductive Success in Farmed American Mink (Neovison vison)

“…The stimuli provided typically allow or encourage behaviour patterns that the animals are naturally motivated to perform (see e.g. [6]), examples including substrates in which pigs can root [7] and giraffe feeders that require tongue manipulation [8]. Many studies across diverse species, both wild and domesticated, demonstrate the success of enrichment for improving wellbeing: animals are often highly motivated to access enrichment items (e.g.…”