A lioness enjoys a pumpkin she "hunted" at Lion Camp.
Thanks to our wonderful and dedicated animal care team that takes care of the lions in our collection, the preference trials for the three lions at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park’s Lion Camp have been completed (see Big Cat Preferences). After examining the time spent with the different objects, and the behaviors elicited by the objects, the information we are gathering is very interesting. First of all, while lions are spending some time with the natural scents (for example, warthog feces), the females spent the most time with objects that could be “hunted” (for example, gourds). By contrast, the male lion almost always scent marks on browse clippings such as acacia. Thinking about the natural history of these animals, the preferences we are observing relate to the behavior of lions in the wild.
In a pride of lions, the females are the hunters, and providing gourds or other objects that can be “hunted” allows the animals to engage in this behavior. Have you ever seen a dog roll in droppings from another animal? Lions roll in feces to hide their scent from prey species, and this is exactly what we are seeing with some of the different scents, including warthog feces, during the preference tests. In addition, male lions mark their territory, and by providing fresh browse we are also providing this opportunity to scent mark.
Moreover, providing environmental enrichment for animals helps keep them both physically and psychologically healthy by promoting species-appropriate behavior and providing the animals some control within their environment. Through assessment of enrichment preferences, we hope to determine not only what the animals prefer, but also which enrichment elicits behavior similar to that observed in the wild. This, in turn, allows the animals to engage in behaviors they are motivated to perform, ensuring we are providing the highest quality of care for animals within the collection.
On your next visit to the Safari Park, you might notice some new cameras at Lion Camp. The next phase of this project will be to examine how different enrichment preferences affect behavior over 24 hours. The cameras that have been installed allow us to examine behavior, even during the evening, to continue to learn more about these complex and amazing animals.
Until next year, happy holidays everyone!
Lance Miller is a scientist for the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research.
I have a question regarding another type of big cats: cheetahs
Kiburi, the 5-week-old cheetah, is such a little darling and cutie. He is growing up so fast like Boris the reindeer, right before our eyes! As I was browsing through SDZ’s photos on Facebook yesterday, I couldn’t help noticing that the paws on his hind legs are FAR LONGER and BIGGER than his front ones. Obviously, this is by design, but why? I have a hunch that his has a lot to do with how quickly they can run and hunt, right???
A cheetah’s body is built for speed. Its feet are adapted to take great strides when running. Unlike those of other cats, a cheetah’s claws do not retract; these exposed claws act as running spikes. Cheetahs can run up to 65 mph in short spurts. Kiburi is growing up so fast, pretty soon he will be a beautiful, graceful speed machine. Great observation! Read a blog post about Kiburi here.
I give one of my cats pumpkin at the vet’s recommendation. I’ll tell her that even “big cats” like it
I read on the Jan. 2011 info that you needed perfume- do you already have enough or could you still use more?
Lance responds: I think we are fine now, thanks for checking!