A siamang and orangutan inspect a painted gourd that was filled with goodies.
What exactly is enrichment and how is it used in the San Diego Zoo’s overall animal care program? This is a question that is asked more frequently than in the past. The general definition of enrichment is to make fuller, more meaningful, or more rewarding. This has a direct correlation to enhancing the quality of life for the primates in our care. Enrichment at the Zoo is equal in value to the provision of food, water, and shelter. Keepers spend many hours figuring out ways to stimulate the animals in our care, both mentally and physically. One of the biggest challenges is providing the monkey or ape with something that is safe and indestructible!
Orangutans are known for their independent thinking capabilities. If there is a way to dismantle or destroy something, they will find it. But just this process is stimulating! Since orangutans are arboreal, we try to provide items that we can freely hang from the climbing structures inside their habitat, simulating the natural movement of branches. Large plastic disks, balls, and other objects can be stuffed with plant material or novel food items like cereal, sunflower seeds, hot sauce, and spices. These enrichment items are then secured to the climbing structure with hardware and rope. We have to be diligent about making sure the nuts and bolts are very tight, otherwise one of our more mischievous orangutans (I didn’t want to name names, but…Karen) will be dismantling the apparatus within moments!
Hammocks are always a favored piece of furniture for most primates. They use them as storage units, to lounge in, and play on. And, for the industrious species, unravel, unweave, and retie with their own unique knot-tying skills!
The black mangabeys, which can be found in the Zoo’s Lost Forest, are very adept at manipulating puzzle feeders that are provided for them inside their “bedrooms.” Opposable thumbs come in handy when attempting to pull raisins out of tiny holes on a board or moving peanuts through a maze mounted to their enclosure. Hanging mirrors are also a novel way to spy on your neighbors down the hall! I have seen monkeys hold the mirrors (with safety glass) and angle them just right to get a good look at me or one of their conspecifics in the next room!
Primates are problem solvers. They use this skill every day in their natural environments as well as in their habitats at the Zoo. With the help of the Zoo’s March Wish List, we can provide opportunities to encourage stimulation for exploration, foraging, problem solving, and the senses. Wish List items include paper streamers for the bonobos, flowering shrubs for our colobus monkeys, and mirrors for Francois’ langurs,
Kim Livingstone is a lead primate keeper at the San Diego Zoo. Read her previous post, Gorilla Born at the San Diego Zoo.
do you have any escapist/funny stories regarding the orangutans? i have read some very amusing stories regarding their behaviors online. apparantly some zoos have found their orangutans outside their exhibit. The original thought was that a careless keeper had facilitated their escape but it was found out that one of the orangutans had fashioned some sort of tool which allowed them to escape.
Moderator’s note: Orangutans are notoriously clever! We had one named Ken Allen, a Bornean orangutan known for his creative escape techniques. He would unscrew bolts with his fingers, reach around to unlatch things, climb up a steep incline near the back of his enclosure to slip over a wall, and so on. Every time keepers figured out one of his escape routes, he would discover a new one. He never seemed to mind being led back into his enclosure—he just seemed to enjoy the challenge of finding a new way out! Ken Allen became a San Diego Zoo legend, with his own fan club and T-shirts, bumper stickers, and songs created in his honor. Many people were saddened when this gentle, mischievous ape developed cancer and passed away in December 2000.
it was fu manchu from the omaha zoo that was also an escape artist and he used a piece of metal as a tool and kept it in his mouth until needed. the article also mentioned that orangutans will barter with their keepers and deceive them for personal gain….who knew
i hope ken fathered children so that they could continue his proud tradition.
the orangutans are my fav primate
it is the quiet ones that will get you every time
Thank you, Kim for the interesting blog. And thank you to both Paula and the moderator for your interesting comments about Ken and FuManchu. I learned about the orangutan’s intelligence, skills and personalities while watching ‘Orangutan Island’ on Animal Planet. It is my understanding that they do not like to be in water and watching one named Caesar figure out how to cross a body of water using a long log just blew me away. Such endearing and intelligent creatures more than deserve our respect.
With Clyde’s upcoming departure, can we expect an update blog entry on the orang family sometime soon?
I am writing on a anthropology paper about enrichment programs for primates in comparison (at the san diego zoo).
Are there toys that are given specifically to one primate species and not to another and why? Or are all primates exposed to the same?
All enrichment items are species specific. San Diego Zoo Global has compiled a list of enrichment items that are both safe and effective for each species. As an example, we would not use three-strand braided rope for ape species although this type of rope is used on a regular basis with certain monkeys. The reason for this is apes have the capability to unravel the rope, which can then become potentially hazardous as entanglement. Also, enrichment items are not transferred between old world and new world primates due to cross- contamination.
The main goal is to provide an environment that is both physically and mentally stimulating.