Lucy and Kaleb, two young bonobos at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, are engrossed with a cache of enrichment -- cardboard boxes, a shirt, plastic bucket, pine cones, palm fronds, and a rubber ducky -- provided by the keepers. They will spend hours playing, wearing, carrying, and destroying the items."Enrichment" is the term used by captive managers for those activities and objects that encourage natural behavior. The highly intelligent bonobo requires a socially healthy, stimulating, and complex enviromnent that the animals can manipulate. Examples of ape enrichment include the scattering and hiding of food, puzzle toys, differing scents and sounds, pinatas, clothing, boomer balls, ice, random feeding, bedding material, and positive reinforcement training.
Photo by: M. Brickner
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