Cognitive enrichment in a social setting: assessing the use of a novel food maze in sanctuary-housed chimpanzees.

ABSTRACT: Foraging devices are effective enrichment tools for non-human primates, as they provide both cognitive and manipulative stimulation that may enhance these animals' welfare. We assessed the behavioral effects of a novel tool-based enrichment on 14 chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) housed at Fundació Mona (Girona, Spain). The device consisted of a vertical maze filled with food rewards, which chimpanzees could extract by using tools. We conducted behavioral observations in two conditions over an approximately 2.5-month period: when the food maze was loaded (12 enrichment days), and when it was empty (12 baseline days). Data were collected using 2-min scan sampling and untimed-event focal sampling during two daily sessions of 80 min each. We expected that the chimpanzees' interest in the enrichme

SUBMITTER: Padrell M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9463267 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature