What is Enrichment?

Photo by Jennifer Vincent

Enrichment is anything out of the ordinary daily lives of the animals which stimulates physical and/or mental activity. These stimulants are important to the lives of captive animals to prevent lethargic behaviors, excessive pacing and nervousness. Animals would naturally forage, hunt, explore, scent mark, socialize and play in the wild. Enrichment encourages these natural behaviors and can range from scents, foods, objects and more.Scents such as vanilla or perfume can be sprayed around an exhibit. Different foods may range from treats to wildflowers to fruit frozen in juice. Objects may include chew toys, new "furniture" or rearrangement of the animal's current exhibit.

Join us for "Enrichment Days" where you can find out more information and watch animal enrichment for yourself!
(Dates to be announced)


                                                                                                              Photos by Kim Constantine

The Zoo Needs Your Help:
Please Collect These Items 
Which are Needed for Zoo Enrichment & Daily Tasks

Household Items	Food Items	School Items	Other Items
Blankets	Allspice	Colored Pencils	Bird Toys (for large parrots)
Branch Loppers (Cutters)	Basil	Crayons	Coin Drive (collect spare change)
Cardboard Boxes (with no staples or tape)	Catnip	Erasable Pens	Dog Toys  (indestructible balls, toys, tug toys, ropes)
Dish Soap	Cayenne	Hard Plastic 3 Ring Binders	Empty Film Cartridges
5 & 10 Gallon Buckets	Cedarwood	Large Water Balloons	Empty Ink Cartridges
Hard Plastic Kid's Toys (Sandboxes, Slides, Pools, etc.)	Cinnamon	Markers	Ferret Toys & Bedding (cloth hammocks, & tunnels)
Large Drawstring Trash Bags	Cooking Spices	White Glue	Full Spectrum Lights (bulbs & tubes) see pet shops with reptiles
Large Floor Fans	Eucalyptus	White Poster Board	Gifts Cards to K-Mart/Wal-Mart
Large Sharp Scissors	Flour	White Printer Paper	Perfume
Locking C-Clamps	Food Coloring
Metal Chains (various sizes & lengths)	Ginger
New Sharp Kitchen Knives	Honey
Paper Towels (only white, no prints or colors)	Lavender
Plastic Storage Bins (all sizes)	Lemon
Rope (various sizes & lengths)	Lemon Grass
Small CD Players	Musk
Surge Protected Powerstrips	Myrrh
Towels	Neem
Spray Water Bottles	Oil
	Oil Spray Bottle (olive oil)
	Oregano
	Patchouli
	Peach Rose
	Peppermint
	Plain Gelatin
	Re-Sealable Gallon Plastic Bags
	Rosewood
	Sage
	Spearmint
	Tea Tree
	Tin Foil
	Wax Paper
	Ylang Ylang

All items may be dropped off at the Zoo's Main Office 
Monday through Friday 
7:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m.

Thank You for all of Your Support!