Thanks to our dedicated animal care staff, we have now completed
all the initial preference trials (see Big Cat Preferences and
Big Cat Preferences, Part 2) with lions, tigers, and cheetahs.
Our findings reveal that there are both species and individual
differences in enrichment preference, which will help us make
educated decisions when providing enrichment for our felids.
Ensuring the highest quality of care for every animal in the
collection is our top priority, and this is just one project
leading toward that goal. The next phase of this project is
being completed by Erin Lane, our Neeper Endowed Fellow, with
the assistance of some of our wonderful volunteers. The project
includes examining the effects of enrichment (scents and
objects) on the 24-hour behavior of lions. We have installed
cameras throughout the San Diego Zoo Safari Park’s lion exhibit
to observe what the effects of the enrichment are both during
the day and at night. This will also provide some insight into
the activity budgets of the anim