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Cited by 37Animal Behavior and Welfare StudiesPrimate Behavior and EcologyHuman-Animal Interaction Studies

Simple but temporally unpredictable puzzles are cognitive enrichment

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Krebs, Bethany, Watters, Jason·2017·Animal Behavior and Cognition
DOI 10.12966/abc.09.02.2017
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Abstract

Provision of problem solving opportunities as enrichment for animals considered highly intelligent has increased over the last twenty years, but this emphasis on animals considered intelligent may overlook the need for cognitive challenge in species not typified as problem solving animals.Commonly used foraging challenges, such as puzzle feeders, may occupy more of an animal's day with food gathering, but interest in the feeder may wane as animals learn to extract food more efficiently.We tested the hypothesis that making a simple puzzle available at variable intervals can maintain an animal's motivation and be cognitively enriching for species not typically considered "thinking animals."We built and tested a time-delay puzzle feeder with a black rhinoceros (hereafter "rhino") at the San Francisco Zoo.The feeder required the rhino to push a ball to get treats, however food was not always available.An audio cue signaled the availability of food.We assessed the rhino's behavior before and after he learned to use the feeder.The rhino's interest in all enrichment items increased with the feeder, and we found no evidence for habituation to the feeder over time.We also found evidence that the positive behavioral impacts of the puzzle feeder carried over into weeks during which the feeder was not available.Our results highlight the positive impact of providing problem solving opportunities as enrichment for captive animals, and suggest a method for maintaining animal interest in simple puzzle devices by varying reward schedules.

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  • A simple puzzle can allow animals to decide when to forage by only releasing food when the puzzle is completed.

    “Enrichment, for example, can provide additional complexity in a habitat; a simple puzzle can allow animals to decide when to forage by only releasing food when the puzzle is completed [77].”

    From The Concept of Agency, Animal Wellbeing, and the Practical Realities of Ex Situ Breeding Programs in Zoos and Aquariums (2024) · cites this paper as [77]

    The Discussion (page not provided) says the rhino could choose whether to respond to the feeder’s cue, supporting the claim that the puzzle gave him some control over when to forage. The Puzzle Feeder Mechanism section says food compartments opened on a timed or remotely controlled schedule; the rhino then had to roll the ball to extract food. Food availability therefore did not depend solely on completing the puzzle. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Cognitive enrichment, especially when species-appropriate abilities are stimulated, appears to provide some positive behavioral benefits by increasing animals' interest in their environment.

    “Such cognitive enrichment, especially when species-appropriate abilities are stimulated, appears to provide some positive behavioral benefits by increasing the animals' interest in their environment (Krebs & Watters, 2017;Holland, 2018).”

    From Continuing challenges of elephant captivity: the captive environment, health issues, and welfare implications (2024) · cites this paper as Krebs & Watters, 2017

  • Only in more recent years has greater focus been placed on more cognitive types of enrichment.

    “Only in more recent years has greater focus been placed on more cognitive types of enrichment, including time-delay puzzle feeders, high tech enrichment devices, and insightful problem solving tasks (Foerder et al., 2011;Highfill et al., 2016;Krebs & Watters, 2017;French, Mancini & Sharp, 2018;Barrett & Benson-Amran, 2020).”

    From Continuing challenges of elephant captivity: the captive environment, health issues, and welfare implications (2024) · cites this paper as Krebs & Watters, 2017

  • Enrichment can provide additional complexity in a habitat.

    “Enrichment, for example, can provide additional complexity in a habitat; a simple puzzle can allow animals to decide when to forage by only releasing food when the puzzle is completed [77].”

    From The Concept of Agency, Animal Wellbeing, and the Practical Realities of Ex Situ Breeding Programs in Zoos and Aquariums (2024) · cites this paper as [77]

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Authors
Krebs, B., & Watters, J.
Affiliations
San Francisco Zoo (US)
Corresponding author
Krebs, Bethany
ORCID
Krebs, Bethany
Venue
Animal Behavior and Cognition
Publisher
Animal Behavior and Cognition
Published
2017-02-01
Volume
4
Issue
1
Pages
119-134
ISSN
  • 2372-4323 (ISSN-L)
  • 2372-5052
DOI
10.12966/abc.09.02.2017
OpenAlex
W2746282567
Cited by
37
References
1
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 7 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 2
FWCI
3.89
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • Animal Behavior and Cognition (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Veterinary › Small Animals › Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Primate Behavior and Ecology
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Human-Animal Interaction Studies
Keywords
cognitive enrichment, black rhinoceros, captive animal welfare, problem solving, habituation, animal motivation, foraging behavior, zoo animals

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