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Junge Wissenschaft. Paper 01/2023, Wenn Zootiere nicht ausreichend Beschäftigung haben, leidet ihr Wohlbefinden. Daher wurde ein Ansatz entwickelt und an Walrossen getestet, um diese durchgängig ausreichend zu beschäftigen. Systematische Beobachtungen belegen, dass sich die unbeschäftigte Zeit verringert., In der Jungen Wissenschaft werden Forschungsarbeiten von Schüler/innen, die selbstständig, z.B. in einer Schule oder einem Schülerforschungszentrum, durchgeführt wurden, veröffentlicht.

Digital devices, including tablet computers and other touchscreens, can potentially serve as flexible and convenient means for providing behavioral enrichment activities to captive primates. Despite increased interest in incorporating technology into enrichment programs, no direct quantitative comparison has previously been made between the effectiveness of typical tactile enrichment activities and enrichment activities on digital devices. One way in which these activities differ is in the degree of controllability afforded the animals in interacting with the enrichment objects, since digital devices will be limiting to varying degrees based on the particulars of software and the interface format. This study compared the effects of painting with brush on paper to those of a painting application on a digital tablet device (iPad™) in eight group-living chimpanzees at the Honolulu Zoo. Observations were analyzed across baseline, enrichment, and post-enrichment periods to measure significant differences in the reduction of displacement and stereotypic behaviors. We found that the digital tablet device running an application that permits production of semi-automated visualizations, was as effective as painting with brush on paper in reducing some stereotypic and displacement behaviors, including yawning and self-picking. However, the digital tablet was not as effective in reducing other displacement behaviors, nor was it as effective in retaining the chimpanzee's attention. These results confirm a useful role for digital devices in enrichment programs but suggest a need to assess individual device applications in their capacity to promote greater controllability and sensory breadth of the enrichment experience.

A decline in the physical or mental health of older dogs can be a challenge for the owners, whose relationship with their dog is compromised by the cognitive and behavioral changes in their dogs. Although dog owners tend to consider many physiological and behavioral changes in old dogs as part of the normal aging process, it is important to differentiate between normal aging and pathologic aging, since behavioral changes may be the first indication of declining health and welfare in old dogs. Most reviews on cognitive aging in dogs have focused on translational approaches to human Alzheimer's disease; from a practical perspective, however, understanding normal cognitive aging in pet dogs and screening cognitively affected dogs are important in their own right. Here we review the literature on different cognitive functions that decline during aging, signs of cognitive dysfunction, screening methods, and preventive measures for age-related cognitive decline. Moreover, we discuss the drawbacks of using questionnaires as subjective measures of aging and propose the development of objective methods to distinguish normal cognitive aging from severe cognitive dysfunction. We suggest that multi-targeted approaches that combine owner-evaluated questionnaires with neuropsychological tests can be most effective in screening cognitively affected dogs from normally aging dogs. Regarding preventive measures, we conclude that combinations of dietary intervention and behavioral enrichment may be more beneficial than single-pathway manipulations in delaying cognitive aging or retaining various cognitive functions during aging.

Non-human primates (NHP) provide an important model for studying biological mechanisms that underlie behavior and cognition, and are crucial for supplying translational knowledge that can aid the development of new clinical approaches. At the same time, the importance of the 3Rs to minimize suffering during experiments encouraged the development of environmental enrichment programs. Among them, tools for feeding and foraging are central. However, it remains unclear whether the behavioral enrichment tools are used by the animals only for feeding and to satisfy hunger (and hence for survival), or whether these feeding tools serve also as behavioral enrichment in itself (namely, the animals enjoy it per-se). To answer this, we designed a novel dispenser method – that requires significant yet reasonable energetic effort to obtain food - and tested food consumption via the dispenser compared to free-access, namely that did not require any effort on the animal side. We found that primates consumed food from both the dispenser and when presented in free-access, and importantly, that the consumption via the dispenser was in correlation with the consumption in free-access. This was similar across different subjects, different times during the day, and different types of food. We suggest that monkeys can benefit from using the dispenser for food consumption, but also benefit from it for play (i.e. as behavioral enrichment in itself). Such an approach allows non-human-primates to preserve their natural food procurement activities.

Prematurity, especially preterm birth (less than 32 weeks' gestation), is common and associated with high rates of both survival and neurodevelopmental disability, especially apparent in cognitive spheres. The neuropathological substrate of this disability is now recognized to be related to a variety of dysmaturational disturbances of the brain. These disturbances follow initial brain injury, particularly cerebral white matter injury, and involve many of the extraordinary array of developmental events active in cerebral white and gray matter structures during the premature period. This review delineates these developmental events and the dysmaturational disturbances that occur in premature infants. The cellular mechanisms involved in the genesis of the dysmaturation are emphasized, with particular focus on the preoligodendrocyte. A central role for the diffusely distributed activated microglia and reactive astrocytes in the dysmaturation is now apparent. As these dysmaturational cellular mechanisms appear to occur over a relatively long time window, interventions to prevent or ameliorate the dysmaturation, that is, neurorestorative interventions, seem possible. Such interventions include pharmacologic agents, especially erythropoietin, and particular attention has also been paid to such nutritional factors as quality and source of milk, breastfeeding, polyunsaturated fatty acids, iron, and zinc. Recent studies also suggest a potent role for interventions directed at various experiential factors in the neonatal period and infancy, i.e., provision of optimal auditory and visual exposures, minimization of pain and stress, and a variety of other means of environmental behavioral enrichment, in enhancing brain development.

Direct collection of samples from wildlife can be difficult and sometimes impossible. Non-invasive remote sampling for the purpose of DNA extraction is a potential tool for monitoring the presence of wildlife at the individual level, and for identifying the pathogens shed by wildlife. Equine herpesviruses (EHV) are common pathogens of equids that can be fatal if transmitted to other mammals. Transmission usually occurs by nasal aerosol discharge from virus-shedding individuals. The aim of this study was to validate a simple, non-invasive method to track EHV shedding in zebras and to establish an efficient protocol for genotyping individual zebras from environmental DNA (eDNA). A commercially available horse enrichment toy was deployed in captive Grevy's, mountain, and plains zebra enclosures and swabbed after 4–24 hr. Using eDNA extracted from these swabs four EHV strains (EHV-1, EHV-7, wild ass herpesvirus and zebra herpesvirus) were detected by PCR and confirmed by sequencing, and 12 of 16 zebras present in the enclosures were identified as having interacted with the enrichment toy by mitochondrial DNA amplification and sequencing. We conclude that, when direct sampling is difficult or prohibited, non-invasive sampling of eDNA can be a useful tool to determine the genetics of individuals or populations and for detecting pathogen shedding in captive wildlife.

The present study examined daytime behavior patterns of 19 captive tigers (Panthera tigris tigris) housed in Nandankanan Zoological Park, Odisha, India. Behavioral observations of 1254 hours were analyzed for target behaviors using instantaneous sampling and 1-minute sample periods. We found that these captive tigers spent about 23% of the daytime exhibiting stereotypic behavior, that is, pacing, with a biphasic peak at 10:00 to 11:00 am and 16:00 to 17:00 pm. The incidence of stereotypic pacing behavior appears high, warranting further investigation of the cause of this stereotypic behavior and whether an effect of behavioral enrichment is required for a better understanding of welfare implications on the animals.

Fagot and Paleressompoulle [Fagot and Paleressompoulle (2009) Behav Res Methods 41: 396–404] described a new automated learning device for monkeys (ALDM) to test the cognitive functions of nonhuman primates within their social groups. However, the impact of the ALDM procedure on animal well‐being needs to be investigated. The present study assessed the consequences of ALDM testing on the behavioral repertoire of Guinea baboons (Papio papio) and their stress levels as inferred from measurements of saliva cortisol. Accessibility to ALDM test computers reduced the number of resting periods as well as the number of stereotypies. Lower cortisol levels were also found during ALDM testing. These findings and others demonstrate that ALDM testing hasapositiveimpact on animal well‐ being and can be considered as a means for behavioral enrichment in captive primates. Am. J. Primatol. 76:56–64, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Reintroduction attempts have faced low, albeit improving, success rates, especially for threatened and endangered species reintroduced from captivity to the wild. This is not only a concern for conservation, as the low success of reintroduction also implies an animal welfare issue for the individuals concerned. Success rates are particularly low for species that live in complex social structures, require greater training during development, and exhibit higher levels of intelligence. Aside from mitigating the original cause of a species extirpation from an area, behavior factors arguably represent the most important aspect influencing an animal's survival following reintroduction. Indeed, we previously recommended using behavioral indicators for determining relative reintroduction success, especially as practitioners develop and compare protocols or if survivorship is difficult to gauge. Strategic enrichment programs targeted toward developing specific skills important for survival in the wild promise to improve reintroduction success by providing individuals with opportunities to develop and improve behavioral skills, such as avoiding predation, foraging (especially for predators and primates), interacting in social groups, courtship and mating, habitat selection, and learning movement and migration routes. Enrichment also improves the physical condition of most individuals, which should also increase reintroduction success. Last but not least, such programs offer the prospect of improved animal welfare both pre- and post-release. We explore how behavioral enrichment has influenced reintroduction success and welfare in a variety of different species.

Beta-amyloid (Aβ) immunotherapy is a promising intervention to slow Alzheimer's disease. Aging dogs naturally accumulate Aβ and show cognitive decline. An active vaccine against fibrillar Aβ 1–42 (VAC) in aged beagles resulted in maintenance but not improvement of cognition along with reduced brain Aβ. Behavioral enrichment (ENR) led to cognitive benefits but no reduction in Aβ. We hypothesized cognitive outcomes could be improved by combining VAC with ENR in aged dogs. Aged dogs (11–12 years) were placed into 4 groups: (1) control/control (C/C); (2) control/VAC (C/V); (3) ENR/control (E/C); and (4) ENR/VAC (E/V) and treated for 20 months. VAC decreased brain Aβ, pyroglutamate Aβ, increased cerebrospinal fluid Aβ 42 and brain-derived neurotrophic factor RNA levels but also increased microhemorrhages. ENR reduced brain Aβ and prevented microhemorrhages. The combination treatment resulted in a significant maintenance of learning over time, reduced Aβ, and increased brain-derived neurotrophic factor mRNA despite increased microhemorrhages; however, there were no benefits to memory. These results suggest that the combination of immunotherapy with behavioral enrichment leads to cognitive maintenance associated with reduced neuropathology that may benefit people with Alzheimer's disease.

The aged canine (dog) is an excellent model for investigating the neurobiological changes that underlie cognitive impairment and neurodegeneration in humans, as canines and humans undergo similar pathological and behavioral changes with aging. Recent evidence indicates that a combination of environmental enrichment and antioxidant-fortified diet can be used to reduce the rate of age-dependent neuropathology and cognitive decline in aged dogs, although the mechanisms underlying these changes have not been established. We examined the hypothesis that an increase in levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is one of the factors underlying improvements in learning and memory. Old, cognitively impaired animals that did not receive any treatment showed a significant decrease in BDNF mRNA in the temporal cortex when compared with the young group. Animals receiving either an antioxidant diet or environmental enrichment displayed intermediate levels of BDNF mRNA. However, dogs receiving both an antioxidant diet and environmental enrichment showed increased levels of BDNF mRNA when compared with untreated aged dogs, approaching levels measured in young animals. BDNF receptor TrkB mRNA levels did not differ between groups. BDNF mRNA levels were positively correlated with improved cognitive performance and inversely correlated with cortical Aβ((1-42)) and Aβ((1-40)) levels. These findings suggest that environmental enrichment and antioxidant diet interact to maintain brain levels of BDNF, which may lead to improved cognitive performance. This is the first demonstration in a higher animal that nonpharmacological changes in lifestyle in advanced age can upregulate BDNF to levels approaching those in the young brain.

For some endangered parrot species, captive breeding may be the only insurance for their survival. However, many individuals in captivity do not reproduce. Artificial insemination (AI) may help overcome reproductive failures or geographic distance. For semen collection in birds, massage is the most commonly used method. However, this process, which usually requires capture and restraint, involves risk of stress and injuries. The aim of this experiment was to train large macaws to accept the physical manipulations of their body parts needed for the artificial insemination process. Within 15 weeks, a male and a female Buffon's macaw (Ara ambiguus) learned to accept handling without apparent stress. A pair of green-winged macaws (Ara chloropterus) progressed more slowly and displayed some signs of stress. This stress highlights the need to monitor the birds' possible signs of discomfort during the training in order to adapt the working protocol. These results demonstrate that it is possible to train the AI behaviors, thus avoiding the capture, restraint, and anesthesia. An added benefit to this is the potential for the training to provide a form of behavioral enrichment.

The paper deals with environmental enrichment for domestic animals at farms, animals in zoos, experimental animals and pet animals. Also, the paper defines and describes different strategies of environmental enrichment. Environmental enrichment is a simple and effective mean of prevention of boredom, behavioral disorders as well as an effective mean of improving animal welfare in farm, zoo, companion and experimental animals. Different items and materials may be used for environmental enrichment. They need to be evaluated for use by taking into account the following: the species of an animal, its needs, habits and capabilities, the type of an enrichment device, the device's ability to stimulate the animal's interest and the safety of the device. Enrichment programmes should always include two forms of enrichment: behavioral enrichment and environmental enrichment. Enrichment comes in many forms such as structural or physical enrichment, sensory enrichment (auditory and olfactory stimulation), dietary enrichment, manipulatable enrichment and social enrichment. U radu je iznet značaj obogaćivanja uslova života za domaće životinje na farmama, životinje u zoološkim vrtovima, kućne ljubimce i ogledne životinje. Data je definicija obogaćivanja uslova života i opisane su različite strategije ovog zahvata. Obogaćivanje uslova života predstavlja jednostavan i efikasan način sprečavanja dosade i poremećaja ponašanja kao i efikasnu meru poboljšanja dobrobiti životinja. Za obogaćivanje uslova života mogu se koristiti različiti predmeti i materijali. Njihova upotreba zahteva poznavanje bioloških karakteristika vrste životinja kod kojih se primenjuje obogaćivanje uslova života, poznavanje njihovih potreba, staništa i sposobnosti, vrste predmeta i materijala koji će se koristiti u programu obogaćivanja uslova života, svrsishodnost primene određenih predmeta i materijala u procesu obogaćivanja sa aspekta sposobnosti da motivišu, odnosno stimulišu životinje na ispoljavanje prirodnih oblika ponašanja i stepen njihove pouzdanosti i sigurnosti, odnosno potencijalni rizik primene određenih predmeta i materijala za životinje. Programi modifikacije uslova života obično obuhvataju dva oblika obogaćivanja, a to su strukturno i bihevioralno obogaćivanje. Obogaćivanje uslova života poseduje mnoge oblike kao što su fizičko, senzorno (auditorno i olfaktorno), hranidbeno, manipulativno i socijalno obogaćivanje uslova života.

Aged dogs (beagles) develop losses in executive function, learning and memory. The severity of decline in these cognitive domains represents a spectrum that captures normal aging, mild cognitive impairment and early/mild Alzheimer's disease (AD) in humans. In parallel, dogs naturally accumulate several types of neuropathology (although not all) consistent with human brain aging and AD including cortical atrophy, neuron loss, loss of neurogenesis, amyloid-beta (Abeta) plaques, cerebral amyloid angiopathy and oxidative damage. Many of these neuropathological features correlate with the extent of cognitive decline in a brain region-dependent manner. Dogs are ideally suited for longitudinal studies, and we provide a summary of the beneficial effects of an antioxidant diet, behavioral enrichment, and Abeta immunotherapy. In addition, combinatorial treatment approaches can be a powerful strategy for improving brain function through enhancement of multiple molecular pathways.

Oxidative damage in the brain may lead to cognitive impairments in aged humans. Further, in age-associated neurodegenerative disease, oxidative damage may be exacerbated and associated with additional neuropathology. Epidemiological studies in humans show both positive and negative effects of the use of antioxidant supplements on healthy cognitive aging and on the risk of developing Alzheimer disease (AD). This contrasts with consistent behavioral improvements in aged rodent models. In a higher mammalian model system that naturally accumulates human-type pathology and cognitive decline (aged dogs), an antioxidant enriched diet leads to rapid learning improvements, memory improvements after prolonged treatment and cognitive maintenance. Cognitive benefits can be further enhanced by the addition of behavioral enrichment. In the brains of aged treated dogs, oxidative damage is reduced and there is some evidence of reduced AD-like neuropathology. In combination, antioxidants may be beneficial for promoting healthy brain aging and reducing the risk of neurodegenerative disease.

The effectiveness of two interventions, dietary fortification with antioxidants and a program of behavioral enrichment, was assessed in a longitudinal study of cognitive aging in beagle dogs. A baseline protocol of cognitive testing was used to select four cognitively equivalent groups: control food-control experience (C-C), control food-enriched experience (C-E), antioxidant fortified food-control experience (A-C), and antioxidant fortified food-enriched experience(A-E). We also included two groups of young behaviorally enriched dogs, one receiving the control food and the other the fortified food. Discrimination learning and reversal was assessed after one year of treatment with a size discrimination task, and again after two years with a black/white discrimination task. The four aged groups were comparable at baseline. At one and two years, the aged combined treatment group showed more accurate learning than the other aged groups. Discrimination learning was significantly improved by behavioral enrichment. Reversal learning was improved by both behavioral enrichment and dietary fortification. By contrast, the fortified food had no effect on the young dogs. These results suggest that behavioral enrichment or dietary fortification with antioxidants over a long-duration can slow age-dependent cognitive decline, and that the two treatments together are more effective than either alone in older dogs.

Behavioral wellness has become a recent focus for the care of laboratory animals, farm and zoo animals, and pets. Behavioral enrichment issues for these groups are more similar than dissimilar, and each group can learn from the other. The emphasis on overall enhancement for laboratory dogs and cats in this review includes an emphasis on behavioral enrichment. Understanding the range of behaviors, behavioral choices, and cognitive stimulation that cats and dogs exhibit under non-laboratory conditions can increase the ability of investigators to predict which enrichments are likely to be the most successful in the laboratory. Many of the enrichment strategies described are surprisingly straightforward and inexpensive to implement.

Test-sophisticated beagle dogs show marked age sensitivity in a size discrimination learning task, with old and senior dogs performing significantly more poorly than young dogs. By contrast, age differences in learning were not seen in dogs naive with respect to neuropsychological test experience. These results indicate that old animals benefit less from prior cognitive experience than young animals, which is an example of an age-dependent loss in plasticity. This finding also suggests that behaviorally experienced animals are a more useful model of human cognitive aging than behaviorally naive animals. We also looked at the effect of a program of behavioral enrichment in aged dogs. One year of enrichment did not lead to significant differences, but after 2 years the behaviorally enriched group performed significantly better than the control group. The effect after 2 years indicates that a prolonged program of cognitive enrichment can serve as an effective intervention in aged dogs. These findings demonstrate that cognitive abilities in aged animals can be modified by providing behavioral experience, indicating that cognitive abilities remain moderately plastic, even in very old animals.

Animal models that simulate various aspects of human brain aging are an essential step in the development of interventions to manage cognitive dysfunction in the elderly. Over the past several years we have been studying cognition and neuropathology in the aged-canine (dog). Like humans, canines naturally accumulate deposits of beta-amyloid (Abeta) in the brain with age. Further, canines and humans share the same Abeta sequence and also first show deposits of the longer Abeta1-42 species followed by the deposition of Abeta1-40. Aged canines like humans also show increased oxidative damage. As a function of age, canines show impaired learning and memory on tasks similar to those used in aged primates and humans. The extent of Abeta deposition correlates with the severity of cognitive dysfunction in canines. To test the hypothesis that a cascade of mechanisms centered on oxidative damage and Abeta results in cognitive dysfunction we have evaluated the cognitive effects of an antioxidant diet in aged canines. The diet resulted in a significant improvement in the ability of aged but not young animals to acquire progressively more difficult learning tasks (e.g. oddity discrimination learning). The canine represent a higher animal model to study the earliest declines in the cognitive continuum that includes age associated memory impairments (AAMI) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) observed in human aging. Thus, studies in the canine model suggest that oxidative damage impairs cognitive function and that antioxidant treatment can result in significant improvements, supporting the need for further human studies.

As part a series of investigations of environmental enrichment methods for zoo animals, two spectacled bears (Tremarctos ornatus) were observed for 40 h, documenting use of cage space and behaviors, using a detailed ethogram. Baseline data showed concentration of activity into limited areas of the enclosure and expression of a relatively restricted subset of the species' behavioral repertoire. Introduction of a climbing structure resulted in increased behavioral diversity, both in the use of the enclosure's physical space and the behaviors displayed in various parts of the enclosure.

Among platyrrhines, howler monkeys are commonly traded illegally as pets in Central and South America, resulting in the high mortality of specimens. Many of these animals end up in long-term captive situations in zoos and rehabilitation centers, where adaptation may be difficult. Careful husbandry planning, taking into account the animals’ behavioral, anatomical, and evolutionary characteristics, can greatly improve survivability. This chapter aims to provide information on howler monkey welfare in captivity, including enclosure design, environmental enrichment, feeding and nutrition, and diseases, based upon the biology and ecology of the species. Digestive physiology, behavioral ecology, and the social system of howler monkeys are major factors to take into account to provide adequate captive conditions. Aspects such as social integration, controlled temperature, indoor and outdoor enclosures, and hiding places should be met. The provision of foraging plants within the enclosure is ideal to stimulate natural feeding behavior. Behavioral enrichment measures need to be devised to prevent behavioral disorders. For successfully maintaining howler monkeys in captivity, animals should be trained to consume a wide variety of natural fiber sources. Special attention should be placed on quantities of food sources rich in gluten and other allergenic proteins. Acute and chronic syndromes such as gastric dilatation, howler monkey wasting disease, and metabolic bone disease can be prevented when provided adequate diets. Many diseases may be acquired in the wild. However, other infectious diseases (viral, bacterial, and parasitic) are concomitant to stress and improper management. Very few studies have been carried out in captive howler populations to fully understand the husbandry and care requirements. Although howlers are very adaptive in nature and although it is a genus widely distributed throughout Central and South America, they are susceptible to many diseases that might threaten their population in the wild. Achieving a better knowledge of these factors in captivity may contribute to the development of healthy captive populations for future reintroductions to the wild.

Aged dogs spontaneously develop many features of human aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD) including cognitive decline and neuropathology. In this review, we discuss age-dependent learning tasks, memory tasks, and functional measures that can be used in aged dogs for sensitive treatment outcome measures. Neuropathology that is linked to cognitive decline is described along with examples of treatment studies that show reduced neuropathology in aging dogs (dietary manipulations, behavioral enrichment, immunotherapy, and statins). Studies in canine show that multi-targeted approaches may be more beneficial than single pathway manipulations (e.g., antioxidants combined with behavioral enrichment). Aging canine studies show good predictive validity for human clinical trials outcomes (e.g., immunotherapy) and several interventions tested in dogs strongly support a prevention approach (e.g., immunotherapy and statins). Further, dogs are ideally suited for prevention studies as they the age because onset of cognitive decline and neuropathology strongly support longitudinal interventions that can be completed within a 3-5 year period. Disadvantages to using the canine model are that they lengthy, use labor-intensive comprehensive cognitive testing, and involve costly housing (almost as high as that of non-human primates). However, overall, using the dog as a preclinical model for testing preventive approaches for AD may complement work in rodents and non-human primates.

This paper provides a summary of a 1969 report (Pryor, Haag, & O’Reilly) of the spontaneous emergence of innovative behavior of a dolphin, a replication of this event through training in another dolphin, and the effect this work has had on current animal training technology. This paper provides a review of laboratory based research in support of some of the procedures found effective in modern animal training in developing innovative behavior, specifically use of the conditioned reinforcer to mark a behavior, differential reinforcement of variability, and intentional use of positive reinforcement procedures. The authors describe specific processes for establishing innovative skills, practical applications presently in use with animals, consequent human and animal welfare benefits, and suggestions for further research.

Consideration of the welfare of other animals often is anthropocentric, focusing usually on mammals similar to humans. This article argues the necessity of evaluating the extension of such consideration more widely to invertebrates. Although unlike humans, some groups such as cephalopod molluscs probably have the potential for pain and suffering. In addition, a morality of care, rather than one of rights, and the damage humans do to themselves by cruel treatment of animals both argue for the extension of consideration to all animal species. This consideration predicts extension of basic care of cephalopods from simple housing and feeding into areas such as behavioral enrichment.

Young, middle-aged, and old beagle dogs were tested on several visual-discrimination tasks: reward- and object-approach learning, object discrimination and reversal, long-term retention of a reversal problem, and a size-discrimination task. Beta-amyloid accumulation in the entorhinal, prefrontal, parietal, and occipital cortices was quantified using immunohistochemical and imaging techniques at the conclusion of cognitive testing. Middle-aged and old dogs were impaired in size-discrimination learning. In each task, a subset of aged dogs was impaired relative to age-matched peers. Beta-amyloid accumulation was age-dependent. However, not all middle-aged and old dogs showed beta-amyloid accumulation in the entorhinal cortex. The error scores from dogs tested with a nonpreferred object during visual discrimination learning and from reversal learning were correlated with beta-amyloid in the prefrontal but not entorhinal cortex. Size-discrimination and reward and object-approach learning error scores were correlated with beta-amyloid accumulation in the entorhinal but not prefrontal cortex. The results of these studies support an association between cognitive test and the location and extent of beta-amyloid pathology.

The feeding behavior of wild and captive parrots is reviewed and discussed, and the behavioral aspects of captive parrot feeding methods are compared. The results of a simple study offering parrots seed in addition to a formulated diet are summarized, and the use and construction of some simple feeder puzzles and enrichment devices or methods are also listed.

4Brookfield Zoo, Brookfield, Illinois More and more, zoos are integrating behavioral enrichment programs into their management routines. Given the newness of such programs on an official level, however, there are an increasing number of enrichment decisions based on assumption. Enrichment is typically not provided on exhibit, especially for exhibits considered to be more naturalistic, because it is assumed to affect visitors’ experience negatively. To test that assumption, visitors were interviewed in front of four exhibits—an outdoor barren grotto, an outdoor vegetated grotto, an indoor immersion exhibit, and an outdoor traditional cage—each with either natural, nonnatural or no enrichment objects present. Specifically, we wanted to know whether 1) the exhibit’s perceived educational message, 2) the animal’s perceived “happiness,” and 3) the visitor perceptions of enrichment, the naturalism of animal’s behavior, and zoo animal well-being changed as a function of object type. Overall, the type of enrichment object had little impact on visitor perceptions. In the outdoor barren grotto, only visitor perceptions of exhibit naturalism were affected by object type. In the outdoor vegetated grotto, object type influenced visitors perceptions of enrichment and exhibit naturalism. For the indoor immersion exhibit, general perceptions of enrichment and the perceived naturalism of the animal’s behavior were affected. Finally, in the outdoor traditional cage, perceived educational message and general perceptions of enrichment changed as a function of object type. Zoo Biol 17:525‐534, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.