The Environmental Enrichment Issues Relating To The Asian Elephant And The Chimpanzee Species

In this essay, I will be discussing the environmental enrichment issues relating to two species housed at Belfast Zoological Gardens: The Asian Elephant and the Chimpanzee. Animals confined in zoological enclosures are usually given much less stimulation and inter/intra-species contact with other animals (excluding humans) than they would receive if they were living in the wild. Therefore, environmental enrichment has become a large study of focus for researchers who wish to improve the quality of life of captive animals. Studies, such as Perlmuter & Monty (1977), have found that giving zoological animals even simple choices such as what they eat, or whether to go outside or stay inside, can drastically increase positive social behaviour and quality of life in animals, such as the chimpanzee. I will discuss the benefits and negatives of a zoological environment in terms of enrichment and specifically in relation to Asian elephants and Chimpanzees. The primary areas of environmental enrichment that I will be discussing are animate and inanimate enrichment.

Regarding animate environmental enrichment, social contact with both animals and humans is an important aspect of both an Asian elephant and chimpanzee’s environmental enrichment in a zoological garden. Having contact with other animals can be beneficial regarding both Asian elephants and chimpanzees, as it can help an animal to feel less isolated and more in control when surrounded by fellow animals. Fox (1965) and Hetts, Clark, Calpin, Arnold & Mateo (1992) have found that isolation of animals, in general, can result in behavioural deficits and strange conduct. By eradicating isolation, the environment is enriched for the animals as it becomes more complex and stimulating when other animals are added into the enclosure which they can then interact and have relationships with. An additional number of animals living together will also result in the animals being provided with a spatially larger environment to live in, which will be more stimulating for both Asian elephants and chimpanzees as it provides more area for them to move around, play, explore and exercise their limbs. Therefore, providing animate enrichment to the zoo animals by introducing other animals to have contact with, can be a positive form of environmental enrichment for both Asian elephants and chimpanzees.

However animate environmental enrichment can also have a negative effect, as there can be problems with keeping animals together in the same enclosure. Having the animals near each other can cause an increase in aggression in some of the animals, which can lead to antisocial/destructive behaviour among the animal group and can also result in fighting leading to an elevated risk of injury for the animals in the zoo. The proximity of the animals also can result in communicable diseases being more easily transmitted from one animal to another, as they are sharing the same environment, the same food and are in close contact to allow bacteria and disease to easily pass from one animal to the next. This is possible in both Asian elephants and chimpanzees who can be infected by several diseases and illnesses, both minor and life-threatening. Therefore, when animals are kept together in a zoo, there is a higher chance of several animals dying if one animal contracts a deadly disease. Asian elephants and chimpanzees can also have their environments enriched by contact with humans, including both employees and visitors of the zoo. This can be beneficial to both species as it promotes socialisation in the animals. It also provides stimuli and can, therefore, be a good way to prevent boredom and loneliness in the animals, particularly those who are isolated in their enclosures. However, this can be hindered by the limitations that visitors have regarding contact with the animals, such as limited visiting time periods and barriers/glass between the humans and the animals.

Nevertheless, it is important for human contact with the animals to be regulated and strict as it provides both protection for the animals and for the humans. The barriers keep the animals safe from danger, physical harm and dangerous/poisonous food items etc. from the human visitors. For example, Cook & Hosey (1995) found that in chimpanzee-human interactions, humans initiated feeding of the chimpanzees 25% of the time and chimpanzees initiated being fed by humans 8% of the time. Human contact with the animals is important to environmental enrichment, but it is also important to have restrictions in place t to protect and keep human visitors at the zoo safe as well. This can be applied to chimpanzees, such as a particular chimpanzee in a Swedish zoo that was making elaborate plots to attack visitors but more importantly can be seen in numerous examples of death caused by Asian elephants in zoos, such as Celebrity Asian elephant 'Ekasit' who crushed his owner to death at Thailand zoo when experiencing a testosterone surge. Nimon & Dalziel (1992) found that Siamangs will respond to some human behaviours as they would to hostile behaviour from other siamangs, which can lead to aggression towards the humans. This could be shared among other primates, such as chimpanzees. Mitchell, Obradovich, Herring, Dowd & Tromborg (1991) found that Mangabeys (primates) in a zoological enclosure will be threatening towards humans, particularly to visitors of the zoo and therefore, while the animals at the zoo are usually adapted and comfortable in their enclosed habitats (enough so that they are usually manageable as zoo attractions), they still carry their natural instincts for defence and aggression. Consequently, there is always a risk that a human could be attacked by an animal if restrictions on contact are not well maintained or thought out while trying to provide animate environmental enrichment.

Another reason that human contact, for environmental enrichment with zoo animals, must be restricted is the risk of zoonosis. This is where diseases that are thriving in some of the zoo animals can then be transmitted to humans through close contact. This is especially relevant to chimpanzees who can transmit the virus SIVcpz which causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in humans. This has occurred on several occasions and will result in a serious, chronic illness for the rest of the person’s life. To the same degree, zoonosis can also occur where humans carrying a disease can then transmit the disease to animals, particularly in a close contact zoological environment. This can be seen in several respiratory diseases that the endangered chimpanzee species is currently suffering from such as whooping cough, which has been fatal in several cases and has been empirically recognised to have been derived from humans. Zoonosis can also be seen in captive Asian elephants where a growing number are being infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This does not occur naturally in wild elephants and is a disease contracted by the Asian elephants through human contact in captivity. This tells us that while animate environmental enrichment can be beneficial for zoological animals, there are several health-related problems that must be prevented or solved before it can be truly effective.

Time constraints can also be an issue for human contact with animals, as zookeepers are usually limited in the time and resources that they have available to put into environmental enrichment. This means that both Asian elephants and chimpanzees are usually not able to receive the amount of human contact with keepers that would be ideal to get the most benefits from the situation; Social interaction with zookeepers for environmental enrichment, is, therefore, more beneficial in theory, than reality. This has been discussed by Hoy, Murray & Tribe (2010) who suggest alternative forms of stimulation, instead of human contact, due to time constraints on zookeepers. As an alternative, Hoy, Murray & Tribe (2010) have produced research to suggest that a zoo animal’s environment could be enriched using inanimate sensory stimulation, by using different radio frequencies to provide auditory stimulation to individual animals. This has been found to reduce aggression and increase social interaction in chimpanzees.

Auditory stimulation has been researched by Wells & Irwin (2008) specifically in relation to Asian elephants; They have produced evidence to suggest that classical music can have a positive effect on enriching the elephant’s environment, as the music was found to decrease the amount of stereotyping behaviour in the elephants, in comparison to no music. Stereotyping In animals is when animals, in this case, Asian elephants, are found to be behaving abnormally. This is not found in wild animals and has only been observed in captive animals, which is why there is an interest in discovering what aspects of their environment are causing this abnormal behaviour. Swaisgood & Shepherdson (2005) have found that stereotyping behaviour in animals is indicative of reduced mental health. Wells, D. L. , Coleman, D. & Challis, M. G. (2006) conducted a study on the influence of auditory stimulation on gorillas in Belfast zoological gardens. The study found that classical music, as well as ecologically relevant sounds (i. e. rainforest sounds), may have an environmentally enriching effect on gorillas if further studies are made, as it showed a reduced effect on stereotyping behaviour, although not empirically significant results. As gorillas are part of the Ape family along with Chimpanzees, it is possible that they may share similar traits and preferences and so auditory stimulation may likely also provide enrichment to their zoological environment.

Sugimoto, Kobayashi, Nobuyoshi, Kiriyama, Takeshita, Nakamura & Hashiya (2010) found in a study of a human-raised baby chimpanzee that it preferred consonant music over dissonant music, which is important for picking the correct auditory stimulation to increase effective environmental enrichment. When considering the use of auditory stimulation is it best to test a variety of different sounds, as the naturally occurring sounds of the animal’s normal habitat in the wild may not actually be the most successful for auditory stimulation. Ecologically relevant sounds and non-ecologically relevant sounds have both been found to be more beneficial than the other, in different animal species. It is very important to find auditory stimulation that has positive, relaxing effects on animals and on stereotyping behaviour; Introducing auditory stimulation to an already loud zoo may result in increased negative reactions and behaviour by the animals, if it is auditory stimulation that they do not respond positively towar. Changes in animal behaviour, such as in Asian elephants and Chimpanzees, can be difficult to dissect and interpret and so further studies and research will be useful to reach an informed consensus on the effects of auditory stimulation on environmental enrichment.

Olfactory stimulation is another inanimate form of stimulation that can also be useful in environmental enrichment in a zoological garden, such as Belfast’s. This is when different scents are added to the environment to provide stimulation for the animals. However, in the case of the Asian elephants and chimpanzees olfactory stimulation, using both biologically relevant and biologically irrelevant odours, seem to have had little to no significant effect. Therefore, olfactory stimulation is only useful regarding specific animals and not effective for all.

Another inanimate form of environmental enrichment that can be effective in zoological gardens is visual stimulation. Wells, McDonald & Ringland (2008) have found that captive chimpanzees in zoos seem to prefer the colours blue and green compared to red and are more visually stimulated by these colours. Chimpanzees in zoological gardens are also found to have a reduction in anxiety-related pacing when visually stimulated by green lighting. Brent & Stone (1996) have found that the use of visual stimulation, such as televisions, can result in less stereotyping and more socially acceptable responses in chimpanzees. Asian elephants have dichromatic visual systems meaning that they are ‘colour blind’ in relation to humans and will, therefore, be more stimulated by the colours yellow and blue, which they can see, rather than green and red by which they are colour blind. Mirrors have been found to be a useful visual stimulation for both Asian elephants and chimpanzeesproviding both the opportunity to self-recognize and providing days of investigation and curiosity and so may provide useful environmental enrichment in a zoological garden. Bloomsmith, Keeling & Lambeth (1990) found that visual stimulation from videos could be useful for environmental enrichment for chimpanzees, as chimpanzees that were housed on their own spent 75% of 20-minute testing sessions watching the videos that were provided to them. Bloomsmith & Lambeth (2000) also found that chimpanzees displayed better solitary playing and improved social behaviour in those who were given control over the videos that they watched, whereas chimpanzees that had no control over the videos, displayed more scratching and aggressive behaviour. These findings suggest that this form of visual stimulation would be a beneficial environmental enrichment for zoo-housed chimpanzees that are both isolated and kept in groups. Various forms of visual stimulation can, therefore, be very effective for providing environmental enrichment for both Asian Elephants and chimpanzees.

Toys can also be useful as another inanimate form of enrichment for Asian elephants according to French, Mancini, Smith & Sharp (2014). They explain that elephants in captivity are less able to practice their natural intelligence and so toys designed to stimulate the elephant would provide a better quality of life and cognitive enrichment, whilst alleviating boredom and encouraging bonding and learning. Paquette & Prescott (1988) have also found that the addition of toys into a chimpanzee’s zoological environment can be enriching and can lead to a general decrease in self-grooming and inactivity. They have found that when there is a limited number of toys, the dominant chimps will take control of the toys, but this will not result in an increase in aggression or social interaction. They have found that toys can decrease abnormal behaviour in chimpanzees, but once the chimpanzees get used to the toys and play with them for a while, they will then lose interest and interact with the toys less. This will then result in an increase again in self-grooming and stereotyping behaviours. It is therefore important for environmental enrichment that the toys are changed around and varied over time to prevent a loss in interest. In conclusion, there are a variety of environmental enrichment issues regarding the Asian elephants and chimpanzees that are housed in Belfast’s zoological gardens.

The most effective environmental enrichment techniques seem to be inanimate enrichment techniques, such as auditory and visual stimulation (Gallup, 1970). These can be adapted to specific animals and can be effective in enhancing an animal’s environment with less associated risks. However, it is still important for both chimpanzees and Asian elephants to have animate environmental enrichment techniques applied to their daily living, such as contact with other animals and visits from humans. This is both important for the success of the zoo and imperative in maintaining positive mental health and social behaviours of the animals. These must, however, be accompanied by strict rules and regulations to protect both the animals and the humans.