Categories of Enrichment 

Sensory Enrichment 

• What can the animal get from using its senses?

• How do the senses relate to the animal’s survival and situation related motivations?

  • SIGHT
    How and why does it use its eyesight? Does it see far or not at all? How important is eyesight to the species or group?

  • TASTE
    Does it taste, what could it taste? What are the benefits to taste?
    What are its methods of chewing, consuming and identifying through taste?

  • SMELL
    Links closely to taste. What information can smells offer? Don’t forget the environment offers a lot of smells (public, people, other animals, vehicles etc.).

  • HEARING
    What sounds are in the environment (identify them), what can you add or remove? What information does sound offer an animal? Defence, offence: flight, fright, fight?

  • TOUCH
    How does the animal physically interpret its environment? Elephants use their trunks to feel and gain valuable information, whereas most parrots use their beak and tongue to do the same. Cats perhaps use smell and sight over touch, but paws and whiskers can give them information.

Habitat Enrichment 

• TOPOGRAPHY
  The variants the animal can utilize. Up, down, slopes, levels, rough, smooth etc.

• COMFORT
  How does the habitat (environment) offer long term 'comfort elements'? Shade, sun, privacy, hides, open plains etc.

• SECURITY
  How does the animal behave when in fight or flight—what does the habitat offer?

• ADAPTABILITY
  Experiences to new things (learning opportunities). Can  you change up the space with new plants or substrates etc?

• ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS
  Seasons, weather, climate all play a role. Are they lethargic in summer or winter, do they migrate, do they nest? This can all be used to enrich your animal.

Cognitive Enrichment 

How does the animal LEARN—What stimulation (motivation) will drive the individual animal? What 'problems' can you give the species and individual animals?

• Remember—The individual animal counts here. What has it experienced?

• What is its Natural History, and how can you apply that to the species’ capacity to learn?

• How can you introduce experiences that are rewarding and positive? How can you enhance those rewarding experiences?

• Problem solving—it is all about LEARNING!

• Remember - Animals can be neophobic, don't throw problems at them that they cannot solve or have never seen before. Slow incremental steps are important for uninitiated animals. (Neophobic—fear of new things).

Social Enrichment 

• SOLITARY or SOCIAL
  What is the natural species’ tendency to socialize? Do they prefer to be solitary or not? How can you use their senses to 'socialize' with their environment—smells, sound, sight?
  (Personal experience—at Pretoria Zoo, we had some drummers walk through the zoo, unknowingly they stimulated the elephants to call.)

• AGE
  How does this apply? If your animal is geriatric or juvenile, it will define your enrichment level and intensity. What are the health implications of age?

• SEX
  How does the biology of the animal apply to enriching the individual? Nesting for birds and denning for foxes are examples. Another is scent marking for cats!  

• INTERACTIONS
  How does the species interact with other species in the wild? (Are they cooperative?)

• BENEFITS
  What do they gain from socializing? (Safety in numbers, access to food, sex.)

Food Enrichment 

• What food motivates your animal?  

• What is the value behind the food? Novelty, cognitive or social value.

• How can you present the food? Use your routine to your advantage! Use food creatively 

• How can you increase the activity and time budget of the animal?

• Increase the food reward to increase biological and emotional needs.

  • Foraging—Looking, seeking

  • Hunting—Resistance (bungee feeders)

  • Socializing—Sharing, defending

• Remember the senses. How and why does the animal 'interpret' the food? Taste, smell, colour, temperature and weight of the food.

Kinaesthetic - movement

Kinaesthetic is a new dimension of enrichment seriously considered and promoted by G. Harris.

• Ask yourself
  ”What behaviours do I want to enhance?”

• Physiology
  What and how does the animal use its limbs and appendages?
  Strength and fitness, body-memory and exercise. Does the environment offer opportunity? Enrichment can help increase use of targeted body parts. E.g. the neck muscles, foot movement, stretching, balance, beak flicking, climbing, jumping, diving, digging.

Biology

How can enrichment increase health and wellbeing of internal organs, digestion, teeth, etc? Think of self maintenance (grooming, claws/talons, bathing etc.)