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Chemical Signals in Vertebrates 11 pp 391–398Cite as

A Critical Review of Zoo-based Olfactory Enrichment

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Abstract

Olfactory stimuli are frequently integrated into zoo enrichment programs. This ‘olfactory enrichment’ can stimulate reproduction or naturalistic behaviour, enhance enclosure exploration, or reduce inactivity. However, not all scents achieve their desired goals, and can in fact bring about undesirable behaviour such as increased levels of stereotypy. Few attempts have been made to quantify the impact of introducing olfactory stimuli to zoo enclosures, and there are inherent difficulties when designing, implementing and evaluating olfactory enrichment. Firstly, it is difficult without appropriate chemical analyses to anticipate what information a scent conveys, and therefore whether it will be received as an excitatory or aversive stimulant. Second, more practical difficulties are encountered. Consideration needs to be given to (i) the choice of scent used, its relevance and motivation, (ii) how to present the scent in time and space, (iii) individual variation in response rates and neophobia (fear of novelty) to scents, and finally (iv) the health implications linked to the use of olfactory stimuli. This paper reviews the olfactory stimuli used in zoos as enrichments and their reported effects. Practical suggestions are made to encourage and stimulate more empirical quantification of olfactory stimulation in zoo animals.

Keywords

  • Environmental Enrichment
  • Olfactory Stimulus
  • Scent Mark
  • Captive Animal
  • Captive Chimpanzee

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Zoology,Zoological Society of London, Regents Park, London, NW1 4RY, UK

    Fay Clark

Authors
  1. Fay Clark
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  2. Andrew J. King
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Veterinary Preclinical Science, University of Liverpool, Leahurst, Neston CH64 7TE, UK

    Jane L. Hurst

  2. Department of Veterinary Preclinical Science, University of Liverpool, Crown Street, Liverpool, L69 7ZJ, UK

    Robert J. Beynon

  3. School of Biological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Crown Street, Liverpool, L69 7ZB, UK

    S. Craig Roberts

  4. Office of Distance and Online Learning, University of Oxford, Oxford OX2 7DD, UK

    Tristram D. Wyatt

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Clark, F., King, A.J. (2008). A Critical Review of Zoo-based Olfactory Enrichment. In: Hurst, J.L., Beynon, R.J., Roberts, S.C., Wyatt, T.D. (eds) Chemical Signals in Vertebrates 11. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-73945-8_37

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