title: Olfactory enrichment and scent cue associative learning in captive birds of prey.
abstract: As the use of enrichment in zoos has become a standardized husbandry practice, the continued improvement of enrichment programs should be concomitant with empirical validation of those practices. The role of scent as enrichment remains an unexplored avenue for many bird species. We conducted a multi-phase experiment to introduce wrapped food packages and scent cuing to indicate food presence into the exhibits of several birds of prey species at the Bronx Zoo, New York City, to assess if scent can function as enrichment in these species. Our research found support for these birds associating a novel scent cue from a package with the presence of food inside. When tested with sham (empty) packages, these individuals more often and more extensively handled scented versus unscented packages. Overall, these results indicate the ability of some our small sample of individuals to learn olfactory cues and provide support for trials to include olfactory enrichment as a potential part of the daily routine for some birds of prey in zoo settings.
authors.affiliation: Bronx Zoo/Wildlife Conservation Society 2300, Southern Boulevard, Bronx, New York.|Doctoral Program in Psychology, Graduate Center of the City University of New York, New York, New York.
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nelson Slater
authors.affiliation: Doctoral Program in Psychology, Graduate Center of the City University of New York, New York, New York.|Animal Behavior and Conservation Program, Department of Psychology, Hunter College, New York, New York.
authors.forename: Mark E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Hauber
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000836:Animals, Zoo / Q000502:physiology*; D003214:Conditioning, Classical / Q000502:physiology*; D003463:Cues; D004032:Diet / Q000662:veterinary; D046093:Falconiformes / Q000502:physiology*; D005248:Feeding Methods; D005260:Female; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D009519:New York City; D009812:Odorants; D012903:Smell / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: eagles; enrichment; olfaction; vultures