Animal Enrichment Day at the Montgomery Zoo is Saturday! | Community Spirit

Join the excitement at your City of Montgomery Zoo, Saturday February 18, 2012 between the hours of 10:00am and 2:00pm for Animal Enrichment Day.  Tour the Zoo with the zoo staff as they introduce new stimuli to the animals in their various habitats.  Animal enrichment takes place every day at your Montgomery Zoo, but twice per year we open the festivities to the public. 

So, what exactly is animal enrichment all about?  Animal enrichment is the process of introducing new things to an animal’s surroundings and environment.  This new stimuli provides mental and physical stimulation to the animals which in turn encourages natural and healthy behavior.  It is a positive experience for animals to adapt to change and the introduction of new items in their surroundings.  Year-round, enrichment is occurring unannounced throughout the exhibits, but the Zoo devotes two days a year showing the public what enrichment is all about. For the 2012 Winter Enrichment Day, sixteen exhibits – including tigers, lion, bears, elephants, chimpanzees, rhino and more – will showcase many different forms of enrichment, from box with treats in the black bear exhibit to the Otters getting live food.

Enrichment is an ever-growing and constantly changing effort that requires endless experimentation to find out to what each animal responds to the best. On Saturday, February 18th from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m., join the staff as they present the most recent of these efforts especially for you, the visitors. Watch the animals figure out puzzles and treats made especially for them.

Animal Enrichment Schedule:

• 10:00    Sloth Bear
• 10:15    Monkey Island
• 10:30    Golden Lion Tamarins
• 10:45    Maned Wolf
• 11:00    Reptile Building
• 11:30    Jaguar
• 11:45    Otters
• 12:00    Cougars
• 12:15    Black Bear
• 12:30    Lion
• 12:45    Siamang
• 1:00    Chimpanzee
• 1:15    Elephants
• 1:45    Tiger
• 2:00    Warthog

Source:  City of Montgomery Zoo