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"Destructible Toys as Enrichment for
Captive Chimpanzees"
Authors of original article: Linda Brent
and Adam Stone
Originally published in Journal of Applied Animal Welfare
Science
Volume I, Number 1, 1998*
The authors studied the behavior of nine chimpanzees in a
biomedical laboratory with regard to eight different destructible
objects placed in the chimpanzees' cages as toys: a vinyl shoe, a
vinyl soda bottle, a plastic cup, a plastic block, a plastic
bowling pin, a bottle brush, a 3-liter plastic bottle containing
some dry corn, and a 1-foot square piece of cloth fleece. The
chimpanzees, aged 4.5 to 34 years, were kept in individual
100-square-foot cages with built-in benches and perches, rigid
balls, other durable toys, and color televisions. The questions
were whether and to what degree destructible toys would provide
enrichment to chimpanzees kept in a small, sterile, and
unstimulating environment, prevented from socializing with each
other-although they could see each other-and from otherwise
engaging in their natural behavior and living natural chimpanzee
lives in natural chimpanzee habitat.
Often, permanent, almost-indestructible toys are placed in
chimpanzees' laboratory cages for environmental enrichment.
Durable toys, not having to be replaced often, have been seen as
minimizing costs, personnel time, sanitation, and animal-safety
concerns such as that chimpanzees might ingest parts of toys they
are able to break. Chimpanzees' use of permanent toys, however,
tends to decrease over time. Being complex animals adapted to
complex and varied environments, chimpanzees enjoy novelty so
rotating durable toys has been found effective. It made sense,
then, to observe the use of inexpensive, easily obtainable
temporary objects.
The authors assessed the usefulness of destructible objects by
comparing the chimpanzees' responses to the introduction of one
destructible toy at a time with their responses to the
introduction of all eight at once. Toy introductions took place in
15-minute trial periods. Observers noted frequency of contact with
and degrees of damage to each toy. Behaviors with regard to the
toys included biting the toy, rubbing the toy on oneself, throwing
the toy, and 17 more. Each toy was removed when it was destroyed
or when a chimpanzee never touched the toy in 4 trials.
One chimpanzee rarely touched any of the toys. The other eight
used them a lot and destroyed them quickly. The number of uses was
much higher when toys were presented one at a time than all at
once. The number was higher on the first introduction than on
later ones. On average, the toys lasted from 2.3 to 4.5 days, the
more rigid plastic items having to be removed from the cages much
sooner than the flexible cloth and vinyl ones. The chimpanzees
used the eight destructible toys much more than their permanent
cage toys or their televisions. The authors concluded that
providing one destructible toy at a time is more effective and
efficient for enrichment of chimpanzees' laboratory existences
than providing many such toys at a time and that this method is
worthy of laboratory workers' consideration even though costs in
money and staff time must be analyzed in each situation. As long
as chimpanzees and other highly intelligent animals are kept in
laboratories, it is hoped that staff will work hard to minimize
their boredom and depression.
*Available from Psychologists for the
Ethical Treatment of Animals, P.O. Box 1297, Washington Grove,
MD 20880-1297; 301-963-4751.
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