Enrichment Methods Course
4 hours

Behavioral Husbandry Team
Disney’s Animal Program

This is a mandatory 4 hour class which gives an overview of animal enrichment.  This course discusses the concepts of environmental enrichment as well as the practical applications of an enrichment program.  In the course we define animal welfare and introduce the concepts of motivation, behavioral opportunities and control.  The term enrichment is also defined and the concepts of novelty, variability and complexity are discussed.  How to get the most out of looking at a species natural history to develop new enrichment ideas is also discussed in this course.  In addition to lecture, selected concepts will be taught via group activities.

The following are the learning objectives for this course.

• Students will be able to communicate the definition of enrichment.
• Students will be able to articulate what role variability, novelty, and complexity play in enrichment.
• Students will have an understanding of what is meant by animal welfare and understand the relationship between welfare and enrichment.
• Students have the ability to express how the animal’s individual history (individual idiosyncrasies, specific husbandry needs) and natural history (sensory modalities, communication) affect the selection of enrichment initiatives.
• Students will be able to articulate why it is important to identify and record a behavioral goal for each enrichment initiative.
• Students will be able to articulate why documentation is important to the enrichment process.
• Students will understand that evaluating looks for patterns and trends, and provides answers to questions.