Whether you call it behavioral enrichment or environmental enrichment, enrichment is a key component to every animal husbandry program. Enrichment is as essential to an animal’s overall health and well-being as good nutrition and medical care. A true behavioral husbandry program should be designed for each and every animal in our collection, focusing on behavioral needs and requirements. A true program in any discipline has a framework for designing, implementing and evaluating all elements and components of a program. It is, therefore, imperative that an enrichment program be treated the same way: it must have well-designed components and a framework for designing, implementing and evaluating the program.

One essential ingredient of any successful,
well-designed enrichment program is leadership. Leadership begins with directors. They support the program, they provide resources for professional development of their staff and they encourage leadership at all levels. Keepers, curators, managers, scientists, nutritionists and veterinarians all have a role in a successful enrichment program. Enrichment is fully understood and implemented by all members of the animal care team, not just the ones who have passion for it. And, finally, enrichment programs have an evaluation component that ensures accountability and well-being for the animals in our care. We hope that you find the information on this web site useful in developing and enhancing the enrichment program at your zoo or aquarium.