I feel like I’m about to tell you the story about how, when I was young, I had to walk five miles to school uphill (both ways) in the snow. Well, I did have to walk to the school bus stop (two blocks away) and once in a great while, it was snowing, but there were no hills.

I actually want to tell you about how environmental enrichment has evolved over the past three decades. I feel honored to have worked in the zoo field during most of those three decades and to have had the opportunity to witness the evolution of enrichment. First, though, what do we mean by “enrichment”? Enrichment provides an animal with opportunities for species appropriate behaviors and provides an animal with choices or control over its environment. In other words, if an animal is frightened, it can seek a place to hide. If the animal is hungry, it has an opportunity to forage for food in a manner similar to its wild counterparts.

So back in the olden days, (the late 1970’s), enrichment was not always an integrated part of animal care. In discussions about enrichment, questions were asked about whether it was even “natural” to encourage an animal to “work” for its food. There were long, involved discussions about what was natural and what was unnatural when it came to enrichment. In the 1980’s, enrichment was still something you provided to your animals IF you had the time. But something else was happening in the 1980’s. Small seeds of ideas were planted; keepers started writing articles for Animal Keepers’ Forum describing their enrichment ideas. Some studies were being conducted in zoos and laboratories measuring the impact of enrichment on behavior. In the 1990’s, the momentum continued and, in fact, interest in enrichment broadened. The first international conference on environmental enrichment was held in 1993. During the 90’s, enrichment was a major topic at keeper conferences, at Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) conferences, at laboratory conferences.

In the current decade, more remarkable things have happened. All zoos and aquariums that are accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums must have an enrichment plan in place. Zoo and aquarium professionals are developing standardized guidelines for the animals under their care. Just like husbandry, nutrition, veterinary care, and housing, enrichment is a core component of these guidelines. Enrichment is evolving into a key tenant of animal care in zoos, aquariums, and laboratories.

This is an exciting time to be working with animals. The welfare of our animals is an ever growing focus as we improve their lives through, among many other things, enrichment. This evolution is the result of commitment and persistence of animal care staff, as well as through the hard work of scientists, veterinarians, and directors.

This web site is meant to provide you with some tools you can use to develop and expand the enrichment program at your facility. I hope you find its content a useful basis upon which to develop enrichment ideas for the animals under your care.