Types of Enrichment

Any stimulus which evokes species-specific behavior can be considered enrichment, including objects, scents, novel foods, and different methods of preparing foods (for example, frozen in ice). Most enrichment stimuli can be divided into seven groups:

Environmental: changing or adding to the animal's habitat

Feeding: presenting food to an animal in different ways

Manipulation: providing items that can be manipulated by the animal

Puzzle: requiring an animal to solve simple problems to access food or other rewards

Sensory: stimulating animal's visual, olfactory, auditory, tactile, and taste senses

Social: providing the opportunity to interact with other animals, either conspecifics or interspecifics

Training: training animals with positive reinforcement or habituation

Oftentimes, these enrichment groups are combined into a single device or activity.