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Enrichment for Captive Leopards |
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| Leopards hunt for their prey in the wild and love to chase objects. Hence to stimulate their predatory instincts, balls, piñatas and other such objects have been used in zoos. Some pictorial examples of physical objects that are used for enrichment are depicted below: | |||||
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| Leopards use not just the area on land but are known to climb trees and rest on branches. Hence one can provide logs and platforms at a height in the cage so that the climbing instincts of the leopard are honed. The photos below will aid in designing the leopard’s cage to simulate its natural habitat. | |||||
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Another aspect of enriching the lives of captive felids is through designing different methods of presenting feed. Whole prey can be given to them since that is what their diet is in the wild. In cases of presenting whole prey, the leopard will take time to de-feather it in case of poultry or skin it in case of a mammal like a rabbit, goat kid, etc... |
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| Sounds and smells have also been used for enriching the lives of big cats in captivity. Smelly and odorous spices and herbs like turmeric, mint, basil, lavender, vanilla, etc have been placed, sprayed or smeared in the cage of the leopard and it has been observed that animals have often been attracted to the smells and have spent their time searching for the source of the smell as well as rubbing themselves in the smell. Branches of trees like that of fir or eucalyptus can be used. | |||||
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| Play back of deer calls, bird calls and other animal calls have been used for acoustic enrichment and can also be tried at your facility. The use of dummy animals can be used which incites the stalking behaviour of these predatory species. An illustration of this is depicted below: | |||||
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Basically any activity that is different from the normal routine of the leopard in captivity is a sort of enrichment. Though this document is prepared to serve as a guide for enriching the leopards at your zoo, it would depend on the budget and resources available with you. The creative use of available resources at your disposal will benefit both the animals and the organization. I hope that this will provide fodder for thought and will inspire you to think of other ideas to enrich the leopard’s lives. |
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