Visitors to zoos and aquariums often see animals pacing, swimming in circles, or performing similar acts not normally found in nature. For those concerned about the well-being of captive animals, such observations raise serious questions about the ability of such environments – even those considered “enriched” – to provide for animals’ emotional and physical health.

By Ken Shapiro, Animals and Society Institute

Visitors to zoos and aquariums often see animals pacing, swimming in circles, or performing similar acts not normally found in nature. For those concerned about the well-being of captive animals, such observations raise serious questions about the ability of such environments – even those considered “enriched” – to provide for animals’ emotional and physical health.

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Study Summary

A study originating at George Mason University in Virginia involved sending surveys to 106 accredited zoos that house North American river otters. Questions related to the observation of abnormal repetitive behavior (ARB), defined as being “repetitive, invariant, and has no obvious goal or function,” among the animals, to help determine what factors prompt such behavior. Forty-six percent of the otters in the zoos that completed the survey were found to display ARB (mostly pacing). The authors looked at whether feeding, mating, training, or attempts to escape factored into the onset of ARB. The study was a first step in further investigation into what drives animals to behave this way – and what can be done to alleviate it.

Policy Implications

In a recent visit to a North American zoo – considered one of the more progressive in its treatment of animals – I stopped to watch some river otters. Of the two animals visible, one was swimming in a narrow channel along the front of the exhibit. Initially, I felt that here is a captive animal acting like he or she was “in his element” – being a vibrant, thriving river otter. However, after 15 minutes of observation, it became clear that the animal was repeating the same route over and over. This stereotypical behavior, or ARB, is usually associated with a deprived and impoverished existence. Yet the exhibit, at least to this untutored eye, seemed “enriched.” The current survey and literature review indicates that the commonly adopted strategy of enrichment often does not reduce, let alone eliminate ARB. The complex, often nonintuitive, relationships between attempts at enrichment and stereotypical behavior raise the foundational and increasingly nagging question of the viability of traditional housing and care of most captive animals.

Morabito, P., & Bashaw, M. (2012). A Survey of Abnormal Repetitive Behaviors in North American River Otters Housed in Zoos, Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 15, 3, 208-222.

This research nutshell comes from Ken Shapiro at the Animals and Society Institute (ASI), an organization dedicated to policy-oriented research and human-animal studies. HRC and ASI already collaborate on multiple projects and we will work together to identify important studies for future research nutshells. See the original post on the ASI website.