Hide menu

Conclusion

Photograph taken by Katarzyna Anna Kakol

The changes that occured in the reindeers‘ behaviour show that presenting enrichment to captive reindeer does have a positive effect on their behaviour and welfare. Their activity pattern for example, became similar to wild reindeer.

Food enrichment seems to be the best enrichment for these reindeer, as they showed continuous interest throughout the enrichment period.

These reindeer showed signs of neophobia throughout the study, which could be the reason for their lack of interest towards olfactory enrichment and tactile enrichment. However, it did decrease with time and they were more eager to explore enrichment later on. Therefore, presenting these reindeer with enrichment can also help them minimize their fear of novel foods and objects.


Responsible for this page: Director of undergraduate studies Biology
Last updated: 06/01/21