Environmental enrichment and the behavioral effects on captive Beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas)

Authors

Tsung-Hsien Li
Evonne Lim
I-Chun Chen
Chuen-Fu Lin
Shih-Chu Chen
Ming-An Tsai

Abstract

Environmental enrichment methods are meant to encourage animals to display their complete ethogram while under human care in zoos and aquariums. In this study, we sought to characterize the effectiveness of environmental enrichment (involving the inclusion of toys in the living environment) on captive beluga whales in the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium. Our results indicate that belugas with toys spend less time floating and swimming repetitively than do belugas without toys. The presence of toys was also shown to enhance social interactions among captive belugas. Overall, our findings indicate that the provision of toys can enrich the living condition of beluga whales in a captive environment.

DOI

10.56808/2985-1130.3249

First Page

559

Last Page

565

Recommended Citation

Li, Tsung-Hsien; Lim, Evonne; Chen, I-Chun; Lin, Chuen-Fu; Chen, Shih-Chu; and Tsai, Ming-An (2022) "Environmental enrichment and the behavioral effects on captive Beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas)," The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine: Vol. 52: Iss. 3, Article 15.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.56808/2985-1130.3249
Available at: https://digital.car.chula.ac.th/tjvm/vol52/iss3/15