Could High-Tech Toys Help Animals Act More Wild?
Zoos across the United States are integrating high-tech devices like puzzle feeders and interactive audio walls to provide mental stimulation for captive animals. Researchers believe these tools help mimic natural behaviors and improve the welfare of animals living in enclosures.
Why it matters
It explores the intersection of animal welfare and technology, offering new ways to address the psychological needs of captive wildlife.
Science Could High-Tech Toys Help Animals Act More Wild? Zookeepers are trying a new fix for animal “boredom.”
Save Hudson, a 10-year-old arctic fox at Massachusetts’s Stone Zoo, was not doing all that much when his caretakers came by his enclosure one sunny morning last month. But the moment he detected their approach, he scurried over. His eyes focused on the pink, kibble-filled puzzle box they were holding—a programmable, lab-made device that’s part of an experiment in letting captive animals play around with technology.
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