Date of Graduation
Summer 2019
Degree
Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis
Department
Psychology
Committee Chair
Michael Clayton
Abstract
Problem behaviors occur often in captive wild animals due to stress and boredom. Environmental enrichment is one of the most successful methods to help minimize these types of behaviors in many captive wild animals. The current study investigated preferences of play items and scents for seven adult Bengal tigers in a Tiger Sanctuary using a free-operant preference assessment. Two subspecies of Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris) are represented. Six of the tigers are Panthera tigris tigris and one is Panthera tigris altaica. Three phases were run on each tiger, ultimately establishing a hierarchy of preferred play items and scents for each tiger included in the study. The significance of systematic manipulation of play items and scents (preference testing) with wild animals is discussed as well as the importance of caring for captive animals.
Keywords
environmental enrichment, Bengal tigers, free-operant, preference assessment, olfactory stimuli
Subject Categories
Animal Studies | Applied Behavior Analysis
Copyright
© Trista Yvonne Shrock
Recommended Citation
Shrock, Trista Yvonne, "Making a Tiger's Day: Free-Operant Assessment and Environmental Enrichment" (2019). MSU Graduate Theses/Dissertations. 3438.
https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/3438
