about boredom are that
it’s unpleasant and people
want to escape it,” says lead
researcher Rebecca Meagher.
“We wanted to test whether
animals also wanted to change
their situation when given the
chance.” In other words, if the
mink were truly bored, they would
leap to investigate the new items.
And that’s what happened.
he mink from the plain cages paid
attention to the new items more quickly
and for longer than the mink from the enriched
cages. hey also ate more food treats—some people also
eat mindlessly.
he researchers also tested how to recognize bored mink,
since the animals can’t talk. he main clue? Bored mink lie
still for long periods of time with their eyes wide open.
“We can’t tell for sure what they are feeling,” says
Meagher, “but we can tell that when they’re in the type of
situation that causes boredom in humans, they respond
in a similar way.”
Stressed-out Cats
We can also tell a bit about how animals are feeling by
measuring their hormones, especially a class of “stress
hormones” called glucocorticoids. (See how glucocorticoids
relate to boredom in “he Stress of Being Bored” on page 21.)
Researchers at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and
several other zoos studied the well-being of clouded leopards
in this way. Typically, clouded leopards don’t thrive in zoos.
hey can get violent with one another, harm themselves by
biting their tails or plucking their fur, or spend too much
time pacing or hiding. hey also don’t breed very well. Are
these problems because they’re always stressed?
To ind out, researchers studied 72 clouded leopards
in 12 North American zoos. hey measured the cats’
glucocorticoid levels in feces they collected. hey also had
zookeepers answer questionnaires about how the cats
behaved. For example, “How
often does this individual bite,
chew, or lick its tail?” and “How
much time does this individual
spend hiding?”
One of the major things they
discovered is that the height of
a clouded leopard’s enclosure
matters. he cats that lived in areas
with tall climbing structures were
less stressed than those that weren’t
able to climb much. Clouded leopards are
natural climbers and spend much of their time
up in trees. he captive cats that couldn’t climb high
had more glucocorticoids in their systems and more problem
behaviors than those that could.
Does this mean they were bored? here’s no proof, but
lead researcher Nadja Wielebnowski says, “A lack of being
able to show natural behaviors could lead to chronic stress
through what you might call ‘boredom.’”
Now working out of the Oregon Zoo in Portland,
Wielebnowski is taking her research a step further. She andHOW YOU CAN HELP
It’s fun and fascinating to watch animals
at the zoo, but what can you do to help
make sure they’re not bored?
Zoos often accept donations of safe
items that might interest the animals,
from Christmas trees to bedsheets. They
may also welcome your suggestions for
more complicated enrichment activities.
Check out your zoo’s website or
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their needs.