Red River Hog Enrichment

Aaron

Aaron

Member
Hi all,
I'm in the process of trying to come up methods of enrichment for a pair of male Red River Hog.

I have a couple of methods that are on-going at the zoo & have been in practise for some time before I got employed here. For example: a buoy (floating device) that they pick up in their mouths & play with, &; we stack a load of logs up into 2 piles resembling wig-wams - its done to exercise their bodies & minds & occassionally I hide food in them.

I'm kind of mulling over certain ideas & trying to develop them further. One idea I tried was to scent different logs with various scents...the most popular with them was onion & orange - the latter they prefered. Having spoken to the head keeper about this very subject we kind of got to thinking it would be nice to stimulate other senses - not just their drive for food :D !!

I just wondered if anyone has any ideas, or even better if anyone has worked with or owns any Red River Hog, how they behave & what you have done with them. Am interested to hear other points of view.

Any kind of conversation started from this will be greatly appreciated.

Aaron
 
I know most pigs root around for food, so possibly you could bury some food with a strong oder. This would be a type of enrichment, as well as natural behavior.
 
Yeah thats something I'm trying to combine with another idea...the head keeper has mentioned "food trails" before, so perhaps a strong scent, maybe natural herbs, leading to food, buried...they can dig the ground up quickly so it'd be worth burying it somewhat deeply.
 
Picture of hogs (don't remember the species) foraging for food in shallow water come to mind. Someone will remember where to find it on zoochat, I don't.
 
Hi,

You could borrow examples from domestic pigs. They like being is social groups and like toys which can be rolled, pulled or carried (eg. balls). Naturally, they also like to root, and good enrichment may be to bury food pieces in the mud.

You may also try scratching post, and some hanging thing which a pig can pull to get food falling off.

Animals usually are less interested in enrichment for interest sake, without any practical gain (eg. smells and sounds contra food or social contact).
 
Have you tried salt licks? I know that fellow ungulates such as zebras, antelopes and others love these and it is beneficial for their health, as well as stimulating for the animals.
 
Have you tried peanut butter smeared on enrichment toys or on exhibit socks, ect.?
Also, hanging feeders where the hogs can hit the toy and their diet will come out of holes places around the toy?
 
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