Animals in a zoo live easy. They don’t have to hunt or battle the elements for survival. They can get lazy, overweight and bored. And just like young humans, they never listen when you tell them about just how good they have it. To combat animal ennui, zookeepers at the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium give their charges brain teasers and other thinking activities, known in animal-trainer lingo as “animal enrichment.” Although such activities happen behind the scenes all year, for the next two weekends visitors to the zoo will be able to watch some of the enrichment activities as part of the Indoor Kid’s Zoofari. In a tank in the aquarium on a recent morning, several archer fish spit very accurate blasts of water at small pieces of shrimp that aquarist Lisa Veatch has stuck on a rock wall about 8 inches above the water’s surface. In the wild, these fish would use their sharpshooting to knock unsuspecting insects into the water for a quick meal. “They won’t get as lazy, get as fat, if they’re doing what they do in the wild,” Veatch says. Over in the Primate House, orangutans are fascinated by a bubble bath, splashing around water and eating bubbles. “This will keep them busy for a long time – I mean, hours – unless they spill it,” says Michelle Farmerie, primate keeper and trainer at the zoo. “Sometimes, they’ll take towels and wring them out and try to scrub parts of the exhibit.” Farmerie spearheads the animal enrichment programs for the zoo. She says such programs help to build more trust between keeper and creature, letting animal trainers get closer to the animals for veterinary care and research. She divides enrichment activities into groups: Diet variation involves changing what foods the animals receive and how that food is served. For example, gibbons and orangutans might get pumpkins during the fall, either whole (so they can break it themselves) or in pieces (so they can search for the scattered seeds). “Browse” refers to periodically changing the landscape in an animal’s quarters. Puzzle feeders are treats wrapped in a container the animal must open on its own. Bears and lions might get hollow logs filled with honey and other treats. An octopus gets its treat in a closed jar. Novel objects include paper bags stuffed with food, cardboard boxes or the orangutans’ washtub. Sensory stimulation involves keepers using strong-smelling spices and even music or television. The orangutans, Farmerie says, love cartoons. One gorilla used to watch Rosie O’Donnell’s talk show. What that says about Rosie, no one knows. “Without this (stimulation), they wouldn’t be able to express their natural instincts,” Farmerie says, “which we hope creates a better environment for them.”

Indoor Winter Kid’s Zoofari

9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday through Jan. 3. Closed Christmas Day Animal enrichment activities, 11 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and Dec. 28 and 29 $6; $5 for senior citizens; free for age 13 and younger Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium, Highland Park (412) 665-3640

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