CUNY researchers seek to improve welfare in captive birds of prey through olfactory enrichment

(The City University of New York) For the first time, researchers are exploring ways to improve welfare in captive birds of prey through olfactory enrichment -- or using scent cues to alleviate boredom and encourage species-appropriate behavior. A new study appearing in Zoo Biology found that birds of prey, which had learned to associate the presence of food with the scent of peppermint oil, interacted more with peppermint-scented 'sham' packages (i.e. without food) than unscented 'sham' packages.
Source: EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science - Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news