First use of a microchip-automated nest box in situ by a brush-tailed phascogale (Phascogale tapoatafa)

Microchip-automated devices have the potential to provide individual free-living animals with safe nesting areas and act as a method of targeted food delivery, while excluding competitors and predators. Wildlife have been successfully trained to use such devices in captivity but never in the wild. Bringing animals into captivity may not always be feasible or appropriate due to the high cost, likely increased stress on the animals, and potential biosecurity risk. Therefore to demonstrate proof of concept that wildlife could be trained in situ to use commercially available microchip-automated devices, a brush-tailed phascogale in the wild was exposed to a microchip-automated door attached to a nest box. The phascogale was successfully trained within 15 days to use the microchip-automated door.

Use of Interactive Technology in Captive Great Ape Management

The conservation status of great apes (chimpanzees Pan troglodytes, gorillas Gorilla sp., orangutans Pongo sp., and bonobos Pan paniscus) is grave and zoological institutions are vital for maintaining numbers of these species and educating the public about their importance. Technology provides tools that can assist zoos in meeting these objectives. However, the extant research on technology use in zoos is potentially constrained by small sample sizes and there is no framework detailing the methodologies necessary for the successful incorporation of technology into great ape management. Therefore, this study aimed to determine current technology use in the management of captive great apes and whether technology-directed behaviour differs between ape genera. Primary carers of great apes in zoos were surveyed using a 43-question, online questionnaire. The purpose of integrating interactive technology into captive ape management was primarily for enrichment (53% of respondents), followed by research (20% of respondents). However, only 25% of respondents had apes directly engaged with technology. There were no differences in technology-directed behaviours between ape genera. By identifying differences in practice, this research marks the initial stage in developing a best practice framework for using technology.

Choice, Control and Computers: Empowering Wildlife in Human Care

The purpose of this perspective paper and technology overview is to encourage collaboration between designers and animal carers in zoological institutions, sanctuaries, research facilities, and in soft-release scenarios for the benefit of all stakeholders, including animals, carers, managers, researchers, and visitors. We discuss the evolution of animal-centered technology (ACT), including more recent animal-centered computing to increase animal wellbeing by providing increased opportunities for choice and control for animals to gain greater self-regulation and independence. We believe this will increase animal welfare and relative freedom, while potentially improving conservation outcomes. Concurrent with the benefits to the animals, this technology may benefit human carers by increasing workplace efficiency and improving research data collection using automated animal monitoring systems. These benefits are balanced against cultural resistance to change, the imposition of greater staff training, a potential reduction in valuable animal-carer interaction, and the financial costs for technology design, acquisition, obsolescence, and maintenance. Successful applications will be discussed to demonstrate how animal-centered technology has evolved and, in some cases, to suggest future opportunities. We suggest that creative uses of animal-centered technology, based upon solid animal welfare science, has the potential for greatly increasing managed animal welfare, eventually growing from individual animal enrichment features to facility-wide integrated animal movement systems and transitions to wildlife release and rewilding strategies.

Bandicoot bunkers: training wild-caught northern brown bandicoots (Isoodon macrourus) to use microchip-automated safe refuge

Abstract ContextSoft-release involving supplementary feeding or shelter is commonly used in wildlife reintroduction and rehabilitation projects. However, competition for nestboxes and supplementary feed, as well as predation at feed stations or nestboxes, can reduce the benefits of soft-release. The use of microchip-automated technology can potentially alleviate these concerns, by providing targeted supplementation to only the intended, microchipped animals. AimsWe aimed to train wild-caught northern brown bandicoots, Isoodon macrourus, to use microchip-automated doors to access safe refuge. MethodsBandicoots were trapped from the wild and brought to the Hidden Vale Wildlife Centre, where eight were trained to use the doors in a six-stage process, and then six were trained in a three-stage process, using a peanut butter reward. Key resultsBandicoots learned to use the doors in as few as 3 days. The duration of visits to the door generally increased during training, although the number of visits decreased. ConclusionsThe bandicoots successfully learned to use the microchip-automated doors, which shows that this technology has great potential with wildlife, particularly given the short training times required. ImplicationsThe use of these microchip-automated doors with wildlife has many potential applications, including supplementary feeding stations, nestboxes, monitoring in the wild, as well as enrichment for wild animals in captivity.