| Julia Hoy |
Trips to the zoo as a child and work experience at Melbourne Zoo as a teenager helped steer Julia Hoy (pictured) towards a career in animal science and a project that could have a major impact in zoos around the world.
“I remember thinking how bored some of the animals looked and how they didn’t have much to do.”
The concerned teenager went on to study for a degree in animal science at La Trobe University but it was not until she started an honours project at the University of Queensland’s Gatton campus in 2003 that that first contact with captive animals began to influence her work.
Julia’s speciality is environmental enrichment, an area of study which seeks to improve the welfare of zoo animals with the ultimate aim of replicating wild conditions and possibly re-introducing future generations to the wild.
Her honours project involved filming 11 squirrel monkeys at Alma Park Zoo north of Brisbane over a six month period and monitoring their behaviour as they responded to dietary changes.
Peeled, chopped food was replaced by whole foods which were sometimes hidden from view so that the monkeys’ activity levels increased due to the extra time required to find and process the food.
The monkeys were so used to their set routine several of them could not peel bananas and when they had to work harder for food they became frustrated and tried to bite their keepers.
“In the wild, animals spend 70 per cent of their time searching for and manipulating for food. In zoos this can be as low as three per cent of their day.”
“That can lead to boredom, low activity levels, a lack of stimulation and poor breeding rates.”
As part of her PhD thesis Julia undertook a survey of captive mammal enrichment in zoos around the world which has resulted in high levels of support for her enrichment program.
In 2005 she visited zoos in the United States, the United Kingdom and Singapore and earlier this year surveyed zoos in Australia and New Zealand.
The second phase of her research is a project with a colony of owl monkeys designed to support the theory that unpredictability improves welfare.
The animals will have a microchip inserted under their skin. A number of scanners will be set up around their enclosure. When the monkeys move close to the scanner it will activate a hidden computer programmed to release or not to release food.
Julia and her supervisors Dr Peter Murray and Dr Andrew Tribe, are working with University of Southern Queensland researchers Mark Dunn and Professor John Billingsley to develop a prototype which will eventually release not only food but toys, smells, sounds, and medication.
“It could even open a gate which could act as a temporary escape for an animal being chased by more dominant members of the group.”
When it comes to applying her enrichment program to animals in captivity, Julia is thinking big.
The proposed system will bring a new zest for life to many mammals held in captivity …. elephants and tigers included.
Last reviewed 24 June 2006