I mentioned this briefly yesterday in the Tropical Pack announcement thread, and figured I would make a thread specifically to discuss this further.
A lot of the enrichment items in Planet Zoo are what could be termed by zoo professionals as having 'high visual impact' - in essence, they look very artificial. This is opposed to the more naturalistic 'low visual impact' enrichment items, which have relatively few examples (the beaver pond, mud bath, scratching tree and goat climbing mountain all spring to mind).
One of the most versatile enrichment items that could be added to Planet Zoo is a rotting log. The picture below provides a good example of what I'm thinking of - preferably with little to no bark, perhaps some moss growing on it and the wood inside the outer part of the log being soft and crumbly. By being so nondescript in appearance, it could work in the enclosures of animals from taiga, temperate, tropical and probably grassland biomes without looking out-of-place.
The main function of a rotting log is to provide a foraging site for insectivorous animals. The thinking behind using a rotting log is that the wood is either collected from a natural woodland complete with small invertebrates hiding within it, or is seeded artificially with typical feeder insects (leaving a log in with mealworms encourages them to burrow into any cracks or crevices). The animal, smelling the food within, tears the log apart with its claws to reach the hidden insects. It is one of the most naturalistic and effective enrichment items for many animals.
I imagine the rotting log working in different ways for different species. Those animals using it as food enrichment would either destroy it completely after the first few uses (larger animals, such as bears, anteaters and aardvarks) or have a longer period of use before it is destroyed (smaller species such as the small carnivores, birds, armadillos and pangolin). Those using it as toy enrichment (the cats) would not destroy the log at all, but it will become lined with scratch marks over time.
1. Now, onto the animals currently in-game which would definitely be able to use this enrichment item:
Base game
South America Pack
Southeast Asia Animal Pack
Africa Pack
Europe Pack
Wetlands Animal Pack
Twilight Pack
Grasslands Animal Pack
www.mindenpictures.com
Tropical Pack
2. Some other animals may be able to use the rotting log as food enrichment:
There are another five species for which I am undecided. Three of them are species which potentially forage for invertebrates in the dead wood, with the other two being animals that feed on the wood itself.
3. Potential use of the rotting log as toy enrichment:
Dead logs can also be used by animals as a way to mark their territories or sharpen their claws, which I would include under toy enrichment. I would say that all eleven species of cat currently in-game should be able to use the horizontal log as a scratching site:
So, taken altogether, at least nineteen habitat animals would be able to use the rotting log as food enrichment, and twenty-three at most. Add to that another eleven species which could use it as toy enrichment. With up to thirty-four animals able to use it in some way, this would be among the most versatile of all enrichment items in the game.
What future animals could potentially use the rotting log enrichment item:
The good thing is that there would also be lots of potential to add other species that can use the rotting log as an enrichment item, including some fairly popular species:
A lot of the enrichment items in Planet Zoo are what could be termed by zoo professionals as having 'high visual impact' - in essence, they look very artificial. This is opposed to the more naturalistic 'low visual impact' enrichment items, which have relatively few examples (the beaver pond, mud bath, scratching tree and goat climbing mountain all spring to mind).
One of the most versatile enrichment items that could be added to Planet Zoo is a rotting log. The picture below provides a good example of what I'm thinking of - preferably with little to no bark, perhaps some moss growing on it and the wood inside the outer part of the log being soft and crumbly. By being so nondescript in appearance, it could work in the enclosures of animals from taiga, temperate, tropical and probably grassland biomes without looking out-of-place.
The main function of a rotting log is to provide a foraging site for insectivorous animals. The thinking behind using a rotting log is that the wood is either collected from a natural woodland complete with small invertebrates hiding within it, or is seeded artificially with typical feeder insects (leaving a log in with mealworms encourages them to burrow into any cracks or crevices). The animal, smelling the food within, tears the log apart with its claws to reach the hidden insects. It is one of the most naturalistic and effective enrichment items for many animals.
I imagine the rotting log working in different ways for different species. Those animals using it as food enrichment would either destroy it completely after the first few uses (larger animals, such as bears, anteaters and aardvarks) or have a longer period of use before it is destroyed (smaller species such as the small carnivores, birds, armadillos and pangolin). Those using it as toy enrichment (the cats) would not destroy the log at all, but it will become lined with scratch marks over time.
1. Now, onto the animals currently in-game which would definitely be able to use this enrichment item:
Base game
- Aardvark
- Chinese pangolin
Arguably the two most important base game species for this enrichment item. Certainly in the case of pangolins the provision of rotting logs is considered essential for their care as it prevents a stereotypical behaviour called clawing (whereby the animal claws at the enclosure boundary, often drawing blood in the process), while it is also highly beneficial to aardvarks.
Sources:
Aardvark - 'Rotten logs are often collected from the woods and given as they contain large numbers of insects for the aardvarks.'
Page 74 (text actually saying this has gone off the bottom of the page): https://www.colchester-zoo.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Management-of-Zoo-Animals-2022.pdf
Chinese pangolin - 'To satiate their outsized appetites, pangolins also rip apart rotting logs...'
Under heading 'Vital to healthy ecosystems': https://www.ifaw.org/international/journal/pangolins-ecosystem-gardeners
This reference refers to Sunda pangolins, but I think the Chinese pangolin would be similar 'In enclosures with rotting logs, ample soil and leaf litter, frozen and live ants or other food items could be scattered, potentially reducing clawing by appropriate redirection of the behavior.'
- Formosan black bear
- Grizzly bear
- Himalayan brown bear
Apart from the polar bear, giant panda and possibly the spectacled bear, all bears are heavily insectivorous and often use their large claws to extract insects from rotting logs and tree stumps in the wild.
Sources:
Asiatic black bear - 'Horizontal tree trunks or large logs: When rotting, provide insects for the bears to search for.'
Page 20: https://cza.nic.in/uploads/documents/publications/english/fr on black bear by darjeeling zoo.pdf
Grizzly bear - 'Overturned rocks or broken-up, rotten logs can be a sign that a bear has been foraging for grubs or insects.'
Under heading 'Hiking and horse packing': https://westernwildlife.org/tips-fo...text=If a grizzly bear is,bear you didn't see!
Brown bear - 'Provide lots of rotting logs and deep soil for digging opportunities so bears can maintain muscle and use their bodies to find food.'
Slide 8, titled 'Bears are strong': https://wildwelfare.org/wp-content/uploads/Brown-BearFINAL.pdf
- Indian peafowl
With only five enrichment items in total, the peafowl could probably do with an additional one. I could not find anything directly stating that peafowl use rotting logs but chickens, which are smaller in size but forage in a similar manner, are said to be able to tear apart soft rotting wood when searching for insects.
Sources:
Chicken (also workable, I think, with peafowl) - 'A log has to be pretty rotten for the birds to be able to work it good. Once it is soft enough they will tear it apart.'
Post #9 on this thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/rotted-log.408584/
- Japanese macaque
- Mandrill
Both macaques and mandrills, being large omnivorous and ground-dwelling primates, often forage for invertebrates in rotting wood. They will perform this behaviour both in the wild and in captivity.
Sources:
Macaque (stump-tailed rather than Japanese, but I think there would be similarities between the two species) - 'The small monkey team have come across some insect-laden rotten logs for the eight stump-tailed macaques to enjoy.'
Under heading 'Episode 8': https://primateplanet.tv/portfolio/monkey-life-series-14/
Mandrill - 'When the mandrills were actively engaged in searching for food and processing it they were described as foraging. They were extremely dextrous and exploratory foragers, turning over the leaf litter, splitting open stems, dead branches, and rotting logs...'
South America Pack
- Colombian white-faced capuchin
Capuchin monkeys are what are known as extractive foragers, which use their hands to explore and find food hidden in small spaces. This includes within cracks and crevices on rotting wood, so I am including the capuchin here.
Sources:
'Some non-human primates, such as capuchins and saddle-backed tamarins, are extractive foragers, using their hands to obtain foods (e.g. insects and small vertebrates) that are hidden in tree holes, rotting wood, termite nests, the base of palm fronds, bromeliads and embedded under bark.'
Under the heading 'Touch': https://www.nc3rs.org.uk/3rs-resources/senses-and-communication-non-human-primate
- Giant anteater
Giant anteaters are another very important species for this enrichment item. Rotting logs are among the most common enrichment given to anteaters, and there are many examples of zoos around the world offering these items to their anteaters.
Sources:
“We didn’t add anything to the logs before we placed them onto the dirt in her den, but there must have been something on them that took her fancy as she spent ages rolling them around, breaking bits off with her sharp claws and sniffing and licking them with her snout and tongue.”
From this article, with video included: https://www.dudleyzoo.org.uk/rotten-logs-romy/
Southeast Asia Animal Pack
- North Sulawesi babirusa
Babirusa forage on invertebrates periodically in the wild, and rotten logs are one of the recommended enrichment items to be given to babirusa according to their EAZA best practice guidelines.
Sources:
'Some suggestions for enrichment devices for use with the babirusa include: Rotten logs' (fourth bullet-point down the list)
From the bottom of page 52: https://www.eaza.net/assets/Uploads...sa-EAZA-Best-Practice-Guidelines-Approved.pdf
- Sun bear
Of all the bears, the sun bear is perhaps the most specialised at feeding from dead wood (only rivalled by the sloth bear), with huge claws for their relatively small size. Providing rotting logs is a common means of enriching sun bears in captivity.
Sources:
'Bulan is a very busy bear. She digs big holes to sleep in and shreds rotten logs looking for bugs.'
In the second paragraph about Bulan: https://experiment.com/u/MPHyJg
Africa Pack
- Meerkat
Meerkats are another species for which I would say the rotten log is necessary. Many zoos use these items to encourage foraging behaviour in their meerkats, and they will use one whenever it is available.
Sources:
This video, from Shepreth Wildlife Park, shows meerkats using a rotting log:
Europe Pack
- European badger
With their large claws and powerful bodies, badgers are well-adapted for extracting invertebrates from rotting wood. I cannot find a written reference to dead wood being provided for badgers in captivity, partly because they are not that regular in most larger zoos. However, I could find images of badgers foraging in rotting logs.
Sources:
A photograph of a wild European badger foraging in a rotting log:
Meles Meles) Wild, native, European badger foraging at night on...
Meles Meles) Wild, native, European badger foraging at night on decaying fallen log with purple heather, pine cones, green moss and toadstools. Autumn. Night time image. Horizontal. Space for copy.
www.istockphoto.com
Wetlands Animal Pack
- Asian small-clawed otter
A bit like capuchin monkeys, the small-clawed otter is a touch-orientated hunter so a rotting log with small invertebrates to find is a perfect form of enrichment for these intelligent small carnivores.
Sources:
'After their first few quiet days of settling in, Tilly and Pip embarked on an exciting enrichment programme which included a ball pit, various forage bags and boxes, tunnels, rotten logs, fluffy blankets, little floating boats filled with fish, flowerpots stuffed with hidden treats and much more!'
In the fourth paragraph down: https://www.londonzoo.org/zoo-stories/news/otterly-devoted-you
- Red-crowned crane
Cranes have long sensitive beaks that they probe into soft ground to find food, and soft rotting wood provides a similar experience. Rotting logs are used as an enrichment item for this species - they will take time to break them apart.
Sources:
'Piles of old logs and dead trunks are very popular with captive cranes as they will actively search through them looking for interesting titbits.'
This video, from the above article, shows red-crowned cranes breaking into a rotting log:
Twilight Pack
- Striped skunk
Skunks are another of the mostly insectivorous small carnivores that dig into rotting wood, much like the meerkat and badger. The rotting log would provide a naturalistic food enrichment for these woodland-dwelling animals.
Sources:
'Skunks use the long, sharp claws of the forefeet to pry apart rotting logs to obtain beetle grubs...'
Under heading 'Food and Feeding Behaviour': https://www.esf.edu/aec/adks/mammals/striped_skunk.php
Grasslands Animal Pack
- Nine-banded armadillo
Along with the aardvark, pangolin and anteater, the armadillo is another animal for which I would say the rotting log enrichment would be key. They are often recorded in the wild digging into decaying wood to extract insects.
Sources:
'Armadillos have been observed tearing the bark from fallen trees, presumably to feed on the insects (beetles and termites) in the decaying wood.'
From pages 3-4: https://bugwoodcloud.org/resource/files/15322.pdf
This photograph also shows a nine-banded armadillo tearing into a decaying log:
Nine-banded Armadillo stock photo
Stock photo Nine-banded Armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) searching for insects and grubs to eat in a decaying log, Hill Country, Texas. Buy a licence on mindenpictures.com
www.mindenpictures.com
Tropical Pack
- Red river hog
The red river hog is said to like using its snout to push around and move logs, and also enjoys chasing and catching insects given as enrichment; taken together (plus the recommendation for the babirusa) I think the red river hog could use the rotting log enrichment item.
Sources:
'They like hunting down live crickets and minnows.' plus 'Rocks, logs, boomer balls, spools, and other items to push and throw around are also fun.'
Under heading 'Notes on Enrichment and Training': https://ambassadoranimalsag.wordpress.com/2018/09/15/red-river-hog/
2. Some other animals may be able to use the rotting log as food enrichment:
There are another five species for which I am undecided. Three of them are species which potentially forage for invertebrates in the dead wood, with the other two being animals that feed on the wood itself.
- Nile monitor
- Asian water monitor
Monitor lizards mostly feed primarily on invertebrates and have large raking claws that are used for digging, so I think there would be nothing stopping them from tearing through a rotting log. However, I cannot find anything to suggest that either of these species have been provided with rotting log enrichment when kept in captivity. I did find a source saying that rotting logs could be enriching for lizards, but did not get any more specific than that.
Sources:
'Naturally rotten logs with insects inside or fake logs with time-released (on a random schedule) insects can elicit foraging behaviors.'
Page 3, under 'Dietary Enrichment': https://www.aazk.org/wp-content/uploads/Suggested-Guidelines-for-Reptile-Enrichment.pdf
- Bornean orangutan
- Western chimpanzee
- Western lowland gorilla
The orangutan is another insect-eater that exploits rotting wood, often gathering termites that have infested dead logs. The chimpanzee and gorilla both consume rotting wood as a supplement to their diet, as decaying wood is rich in sodium that is otherwise lacking in the plants they eat.
Sources:
Orangutan - 'Termites are readily accessible on the forest floor and due to their high protein content, are an important part of any orangutan diet. As you can see in the video, the students in forest school are shown how to break off chunks of rotting wood and then suck out the termites with a quick and sharp inhalation!'
Point 8 in the list below: https://savetheorangutan.org/2021/02/01/10-important-survival-skills-orangutans-need-to-learn/
Chimpanzee - 'Chimpanzees consumed wood primarily from decaying trees of Neoboutonia macrocalyx, which had substantially higher sodium content than all other dietary items tested.'
This entire scientific paper catalogues wood-eating in chimpanzees: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7180133/
Gorilla - 'Fecal sample analysis revealed that Western lowland gorillas, a species most-frequently using the stumps, consumed large amount of the dead wood as regular food.'
This scientific paper looks at wood as a regular food source for gorillas: https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jvms/77/10/77_15-0111/_pdf
3. Potential use of the rotting log as toy enrichment:
Dead logs can also be used by animals as a way to mark their territories or sharpen their claws, which I would include under toy enrichment. I would say that all eleven species of cat currently in-game should be able to use the horizontal log as a scratching site:
- Amur leopard
- Bengal tiger
- Caracal
- Cheetah
- Clouded leopard
- Cougar
- Eurasian lynx
- Jaguar
- Siberian tiger
- Snow leopard
- West African lion
Horizontal logs are very important for cats to mark their territories with; indeed in some species (such as the ocelot) they will only scratch their claws on horizontal logs.
Sources:
'Cats also create long-term visual signals by scratching on surfaces, such as vertical and horizontal tree trunks, posts, logs...'
Although I cannot access the full paper, it comes from this source: https://www.bsavalibrary.com/content/chapter/10.22233/9781905319879.chap4
Also, if you type in '[insert cat species] scratching claws on log' into Google images, you can find pictures of all the in-game cats performing this scratching behaviour.
So, taken altogether, at least nineteen habitat animals would be able to use the rotting log as food enrichment, and twenty-three at most. Add to that another eleven species which could use it as toy enrichment. With up to thirty-four animals able to use it in some way, this would be among the most versatile of all enrichment items in the game.
What future animals could potentially use the rotting log enrichment item:
The good thing is that there would also be lots of potential to add other species that can use the rotting log as an enrichment item, including some fairly popular species:
- Marsupials and monotremes: The short-beaked echidna, greater bilby and numbat would all definitely use this item, were it available.
- The tamandua is a fairly commonly-kept animal that appreciates rotting logs as a foraging opportunity.
- Primates: There are a surprising number of primates that forage in rotting wood. Tamarins, several other macaque species (including Sulawesi crested and lion-tailed), mangabeys and particularly the aye-aye feed on invertebrates within the wood. Mangabeys also, along with spider monkeys, consume the wood itself.
- Carnivores: Sloth and American black bears, coatis, the Owston's civet, mongooses and the honey badger are all well-known for tearing into rotting wood, and would be able to use this as a food enrichment item. Any new cat species could use the log as toy enrichment.
- Peccaries will break into rotting logs, just as the rainforest pigs do, in order to eat invertebrates.
- Ground-living birds: Plenty of ground-living birds will use rotting logs, either in the wild or in captivity. This would include most larger gamebirds, the brown kiwi, superb lyrebird and ground hornbill.
