Anticipatory Behavior and Enrichment: Insights into Assessing and Managing Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina richardii) Pup Welfare in a Wildlife Rehabilitation Setting

TL;DR

This study explores how different types of enrichment affect the emotional well-being of rehabilitating harbor seal pups by observing their anticipatory behavior before feeding.

Contribution

The study introduces anticipatory behavior as a practical, non-invasive welfare assessment tool in wildlife rehabilitation settings.

Findings

Cognitive enrichment may improve emotional well-being by reducing anticipatory behavior duration.

Anticipatory behavior can serve as a useful indicator of reward sensitivity and welfare in rehabilitating seals.

Structural enrichment was associated with longer periods of anticipatory behavior compared to cognitive enrichment.

Abstract

Caring for animals in wildlife rehabilitation requires not only meeting their physical needs but supporting their emotional well-being. However, it is difficult to measure how animals feel in this setting without using intensive methods. One promising way to do this is by observing “anticipatory behavior,” which is how animals act when they are expecting something positive within their environment, like a scheduled feed. This behavior can reveal how strongly animals expect or need rewarding experiences, and offers insight into their welfare. In our study, we worked with fourteen harbor seal pups during rehabilitation. Each day we provided the pups with different types of environmental enrichment, such as objects to explore (structural enrichment) or tasks that challenged their problem-solving abilities (cognitive enrichment). We then observed the pups’ behavior before feedings to see how the enrichment influenced their anticipation of food. Although both forms of enrichment were engaging, we found a trend suggesting pups given problem-solving tasks showed shorter periods of anticipatory behavior than seals given objects to explore. This finding suggests that cognitive enrichment may help improve emotional well-being of seals during rehabilitation. Using this approach, caretakers may better be able to support the welfare of marine mammals in their care.

The assessment of animal welfare in rehabilitation settings is a critical aspect of effective care, yet typical metrics often fail to fully capture rehabilitating animals’ emotional experiences in a non-invasive way. Anticipatory behavior has emerged as a promising animal welfare indicator, reflecting an animal’s perceived need for rewards based on available opportunities in their environment. By tracking anticipatory responses, caretakers can gain insight into an animal’s reward sensitivity and use this information to guide management interventions. This study investigated the effects of enrichment type on anticipatory behavior in fourteen, rehabilitating harbor seal pups (Phoca vitulina richardii). We provided pups with daily sessions of either structural or cognitive enrichment and recorded their behavioral responses. During scheduled feeding sessions, we identified behaviors that emerged as anticipatory, then measured the frequency and duration of anticipatory behavior prior to the feeds to assess how enrichment types influenced the seals’ reward sensitivity, and thus their welfare. While enrichment interaction did not directly modulate anticipatory behavior, we observed a trend suggesting that exposure to cognitive enrichment reduced anticipatory behavior duration compared to structural enrichment. These findings align with previous research in zoo settings, where cognitive enrichment has been linked to improved welfare through reduced anticipatory behavior, though this effect has not been explored in a wildlife rehabilitation context. This study highlights the value of anticipatory behavior as a practical welfare assessment tool in rehabilitation settings and underscores the potential for enrichment, particularly cognitive, to improve welfare in rehabilitating marine mammals.

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