Project: Scent Marking

Materials

Any of the following:

scent of prey or predators, especially any not present near this animal's enclosure (some scents are available at sporting goods stores such as fox, deer, skunk, etc.)
commercial perfumes or deodorants
mouthwash.

Instructions

Scents can be applied to pre-approved browse or enclosure "furniture" (rocks, walls, perching). Use sparingly to avoid possible over-reaction, especially with prey/predator scent. I found that even just touching my bare clean hands to various places without any particular scent being deliberately applied was investigated thoroughly by polar bears later on. Scent enrichment shows best results if used infrequently.

Cautions

Moving marked branches or browse to another individual's enclosure should be done only upon approval of curator and vet to avoid cross-contamination problems.

Species this can work for

-- This information comes from DBS.

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Last update 29-Aug-1998 by DBS.