Enrichment Workshop

Heidi Hellmuth,
Saint Louis Zoo


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Do either of these sound familiar? Aaaaah, I’m sure it’ll be OK, they’ve never hurt themselves on things like this before. Or, no, we can’t possibly try that, there’s a chance that something could go wrong! Instead of the two extremes of ignoring risk, or being afraid of any risk at all, this workshop helps to look at enrichment safety more objectively. In this interactive session, we will review some of the important aspects of enrichment safety, and then demonstrate a tool to take you step by step through a process to assess potential enrichment risks, look at ways to mitigate the risks identified, and then to evaluate any remaining risks to make an informed decision about the safety of an enrichment device or strategy.
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Heidi has been working in the animal care and training field for 29 years, in roles such as marine mammal trainer, wildlife educator, zoo keeper, behavior management curator, and animal area curator; and is currently the curator of primates at the Saint Louis Zoo. Heidi is one of the founding directors of the ABMA, and has served in a number of leadership roles within the organization. She is also owned by three parrots, who keep her humble about any delusions she might have about her animal training abilities.