Academics and zookeepers in Scotland have joined forces to tackle a unique challenge: creating the world’s first interactive enrichment system for giraffes.
Researchers from the University of Glasgow collaborated with animal keepers at Blair Drummond Safari & Adventure Park to develop prototype devices that would enable the park’s five giraffes to trigger sounds on demand. The team’s paper, titled “Hum-ble Beginnings: Exploring Input Modality of Touch and Space for Audio,” will be presented at the ACM Interactive Surfaces and Spaces conference on November 8th.
Providing zoo animals with engaging and entertaining activities is crucial for maintaining their mental and physical well-being.
Meeting the needs of giraffes has always been a challenge for zookeepers, especially because giraffes have a different sleep pattern compared to many other mammals. Instead of sleeping for long hours overnight, they take frequent short naps whenever they feel like it, sleeping for less than 30 minutes at a time.
During their awake hours at night, giraffes in captivity sometimes emit a humming sound—a sustained low-frequency rumble. Animal keepers and wildlife researchers are still unsure why giraffes make these noises.
2023-11-06 11:41:02
Post from phys.org
