| Summary: | Environmental enrichment is commonly used to improve the welfare of captive animals by offering options to increase behavioural diversity and normal behaviour patterns. The aim of this study was to assess if environmental enrichment has a positive effect on a group of four zoo-housed reindeer, Rangifer tarandus. Three types of environmental enrichment were used: food enrichment, olfactory enrichment, and tactile enrichment, with a spontaneous rotation to prevent habituation. Following a baseline period of ten days without enrichment, the animals’ behaviour was monitored for four months with enrichment. All behaviours shown by the reindeer during the study were categorized into locomotory behaviour, feeding behaviour, passive behaviour, social interactions, and behaviour towards enrichment. The overall level of activity of the reindeer almost doubled between the baseline period (40.8%) and the enrichment period (75.3%), with a significant increase in feeding behaviour (p < 0.001) and a significant decrease in passive behaviour (p < 0.001). Food enrichment had the strongest impact on the reindeer out of the three types of enrichment presented. Even though the reindeer showed a continuous interest towards tactile enrichment, it was low compared to the interest shown towards food enrichment. They also showed little interest in olfactory enrichment. Neophobia may explain the lack of interest by the reindeer to certain types of enrichment that were novel to them. Overall, the presentation of environmental enrichment made the behaviour of the captive reindeer clearly more similar to the behaviour of wild reindeer.
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