#but it elicits a natural behavior of tearing open/crushing a tough hide to get to yummy meat and organs

[ruthlesslistener]

probs part of the funniest thing my mom learned from the SD zoo animal care program she took for her ecology degree is that a.) enrichment items don't need to necessarily mimic items from their natural habitat, they just need to elicit natural behaviors, and b.) those behaviors don't necessarily need to be based on positive emotions. Sometimes the best thing to do is to give a captive animal something that will frustrate the hell out of them to get that brain working. Subject those beasts to situations

#mind you it shouldnt be TOO stressful it should be something that is like #optional reward but frustrating to get #you dont put their food in puzzle feeders you put high-value treats in so if they dont get it they wont starve #and if they do they get that satisfaction #but yeah thats why you see lions with meat-stuffed pumpkins #theyd never be exposed to pumpkins in the wild (presumably) #but it elicits a natural behavior of tearing open/crushing a tough hide to get to yummy meat and organs