Gus the polar bear was the star attraction at the Central Park Zoo from his arrival in 1988 until he passed in 2013. In the 1990s, Gus gained international fame for swimming laps in the pool for hours on end without stopping. Known as stereotypic behavior, this is an abnormal repetitive behavior pattern which occurs almost without variation and without an apparent immediate function. Stereotypic behavior has been used as an indicator of animal welfare in zoos and aquariums worldwide. In the best case, stereotypies can be viewed as a coping mechanism in response to adverse environmental conditions. In the worst case, stereotypies may reflect chronic suffering or brain dysfunction.
Gus would propel himself with a push of his hind legs against the pool wall and glide on his back, nose straight out like the bow of a boat, across the pool to the opposite corner. He’d bump up against the thick glass wall, gather himself, and then launch off the glass across the pool again, underwater this time and resurfacing when he reached the opposite ledge. The pattern would repeat itself over and over non-stop for hours. Sometimes he would swim back and forth between two spots. Sometimes it was three spots like the vertices of a triangle. Visitors could stand in one place at the viewing window and watch Gus predictably push off with the same foot on the same exact spot on the glass. Many would use the opportunity to place their hand against the glass as if giving a hi-five to Gus or to compare the size of their hand to his massive paw.
While other animals and certainly other polar bears in zoos exhibit some form of stereotypic behavior, Gus garnered headlines and attention that no other animal did. He was called the “bi-polar bear” and a 1995 satirical book called What’s Worrying Gus: The True Stories of a Big-City Bear depicted him lying in a therapist’s chair as if he was sharing his struggles with life as a polar bear in New York City.
Late in 2003, I became the primary caretaker for Gus and his partner, Ida. By that time, his stereotypy was deeply ingrained and the zoo had relatively limited success at treating it. I was grateful for the opportunity and challenge. Little would I know at the time that the lessons I learned from this experience would influence my approach to training animals for the rest of my life.
I teamed up with another keeper named Celia, a 20-year veteran at the zoo, and together we developed a new Polar Bear Training and Enrichment Program. We were given a fair amount of creative freedom to try new ideas. Our plan had three main focus areas:
Train cooperative care behaviors so trainers and medical staff could perform low-stress medical procedures and exams.
Provide environmental enrichment that encouraged foraging, exploring, manipulating, problem solving, and engaging with objects.
Give increased access to the bear den to provide relief from the public or adverse environmental conditions.
Each day before the zoo opened, I would spend about an hour setting up environmental enrichment in the bear exhibit. This usually consisted of different puzzles and novel items placed around the exhibit to encourage foraging and exploring. I specifically increased the complexity and variety of enrichment items. Holes were cut into giant plastic “ice floes” and other toys so food and toys could be hidden inside. Old and beat up toys were recycled and turned into new puzzles by cutting holes into them or tying them together with fire hose. Each toy was made more complex by providing layers of puzzles within. Giant 50-lb frozen treats consisting of fish, apples, and carrots were wheeled in every day. Different scents were introduced by bringing in toys that other zoo animals had used. A giant air conditioner was installed that would blow cold air out of one corner of the exhibit on hot days. A water pump creating a current, similar to an endless pool, was installed.
When the bears were offered more complicated puzzles, I saw that they spent more time investigating and manipulating the objects. They seemed motivated to solve the puzzles. The bears would even take toys and hide them inside the giant plastic ice floes and then pull the toys out later. Novel toys were especially fun. The bears would toss them around the exhibit, throw them into the pool, and jump on top of them. Sometimes they would play on their back in the pool while flipping a toy up in the air.
In addition to the more complex enrichment items, I kept the bears on a more consistent training schedule which involved asking the bears to come inside the den away from public view. They seemed to enjoy training. I think it was a relief for them to get a break from the noisy crowds. Plus, they love their treats as much as a Labrador begging from the table. In order to keep zoo visitors happy, I’d often rotate the bears so at least one was outside for the public. However, on hot and crowded summer days, I’d give both bears extra time inside the air-conditioned dens using the excuse that I was giving them an extra long training session. I think my bosses eventually realized what I was really doing, but they mostly looked the other way as long as I didn’t push it too far.
The positive results of the training and enrichment program were evident. When I first started working with the bears, it was almost impossible to interrupt Gus when his stereotypy started. There was little to do other than helplessly wait until he was done. After the new program was implemented, I could probably interrupt the stereotypy and get Gus to come inside about 7 out of 10 times. There were still some days when he would not come inside, but he was clearly more responsive. Overall, the animal department was quite pleased with the results and the enrichment program was presented at the 2005 International Conference of Environmental Enrichment held in NYC that year.
It’s hard to say whether Gus was actually happier after implementation of the program. After all, how does one measure happiness in a polar bear? We had hired interns to observe and collect data on the bears’ behavior, but unfortunately data collection didn’t start in time to have a before and after comparison. Anecdotally, the keepers could clearly see that he was more responsive to training and spent more time with enrichment items than in the past. He was more consistent about gating (a zoo term for bringing the animals into safe indoor holding areas) even if he was in the midst of his stereotypy. Gus may have associated gating with both receiving high value reinforcers indoors and the appearance of new enrichment outside, since I would always recharge the exhibit with enrichment while the bears were indoors.
Three years after I left the zoo, I was back one day visiting my wife, who still worked there. I had rarely returned to the zoo after I left – life got busy with graduate school and work. We stood in front of the bear exhibit along with a throng of kids and visitors yelling “Gus” and “Ida”. The bears, accustomed to hearing people yell their names all day, carried on ignoring the calls. Curious to see what would happen, my wife asked me to call the bears. At first, I refused, thinking it would be a waste of time. But she encouraged me to just try and see. I bellowed out, “Gus! Ida!” like I did hundreds of times as a zookeeper. I’ll never forget how the bears stopped in place and slowly raised their noses in my direction. For a moment, everyone around us fell silent as they watched in amazement at the bears’ response to my voice. Gus stood up on his hind legs to catch a closer whiff. Ida disengaged from a toy and approached the side of the exhibit where I stood.
After three years and literally millions of voices yelling their names, they still remembered the sound of my voice. I don’t know if I helped the bears be happier, but that moment was all I needed to believe that perhaps I did something right by them.
As a canine behavior consultant today, I am a strong advocate for environmental and behavioral enrichment with our dogs at home. I think too many of our dogs are bored and under-stimulated at home, often resulting in increased behavior problems as they find ways to fill the void. While there is no doubt that pet owners are more aware of the benefits of enrichment for their pets in today’s world, we can and should do more.
I encourage you all to engage the wild canid in your dog in a safe manner. This is the animal whose wild ancestors nature engineered to sniff, scavenge, explore, and chase. Dogs living in the streets spend an enormous amount of their time foraging for food from garbage or handouts, whereas most pet dogs simply eat their food out of a bowl in less than a couple of minutes. Moreover, dogs were originally bred to perform jobs like herding, protection, hunting, and tracking before they became pet dogs living in households with little to do. Your family dog doesn’t have to be a working canine, but I’m sure they could benefit from more enrichment. Be creative, try out new things, and observe what your dog does. If your dog finds something pleasant, then go with it. Provide a variety of toys both old and new. Give toys your dog will manipulate with their paws or mouth. Provide surfaces with different textures to rest on. Let your dog choose the route on a walk and sniff to their heart’s content. Explore new places or sit on a hillside doing nothing except enjoying the peace together.
Scout’s (My Dog) Top 10 Enrichment List
- Scavenger hunts for food puzzles or toys
- Scent walks in which she chooses the route, pace, and can sniff anything she wants (as long as it’s safe)
- Exploring a new park or beach
- Sniffing for treats in the grass
- Reinforcing cute behaviors she offers on her own
- Walk or hike with a doggy friend
- Going for a car ride with the windows down
- Letting my dog choose the toy she wants to play with
- A warm hoodie or towel straight out of the dryer to lie on
- Calming music