Abstract: Environmental enrichment is critical for maintaining cognitive welfare for animals in human care but is subject to individual preferences. The interest in a video-based enrichment was assessed for a single killer whale (Orcinus orca) in human care. The adult female was presented 20 video recordings featuring cetaceans, elephants, or humans with each video presented in two conditions: (1) with sound and (2) without sound. Four additional presentations in which the television displayed a blank screen served as controls. All sessions were videotaped and coded for time spent viewing the recordings, behavioral responses, and visual laterality. The killer whale spent significantly more time at the television when programs were on screen compared to when the television was present but blank. She was more likely to watch videos accompanied by sound than those presented without sound. Videos were more likely to be viewed monocularly rather than binocularly, with a right eye preference when viewing the videos the first time they were presented. The highest rates of behavioral responses occurred during videos of cetaceans. These results demonstrate that one killer whale responded to video recordings of different stimuli, suggesting that video recordings may be used as a form of enrichment for cetaceans and that not all video content and formats are equally interesting.
My commentary: Whales like watching TV, more if there is sound, and more if the images are about cetaceans. We all love to see other members of our species... Remember the mice:
Social inequality aversion in mice: Analysis with stress-induced hyperthermia and behavioral preference. Shigeru Watanabe. Learning and Motivation, Volume 59, August 2017, Pages 38-46, http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/09/social-inequality-aversion-in-mice.html
Check also: Evolutionary Origin of Empathy and Inequality Aversion. Shigeru Watanabe and Yutaka Kosaki. Evolution of the Brain, Cognition, and Emotion in Vertebrates pp 273-299, http://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2017/09/evolutionary-origin-of-empathy-and.html
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