Werribee Open Range Zoo holds up a mirror to nature
Mirrors are being used in enclosures at Werribee Open Range Zoo to enrich the lives of animals like koala Nyla
READING LEVEL: GREEN
Mirror mirror on the wall, who’s the most inquisitive* of them all?
Animals at Victoria’s Werribee Open Range Zoo were introduced to their own reflection last week, with mirrors placed in some enclosures to stimulate* natural wild behaviours.
The zoo’s Australian natives co-ordinator Jacinda Goodwin said mirrors were placed with koalas, orange-bellied parrots, vervet monkeys, slender tailed meerkats and leopard tortoises to challenge the animals’ critical thinking* and encourage beneficial social interactions*.
“In the wild, animals would come across their own reflections when looking into a large body of water, so the mirrors are one of the methods we can use to replicate* that experience at the zoo,” Ms Goodwin said.
“There are some species, such as the vervet monkeys, that have the cognitive* ability to look in the mirror and recognise their own reflection.
“This can be a great challenge for the monkeys; they don’t automatically recognise their reflection as themselves. Like a good brain teaser, we observe them investing considerable time into trying to work out who the other monkey is.
“Other animals, like koalas and orange-bellied parrots, may perceive their reflection as another member of their species, so the reflections can stimulate social behaviours, such as investigation, vocalising or flocking.
“For other species, we may see a territorial response to perceiving another animal in their habitat through their reflection. This is a natural behaviour that they would exhibit in the wild when territories overlap, and in some social species, who live in mobs or packs, these experiences can encourage valuable group cohesion* behaviours.”
The mirrors are part of the enrichment* experiences the zoo provides to give the animals opportunities to learn and encounter new challenges.
Zoos Victoria animal behaviour specialist Sue Jaensch said each experience was carefully designed for each animal, keeping in mind their species, personality and age.
“Zookeepers make sure that the animals have the choice to participate and monitor their reaction, adjusting the activity for the individual if they need to,” Ms Jaensch said.
“They use their knowledge of species and the individuals they work with to continually enhance the lives of the animals in their care.”
GLOSSARY
- inquisitive: curious, interested in learning things
- stimulate: encourage something to happen, grow or develop
- critical thinking: the kind of thinking that requires questioning and decision making
- social interactions: how two or more individuals behave together
- replicate: copy or repeat something
- cognitive: to do with the processes of thinking and reasoning
- cohesion: sticking together
- enrichment: improving the quality of something
EXTRA READING
Cheetah Kulinda is just wild for zoo life
Love animals? Here’s what a zookeeper does in a day
QUICK QUIZ
- Which zoo has introduced the mirrors?
- Why were the mirrors added to the animals’ enclosures?
- Which animal has the ability to recognise their own reflection?
- Which animals might think their reflection is another member of their species?
- What do zookeepers keep in mind when designing enrichment experiences for different animals?
LISTEN TO THIS STORY
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Zookeeper talk
Imagine that you are a zookeeper at Werribee Open Range Zoo. It is your job to tell visitors about the mirrors that they see in the animal enclosures. Write down what you would say to explain this animal enrichment experience. Then practise announcing it aloud as you would to an audience of visitors at the zoo.
Time: allow 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English
2. Extension
Choose one of the animals that has had a mirror introduced to its environment and create an artwork showing what they would see when they look in the mirror.
Time: allow 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: Visual Arts
VCOP ACTIVITY
A reflection connection
I’ve just come home from school tired and weary. I have a school disco tonight that I am still not sure I want to attend, but seriously I have nothing better to do. Oh cool, mum has put up my new mirror I found at a crazy garage sale last weekend. Mum and I love to go treasure hunting at garage sales and the mirror was my prize pick from last weekend. It has these cool animal sketches around the outside that kind of look like a cave drawing. And I couldn’t believe it, the sketches are my favourite animal – total score!
Looking in the mirror, I see my reflection. Oh my god, I notice a pimple on my forehead. A big ugly one. Now I really don’t think I want to go to the disco.
Suddenly the glass in the mirror shimmers and I see an animal enclosure. I look closer. It’s not just any animal enclosure, I know this place! It was my favourite place to go to growing up, Werribee Zoo. I go to yell out to mum, but something catches my eye.
I can’t believe it, I can see my favourite animal curiously looking back at me. Something is beckoning me to reach out and touch it.
As I do, my hand seems to reach straight through the glass.
I look around my room deciding if I should go and get mum or keep going through the mirror.
What should I do?
What animal do I see?
Write the next part of the story.
Use your VCOP skills to capture the audience’s attention.