© Eszter Matrai
Media appearances
Local media
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Our new paper on the multi-player cognitive enrichment devices was mentioned on the site of Animal Welfare Expertise
Our giant panda study was mentioned on Ocean Park's Facebook
Research project with the world’s oldest male giant panda!
The currently known oldest male giant panda is An An who lives in the Park. He is now 35 years old which is roughly equivalent to 105 years in human age! He even has his own IG channel! How long do you think giant pandas live? In the wild it is estimated to 15-20 years, under human care their lifespan is nearly doubled!
To provide the best possible care to An An, his regular husbandry care also includes a special behavioural monitoring programme that is carried out by our research team. The aim of the project is to monitor temporal and seasonal changes in his behaviour, focusing on activity pattern, habitat use, enrichment use and walking speed.
The information collected not only helpful for An An, but also contributes to the science of giant panda behaviour and conservation through data collection, analysis, and publication to scientific journals!
#OceanParkResearch #GiantPandaResearch #GiantPanda #AnAn
Our Iguana study was mentioned on Ocean Park's Facebook
Vets’ Diary: Green Iguana acupuncture
Have you ever heard of veterinary acupuncture? While acupuncture has been part of the traditional Chinese Medicine Therapy for humans for years, but actually animals also have meridian acupoints!
Animal acupuncture is still considered a novelty in veterinary care, especially when it comes to green iguana. Recently, Harriet, our geriatric female green iguana, has started receiving acupuncture treatment to improve her overall health. The treatment is performed by our veterinarian, Dr. Sarah Churgin, who is certified in veterinary acupuncture. The effect of the treatment is evaluated using a specialised behavioural observation technique by the park’s professional research team. The acupuncture and case study not only helped Harriet, but also contributed to the science of veterinary medicine and animal behaviour, through careful data collection, analysis and finally publication to scientific journals!
Two videos of our seal ice study were posted on Ocean Park's Facebook (click the images to view the videos)
Ocean Park research team: behind-the-scenes of ice floes experiment
Spotted seals in the wild inhabit the arctic and sub-arctic waters and rely on the ice floes during breeding season.
Our Park’s research team is currently conducting an ice experiment with the seals to investigate their natural haul-out behaviours. The ice floes enrich the seals' daily life as they provide structural, tactile and cognitive stimulation. Moreover, the ice floes are designed with the purpose of creating problem-solving challenges so that the seals can practice their natural balancing skills and haul-out behaviours. By providing them ice floes of various sizes to simulate the melting of glaciers, the team recorded the behavioural changes of the seals on the ice floes to learn more about how climate change affects the animals.
Over the past year our seals have successfully utilised the ice enrichment, they even invented some new behaviours, such as blowing bubbles under the ice. As the ice slowly melts away, the seals could enjoy a feast of icy treats.
Our Arapaima study was mentioned on Ocean Park's Facebook
Behavioural Study of Arapaima
Have you ever imagined a fish can grow up to 4 meters long and jump 2 meters above the water? Arapaima is one of the biggest freshwater fish living in the Amazon rivers. Despite their huge size, we actually know little about these amazing creatures and due to insufficient data, we are not even certain about their conservation status.
The research team of Ocean Park has therefore launched the first behavioural study aimed at discovering more about the daily routine and activity pattern of Arapaima. With the research, we got to understand more about Arapaima’s habits as well as contribute to the conservation of the species. The research team, consisting of local university students and researchers, conducts weekly observation sessions in the Rainforest exhibit with our 3 Arapaima: Aaron, Beth and Casmir. We have learnt that the 3 Arapaima have different personalities and preferences.
#OceanParkResearch #ArapaimaResearch #ArapaimaEnrichment