Abstract
Strategic and planned enrichment is critical to the welfare of animals living in professional care. Interactive technology has been utilized as a successful form of enrichment in several non-human primate species but is still a novel form of enrichment for California sea lions (Zalophus californianus). The Enclosure Video Enrichment (EVE) system was created as a form of interactive technology for use by US Navy marine mammals. The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between anticipatory behavior and subsequent in-session performance of California sea lions conditioned to expect certain training sessions. The four session types analyzed in this study were: paddle operated feeder (PF), EVE with feeder (EF), EVE with trainer (ET), and trainer only (TO). This study was conducted at the Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Pacific in San Diego, California with the US Navy Marine Mammal Program and the National Marine Mammal Foundation. Three, adult male California sea lions were the focal subjects of this study. The results suggested that in regard to the reward sensitivity model, the subjects had a high level of welfare based on the limited and subtle differences of anticipatory behaviors expressed prior to the various sessions, although the perceived reward for each session type differed. The subtle differences in anticipatory behaviors suggested that one of the subjects perceived an increased reward prior to no EVE sessions, whereas the remaining two subjects perceived an increased reward prior to no feeder sessions.