Fort Worth Zoo
Animal Enrichment for Texas River Otters
As part of TCU Sculpture class in collaboration at the Fort Worth Zoo and my group (Annie Deck & Winter) our objective was to create an object for animal enrichment.
The following is documentation of Otter this World's enrichment endeavors.
Above is a rendering of a 3D model created and edited in Cinema 4D that demonstrates what the prototype structure would look like in the River Otter's enclosure at the Fort Worth Zoo, Fort Worth, TX.
First prototype for a barnacle like structure to encourage otters natural foraging for feeding. Materials included are: rubber mold created with a 3D print, and a vacuum form to create a protective shell over the rubber.
Prototype image 2: painted to camouflage in the otters' enclosure.
First prototype for a barnacle like structure to encourage otters natural foraging for feeding. Materials included are: rubber mold created with a 3D print, and a vacuum form to create a protective shell over the rubber.
After creating our prototype, we conceptualized a z bracket system that would be made from steel for durability.
Pictured here is our group measuring where our enrichment would be placed.
Pictured here is our group measuring where our enrichment would be placed.
I 3D modeled and printed positives for our molds in order to create openings for the mussels to encourage foraging feeding.
Barnacle-like structures were 3D printed at different sizes to better fit mussels.
Barnacle-like structures were 3D printed at different sizes to better fit mussels.
In this series of photographs we mold, demold and assemble our structure for otter enrichment.
The plates of the enrichment object were placed in a vacuum former that formed plastic onto the rubber cups and 3D prints.
The plastic was then coated with animal safe and marine grade epoxy (Free Form Habitat Black Epoxy putty) and was secured with zip-ties.
The following video and pictures are documentation of the otters' reaction to their enrichment object at the Fort Worth Zoo in Fort Worth, TX.
