2023-05-15 ジョージア工科大学
◆新しい給餌機では、毎日さまざまな時間間隔で給餌が行われます。これにより、ゴリラの自然な摂食行動が促進され、一日中ランダムな餌探しの機会が与えられます。
◆手頃で製作容易なオープンソース機械であり、他の動物園でも複製して利用できます。
<関連情報>
- https://coe.gatech.edu/news/2023/05/engineering-new-way-feed-gorillas
- https://www.hardware-x.com/article/S2468-0672(23)00012-3/fulltext
ForageFeeder: 餌をランダムに分配する低価格のオープンソース餌やり機 ForageFeeder: A low-cost open source feeder for randomly distributing food
Nima Jadali,Margaret J. Zhang,Andrew K. Schulz,Josh Meyerchick,David L. Hu
HardwareX Published:March 14, 2023
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ohx.2023.e00405
Abstract
Automated feeders have long fed mice, livestock, and poultry, but are incapable of feeding zoo animals such as gorillas. In captivity, gorillas eat cut vegetables and fruits in pieces too large to be dispensed by automated feeders. Consequently, captive gorillas are fed manually at set times and locations, keeping them from the exercise and enrichment that accompanies natural foraging. We designed and built ForageFeeder, an automated gorilla feeder that spreads food at random intervals throughout the day. ForageFeeder is an open source and easy to manufacture and modify device, making the feeder more accessible for zoos. The design presented here reduces manual labor for zoo staff and may be a useful tool for studies of animal ethology.
