Hellmuth is a curator at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. She helps oversee animal enrichment and training, which includes a painting program for animals.
How did the painting enrichment program get started?
Painting as enrichment has been done for many years, more than a decade in some cases, with a very limited number of species — mostly elephants and orangutans. It’s been in the last five years or so that painting, and versions of it such as animal footprints, have been implemented with a wider variety of species. But in the last couple of years there seems to be an explosion of activity in this area, with animals [and their keepers] from many taxonomic groups getting in on the fun — including a variety of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and even some invertebrates.
Why is this a good activity for the animals?
The items used are objects to explore and manipulate. Painting stimulates many senses — visual with the array of colors; tactile/touch with the feel of the paint, brushes, etc.; and the smell of the paint stirs the olfactory senses. The activity of painting is social, sometimes with multiple animals, but always including interaction with the keeper staff. And finally painting engages the brain as well as the body,
What art materials do the animals use?
We use only non-toxic, water-based paints with our animals. … Some animals paint with a body part — a hand, foot, nose, etc. Some use brushes with bristles or sponges.
What happens to the animals’ artwork?
Artwork has been used as gifts for staff, as a thank you to donors and sponsors, and as a template for creating note cards, which are a fundraiser for our National Capital Chapter of the American Association of Zoo Keepers. This spring, for the first time, others will have access to this artwork in our first animal art show.
