More Than Decoration: Pumpkins Provide Enrichment

This time of year, the Aquarium leans into the season hosting its annual Pumpkins & Piranhas event. We place lots of Halloween decorations through the space, and that includes sinking a few jack-o-lanterns into the habitats. While this adds to the ambiance, as it turns out, that’s just an added bonus. Their primary function is animal enrichment!

We sat down with McKenzie Deitrick, who’s been an aquarist here for the past three years, and an animal care enthusiast since middle school, to talk about why all these carved pumpkins provide much more than décor.

Enrichment is essential.
In the wild, an animal’s environment changes, constantly providing new things to experience. At the Aquarium, daily enrichment activities help encourage natural behavior all year round. Deitrick shared that re-arranging items in habitats helps shake up the animal’s routine. Placing a pumpkin in their habitats definitely shakes things up!

Fish like to play.

While some may associate playful behavior more with animals like dogs or cats, fish, do it too. This is typical behavior. The animals swim through rocks and find new paths to discover every day in their habitats. And, much like some dog breeds, some aquatic creatures need a job. Starfish especially are very active with enrichment. Giant Pacific octopus, who are used to cracking things open to get their food, appreciate having something to do, too.

Cautious curiosity wins the day.

In the wild, using caution keeps animals alive. Typically, it will take anywhere from a few hours up to a whole day before the animals go check out the newly added pumpkin. Some are quicker to investigate than others. For example, the octopus didn’t waste much time checking out the new feature, while the redhooks took a minute before swimming in for a nibble.

With all these benefits, it’s no wonder pumpkins get top billing in the annual Pumpkins & Piranhas event!