Proboscis

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Feeding elephants by means of trunk holes promotes the skills of the animals.

As a trunk hole holes are referred to in walls, through the elephant in the Zootierpflege can be fed. Here the elephants are separated from their food by the wall and have to drag the food to their side through the trunk hole in order to be able to eat it. The animals cannot see the food, so they have to recognize it by simply touching it and bring it into a spatial position that allows it to be pulled through the proboscis.

This task is difficult for elephants to cope with, requires practice and promotes tactility and dexterity with the trunk .

In nature, elephants find their food in many different forms and situations that cannot be simulated in captivity due to the lack of terrain, feeding trees, etc. The use of proboscis holes reduces the stereotypical behaviors in food intake that are associated with a food source that is always easily accessible in the same way.

Trunk holes are a good alternative to the manger or hand feeding . They can be any size. It is complex to manufacture because it requires the casting of a stable concrete wall that can withstand the pushing and pushing of animals.