Welcome!
Welcome to the website of Team BLAZE, or "Bettering the Lives of
Animals in Zoo Environments." Team BLAZE is a senior team in the
Gemstone Program, the University of Maryland's four-year undergraduate
honors research curriculum.
Research Question
Our overarching research question is, “How do various types of
enrichment, including sensory, manipulative, and feeding, affect the
activity budget and fecal corticoid levels of felid species in a zoo
environment?” We are testing the effectiveness of three different
kinds of enrichments on two species of felids to assess which
techniques are most effective in improving the quality of zoo animals’
lives. This improvement may be manifested in a more diversified
activity budget and a decrease in stereotypies, if they are present.
Contact Us
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at teamblaze2012@gmail.com.
