Page 240 - Zoo Animal Learning and Training

212 Box B6 Positive Reinoorcement to Enhance Weloare oo Primates

VetBooks.ir (a) (b)

Figure B6.1 Examples of how husbandry training can be used to support the provision of veterinary care
include training for (a) blood sampling and (b) to use an inhaler. Source: Steve Martin.

Whipsnade Zoo who was trained to present events attribute one of the key reasons for
his hand onto an X‐ray pad for regular exam- the success of the process being due to the
inations to monitor the healing progress of a ‘close, trusting relationship’ that developed
dislocated finger. At the Smithsonian between the mother orangutan and her keep-
Institute in Washington, USA, not only had ers (Sodaro and Webber 2000). This was
the adult female orangutan (Pongo spp.) been something that was not necessarily encour-
trained to present her body for an X‐ray aged in zoos in the late 1980s and perhaps
exam, but the procedure also included a sta- should be considered more keenly when
tioning behaviour for her young baby too. approaching any primate – keeper interac-
An early example of the use of training to tions in zoos today, not just during formal
assist with a complex management scenario training sessions.
was at the Brookfield Zoo in the USA, where Training for husbandry and medical proce-
positive reinforcement training was success- dures play an important role in the manage-
fully used to help reintegrate an orangutan ment of smaller primate groups, with Old and
mother and infant after a period of hand New World monkeys and lemurs particularly
rearing by its human carers. This situation well represented in this field. Many collec-
arose when the infant and mother had to be tions train simple foundation behaviours like
separated, initially for medical reasons and targeting, stationing, recall, and crate training
subsequently an absence of nursing. To facili- for transport, which allow more invasive pro-
tate early reintroduction a simultaneous cedures such as hand injections for general
training programme was initiated for both anaesthesia and regular medication such as
mother and infant (e.g. see Figure B6.2). The insulin for diabetic animals. At ZSL London
idea was to train the infant to take a bottle Zoo a diabetic Sulawesi crested macaque
feed from keepers through a mesh panel and (Macaca nigra) was routinely injected with
for the mother to accept this process after insulin and urine collected on a daily basis to
they were reintroduced. The training was a test ketones. This individual maintained good
success even resulting in the mother present- health into old age.
ing the baby to the keepers for bottle feeding. Another group where training is becoming
The authors of a paper recounting these a more established component of daily