Page 259 - Zoo Animal Learning and Training

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Box B10

Training Birds from a Zoo Professional’s Perspective
Heidi Hellmuth

Birds have been actively trained for bird are the staff that look after them. Bird show
shows in zoos for many decades, but ironi- staff are hired on the basis of their knowledge
cally the avian taxa lags behind many of their of animal learning theory and experience of
animal counterparts in husbandry training in training, but historically this has been less of a
zoos. With such a long history of training, focus for keepers looking after exhibit birds.
why are there challenges to training birds for Even now, these skills are not as widely recog-
veterinary and husbandry needs? There are a nised and focused upon for non‐mammalian
few possible reasons for this discrepancy. taxa in many zoos. Training birds in zoos
Birds in shows tend to be housed individually, might seem to be a challenge, due to a (mis)
allowing more control of diet and other stim- perception that training birds is difficult and
ulation, which facilitates training. Whereas requires special techniques, compared to
birds housed within the zoo collection training other species. Importantly, training is
(exhibit birds) tend to be housed in pairs or training; regardless of the taxa, species, or
groups and frequently in mixed‐species individual involved. The science and tech-
exhibits; social and larger more complex niques are the same, but as with all forms of
housing can all provide distractions during animal management, their application is
training. Some bird show training, especially guided by natural history, behavioural biology,
historically, has been based, at least in part, and individual animal needs. Since ‘training is
on weight management; a birds’ diet (calorific training’, why is there a separate box talking
content) was dependent on the behaviour it about tips for training birds (and other taxa) in
performed. An underlying concept was that zoos? Good question! The reason is to share
hungry birds would be more motivated to some of the general training strategies that
take part in training; this technique is no have proven most helpful and effective in
longer favoured for most current show bird working with birds in zoos, to lessen the train-
training (Heidenreich 2014). Most exhibit ing ‘learning curve’ and maximise chances for
birds in zoos have fixed daily diets, deter- success. So now, on with the ideas!
mined by nutritional content.
Importantly, the primary consideration that
dictates the overall management strategy of Watch the Birds
birds, and other animals, in shows, is their
behaviour, whereas the focus for exhibit birds The first step in almost any animal manage-
tends to be breeding or visibility to the public. ment endeavour is to observe the animals.
Another difference that sets birds apart in See what areas of their exhibits they prefer,
zoos, and possibly one of the most important, including heights, perch types, distance from

Zoo Animal Learning and Training, First Edition. Edited by Vicky A. Melfi, Nicole R. Dorey, and Samantha J. Ward.
© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Published 2020 by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.