Page 293 - Zoo Animal Learning and Training

10.5 Impact on Visitor Learning, Attitude, and Behaviour 265

VetBooks.ir Message: the bird is using its sense of hearing to locate its prey using the buzzer as a target.

Animals in Action; London Zoo (UK)
Biological facts: wingspan and scavenging feeding ecology.
Presentation: a turkey vulture is flown from point to point using a food reward.
As with most birds they are weighed daily; each bird will have its own flying weight and is fed
accordingly. A bone on the stage table is also laced with a food reward. The routine is simple and
easy for the bird to learn. Many birds used in shows are hand reared which can make bird–trainer
interactions a lot easier as the bird should have no fear of humans and may even consider the
trainer as a sibling or a parent.
Message: showing wingspan and flight of this species, the scavenging ecology is demon-
strated with the use of a bone as a prop.

Cheetah Run; San Diego Zoo Safari (USA)
Biological facts: speed and hunting ability.
Presentation: this is a very natural behaviour that clearly displays the speed of the cheetah.
Training is simple as the cat has a natural inclination to chase moving objects. Starting as a cub
with a lure on a pole as a toy, and at a later stage transferring the lure to a machine is a very simple
way of achieving this behaviour. However, the choice of object/lure should be thought about
carefully. For example, using a child’s cuddly toy many not be appropriate; should the animal see
such a toy in a pram or being held by a child, this could invoke a chasing response.
Message: evolutionary adaptations for speed and use of chase in this species’ hunting
strategy.
The Savannah Ecosystem; Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens (USA)
Ecological facts: the interactions between species.
Presentation: in this demonstration a range of savannah species are displayed, including
a serval (which demonstrates its jumping ability) and a cheetah (its running ability as
described above), as well as a livestock guarding dog (to demonstrate a conservation
strategy).
The serval is a hand reared cat and like many animals can easily be taught to follow the trainer
by being rewarded at intervals with food. Training the cat to step up onto a platform is simply a
matter of putting the reward on the platform and the cat goes up to get it, and the same routine
is used on the tree branch. The jump is a natural behaviour and the ball at the end of the pole is
the target. The target can be introduced at an early age as a toy to the kittens. Being naturally
playful they will get to identify with it quickly. The target is attached to the pole and gradually the
height is increased; it may be that the cat receives a food reward after it has made the jump or
shortly after to reinforce the target.
Message: displaying to the visitor a range of species found in a savannah ecosystem, their
unique adaptations and a conservation strategy.
Ecological Information; Various Examples (Authors’ Own)
Animals and birds can be displayed in many different ways in a show. A squirrel entering and
exiting from a hole in a tree, or a meerkat coming out of a pipe to look like a burrow will give the
visitor an immediate idea of where it lives and some of its nesting behaviours. It is perfectly natu-
ral for a meerkat to want to go into a hole at ground level, a food reward on entering will reinforce
the behaviour. Training such a behaviour can be as easy as simply feeding the animal in the loca-
tion, box or prop.
Message: showing the bird or animal with a natural prop (hole in a tree stump) gives the visitor
a visual idea about this species’ ecology.