Page 148 - Zoo Animal Learning and Training

120 7 The Art of ‘Active’ Training

VetBooks.ir behaves. Though we often focus on trust als often wonder if they should be in the
room with one of their animals during a
between animals and humans, trust also
relates to how the animal perceives and
ing the animal. Usually, the best answer to
responds to various objects and situations; stressful experience such as a vet immobilis-
which are equally important to the animals this question is, ‘It depends. How is your
and training programmes. Animals build trust account with that animal?’ If a person
trust in exhibit features, housing furniture, has a high trust account with an animal, he or
other animals, and even enrichment items, in she may provide some level of comfort to the
a similar way that they build trust in humans. animal once it is darted, caught in a net, or
When a gibbon jumps on a 3‐inch thick otherwise put in a stressful situation. We
branch in a tree and the branch supports its often see animals with high trust accounts go
weight, the behaviour is reinforced and the directly to a familiar trainer after a stressful
animal builds trust in similar sized branches. experience. A male gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) at
When a keeper first shows a target stick to a Cheyenne Mountain Zoo presented his
zebra, it may take several approximations of shoulder for an injection by the same keeper
approach behaviour without aversive conse- who delivered a successful hand‐injection
quences before the animal builds enough anaesthetic the day before. At Columbus Zoo
trust in the target to touch it with its nose to the keepers have hand‐injected vaccinations
gain a reinforcer. The higher the level of trust with their kinkajou and two wart hogs, and
an animal has in a person, the more likely the all three animals returned immediately to the
animal is to participate in interactions with trainer and participated in additional injec-
that person. tion training behaviours. Both examples
The relationship between a trainer and the demonstrate that a level of trust remained
animals she/he trains might be considered as despite the previous negative interaction,
a trust account at their bank of relationships. and there are countless other examples of
Each time a trainer does something the ani- animals returning to a keeper the day after
mal likes, i.e. provides something desirable that keeper was involved with an injection
that an animal will work to gain, the trainer is and anaesthetic the day before. However,
making a deposit into a trust account. If the there are also many examples of a stressful
trainer does something the animal dislikes, experience completely bankrupting a keep-
i.e. will work to avoid, the trainer makes er’s trust account simply by being in the room
a withdrawal from the trust account. when an aversive event occurred.
Restricting a tiger’s movements in a squeeze
chute to give an injection may be a with- 7.2.2 Ability
drawal from the trust the tiger has in the
trainer and the squeeze chute behaviour. Animals build skill and behavioural fluency
After only a few repetitions of the squeeze through reinforced practice. Some behav-
chute behaviour, the resulting withdrawals iours require more effort than others and are
may bankrupt the trust account, resulting in therefore more difficult for the animal to per-
decrease or termination of future approach form. As an animal develops its skills with a
behaviour with both the chute and the specific behaviour, the motivation to per-
trainer. Using positive reinforcement to teach form that behaviour increases. For instance,
the tiger to accept injections may take longer, a leopard that had no access to trees whilst
but the training will pay dividends as the growing up at one facility may be transferred
multiple deposits into the trust account to another facility with hopes of it being the
results in reliable behaviour that will endure star attraction in their new exhibit that has
the occasional withdrawal. the perfect branch for it to lay on over the
Past experiences become antecedent con- heads of the guests. With no previous tree‐
ditions for future behaviour. Zoo profession- climbing skill the animal may be poorly