Page 139 - Zoo Animal Learning and Training

Chapter 8 Restraint of Animals 123

Assessing Behavior and Safely
Approaching Companion Animals

As we first deal with a patient we want to keep three
things in mind to ensure the safety of the people involved
and the safety and well‐being of the patient. These are
not in any order; they are all equally important:; field of
vision, body language, and species characteristics of prey
versus predator behavior.
There are two types of animals; those that are prey
animals and those that are predators. Each have differ-
ent behaviors that have evolved to keep them from
dying, prey animals from being eaten by predators and
predators from starving! All animals have the “fight or
flight” response to danger, meaning they will try to get
FIGURE 8.2 Parrot beak. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Used under away but if cornered will fight. Figure 8.3 shows both
CC‐BY‐SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ara_ responses in action; the dog is in flight and the cat is in
ararauna_qtl3.jpg. fight response.

Dogs have large canine teeth that cause deep punc-
tures, and molars that crush tissue causing bruises. Reflection
Plus, they tend to hang on and shake their heads while Can you think of other patients seen by veterinary
biting which causes rips and more damage to the clinics that can be classified as prey or predators?
underlying tissues. Birds will use their beaks; some,
like the large parrots, are so strong they can amputate
fingers (Figure 8.2). Some birds have pointy beaks
that can pluck an eyeball out. Rodents have large, However, not all will respond in the same manner.
long front teeth and will often bite when handled, Prey animals tend to respond to danger at a greater dis-
which is painful but not life‐threatening. Horses and tance than predators, moving away from perceived
cattle are accurate with their feet and will kick or danger quickly before they must defend themselves. We
stomp on you. Cattle, sheep, and goats all use their can use this characteristic when we need to move prey
heads as battering rams. animals from one point to another. We also keep this in
This information is not to scare you into giving up
your dream of working with animals, it is simply to bring mind when working with predators so that we don’t inad-
vertently corner them, thus causing a fight.
awareness that we, in comparison, are puny and weak! Approach an animal within its field of vision to avoid
We need to use our heads and all our senses including causing them to startle. All animals will startle if a person
our intuition for self‐preservation when approaching suddenly appears from their blind spot. Speak up to let
animals to feed, care for, or perform a procedure! them know you are there before coming into range,
Fortunately, we have big brains and if you are smarter touch gently and with confidence after you have
than the animal and can utilize the following knowledge announced your presence.
you may survive without being hurt or getting others Prey companion animals are rodents, rabbits, and
hurt. Never underestimate an animal or believe that birds (although some are predators, these are usually
they couldn’t possibly hurt you, they may not set out to not kept as pets). Their eyes are placed at each side of
do so but careless handlers can cause the animal to the skull providing a wide peripheral field of vision such
become fearful or aggressive.
that their visual field extends far out to the sides of the
body with only a small blind spot directly in front of their
face and directly behind their rear end. This wide range
of vision allows them to see something approaching
from the side without moving their head (Figure 8.4).
Reflection For example, the rabbit, as a prey animal, has a wide
range of vision to each side that narrows straight ahead
What animal defenses have you the most nervous of its face. Rabbits will use both eyes to view what is
or scared? How do you see yourself overcoming directly in front of them. However, there is a blind spot
these fears? directly in the middle of their face and directly along
their back which extends behind their rear end.