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 Clockwise from left: prehensile-tailed porcupines, servals,     When is Animal Ambassador training
 and sulcata tortoises are among the animals that have been   complete? It never is, Eberhart says.
 trained in our Animal Ambassador program.
                                                                  Continual training keeps them sharp—
    For instance, Quilbert, a 9-month-old                     much like daily exercise—and serves as an
 prehensile-tailed porcupine, has been part                   important form of enrichment. It’s also an
 of the Animal Ambassador program since                       important part of keeping relationships
 he was just about a week old, and it’s                       strong. The animals enjoy working with
 clear how much he enjoys being in front                      the animal care specialists, and so getting
 of a crowd.                                                  to participate in daily training sessions is
                                                              somewhat of a treat for them.
   “He just loves participating in chats, it’s
 amazing,” Chardell said. “He knows he’s                          Staff is pleased with how the program
 going to be with all his favorite people, and                has expanded in just a few years, and is
 get a treat, and get to explore a bit. It’s so               continually looking forward to the future.
 fulfilling to see how much he is thriving.”                  In addition to continuing to train our
                                                              animals, they look at possibly expanding
    However, no matter the animal’s age,                      the program, often looking to see what
 it’s possible to work on building the                        other animals participate in similar
 necessary trust and relationship to train a                  programs at institutions accredited by the
 creature to become an Animal Ambassador.                     Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
A lot of the zoo’s birds of prey are older,
 and came from rehabilitation centers after                      “We do have to pick species very care-
 they were injured in the wild.                               fully,” Chardell said. “We wouldn’t pick
                                                              an animal that traditionally doesn’t like
   “In these cases, it might take a long                      loud sounds or crowds—while we aim to
 time to build up all the necessary trust—                    connect people with animals, the animals’
 the animal has gone through some rough                       happiness is at the top of the list.”
 experiences,” said Paul Eberhart, lead keep-
 er for the Animal Ambassador program.
“But with time and patience, and by not
 pushing the animal too quickly, it’s still
 definitely possible. And these cases are
 especially rewarding.”

18 GATEWAYS | ANIMAL AMBASSADORS
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