Training 101

Courtesy of SeaWorld

What is operant conditioning? It is the reinforcement of conscious behavior deliberately offered by the learner. Huh? A person or animal demonstrates a behavior he or she has learned to get a reward or avoid punishment. Telling your dog "good boy" and patting him on the head when he sits is an example of operant conditioning. So is the training SeaWorld keepers use to get marine mammals to perform complicated maneuvers. So is Sheldon training Penny on "The Big Bang Theory."

 

Zoos, aquariums, and companion animal trainers use operant conditioning techniques to teach animals behaviors and shape those behaviors for husbandry, veterinary, service, or entertainment purposes. When teaching a new behavior, trainers try to remember each animal's biological constraints. For example, solitary animals might not perceive praise and attention as a reward. So a reward that will work for a dog might not work for a tiger. And many animals have physical constraints. It would be nearly impossible to train a tortoise to jump through a flaming hoop!

Training Xiao-Li, the male red panda
at the Binghamton Zoo. Photo courtesy of Saasha Caldera.

Through repetition and successive incremental steps, animals learn to perform various behaviors on cue. A cue could be a verbal command, hand signal, sound, or object....basically any stimulus that the animal has associated with a particular behavior. Once the animal performs the desired step or behavior correctly, the trainer reinforces the behavior. There are two types of reinforcement: positive and negative. Positive reinforcement is something the animal wants: food, praise, petting, etc. Negative reinforcement is something the animal wants to avoid: a squirt of water, a swat, an annoying sound. Positive reinforcement has proven to be the most effective type of training for both people and animals, and is normally used in zoos and aquariums. Have you ever heard the saying, "you can train a donkey using a carrot or a stick"? Zoos and aquariums use the carrot.

What if the trainer can't give the positive reinforcement to the animal right away? Trainers want the animal to know which exact behavior is being reinforced, and they don't want the animal to become frustrated if there is a delay between the behavior and the reinforcement. Timing is everything! So trainers use a "bridge" to fill the period of time between the behavior and the reward. A bridge can be verbal (saying "good"), or it can be a clicker, or a whistle. The bridge means, "You're done, good job! A reward will be coming any second." After the animal becomes habituated to the bridge, the bridge actually becomes a secondary reinforcement. In this way, trainers can string together multiple behaviors, rewarding each behavior with a bridge, and give some type of positive reinforcement at the end of the series.

The photographer was more interesting
than I was! Courtesy of Saasha Caldera.

What if the animal ignores the trainer or doesn't want to train? A trainer never chases after an animal, forces it to train, or bribes it to behave. If the animal gets distracted in the middle of the session, the trainer will ignore the animal until the animal decides it wants to train again. The trainer's attention is positive reinforcement for wanting to train. If an animal does a behavior exceptionally well, that animal will get a "jackpot." A jackpot is an extra-big reward to make the animal think, "Wow! That was awesome! How can I get that much fish again??" So a jackpot is a very memorable positive reinforcement that increases the likelihood that the animal will perform the behavior again. At the end of each session, every trainer tries to end on a good note to reinforce his or her bond with the animal.

I've been lucky enough to train a variety of animals in my career so far. I've trained raptors at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science, and at the Binghamton Zoo, I trained Xiao-Li, the male red panda, and Leroy and Tala, male and female North American river otters. The VINS raptors were trained to fly from handler to handler or from perch to perch. The Harris's hawk was even trained to catch a fake rabbit lure on command! I didn't train any new behaviors with these birds; instead, I reinforced behaviors that were previously trained. At the Binghamton Zoo, I trained Xiao to touch his nose to a target stick, which is an easy way to move an animal voluntarily from point A to point B. I also trained him to stand on a log station so a vet could give him a physical while he was awake. I even trained him to voluntarily accept vaccinations and go into a crate on command!

In this video, I am training Tala, the female river otter at the Binghamton Zoo. Both otters are now trained to touch their noses to a target stick and hold in place, squeeze themselves into a PVC pipe attached to the door for voluntary injections, open their mouths on command, shift into different holding boxes, and stand on a scale. I trained the otters for two years, and they were very fast learners!

Elise Newman trains "Tala," the Binghamton Zoo's female North American river otter, to perform behaviors on command, which simplifies husbandry and veterinary procedures. You can hear the clicker "bridge" after each behavior before she gets rewarded with tasty fish pieces! In recent news, Tala (aka "Elaine") just had triplets at the Binghamton Zoo!

One of my favorite parts of training is the "lightbulb moment" each animal gets when it figures out a new behavior. I also love the bond that I've formed with each of the animals I've trained. I can't wait to increase my experience and train more animals!

Keeper Migration

Feeding a giraffe at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park

Animals aren't the only ones who migrate...keepers do too! I have left my keeper position at the Binghamton Zoo at Ross Park to take a seasonal position with the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.

The Binghamton Zoo was an excellent place to begin my career: I learned about animal husbandry, operant conditioning (training), enrichment, safety protocols, and teamwork. I learned how to build a hay feeder, cut down a tree, shovel snow, and cement a termite mound. Most importantly, because the Binghamton Zoo is such a small facility, I received many opportunities I would not have had at a larger zoo. I was able to pick up new animals (like an Amur leopard and cinereous vulture) from airports and other zoos. I got to develop my own enrichment program using boat bumpers and then write an article about it for Animal Keepers' Forum. I got daily face-time with the director and curator of the zoo. I had input in new exhibit designs and new animals for the zoo's collection. I got to be the primary trainer for a red panda and two river otters. I got to lead tours, behind-the-scenes events, and keeper talks with the education department. And I even got to work with all of the animals and keepers in the zoo, which helped me focus my career path.

Leaving the Binghamton Zoo was hard, but I am very excited to start my new career at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. San Diego Zoo Global is made up of three facilities: the Zoo, Safari Park, and Institute for Conservation Research. The San Diego Zoo was founded in 1916 and the Safari Park was founded in 1969 as a breeding facility. I will be a photo safari tour guide for caravan safaris. These safaris go into the field exhibits and guests will have an opportunity to feed giraffes and rhinos while I give a tour. I'm so excited to be with large African mammals at this incredible park. For those of you who know how much I love elephants, I now get to see elephants every day! I can't wait to spend the summer in the sunshine teaching the public about the Park and conservation.