Mister, You Don't Want to Make My Momma Mad

Alta, an adult greater one-horned rhino, and her 9-week old calf, Parvesh.
Photo courtesy of San Diego Zoo Safari Park.

When my caravan tours drive into a large African field exhibit at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and the guests see a crash of rhinos five feet away, they immediately turn to me with fear in their eyes wondering if the rhinos will charge the truck.

Nope. Rhinos are actually extremely gentle animals that have a bad reputation for no reason. The southern white rhinos and greater one-horned rhinos actually brush up against the caravan trucks on tours; they are inquisitive and are not bothered by the trucks or the guests. The keepers even work on foot in the exhibits around the rhinos. By the end of every tour, my guests are converts--they love rhinos as much as I do.

But that's not to say that rhinos are pushovers. Rhinos moms are probably the toughest mothers in the world (besides my mom). If her calf is threatened by a predator, a mother rhino will charge the predator at 30 miles per hour! If you are a lion and a 5,000 pound rhino is coming at you like a tank, that would be a good time to turn tail and run in the other direction. Adult rhinos don't have any natural predators because they are so large and intimidating. No lion will try to take down a healthy, fully grown rhino if there is a tasty snack-size gazelle five feet away. But baby rhinos have to worry about prides of lions and cackles of hyenas. One mother rhino doesn't stand much of a chance defending her calf from an entire pride of lions, so female rhinos band together into social herds, called crashes. Six or seven female rhinos defending two or three calves stand a much better chance. Female rhinos actually won't breed unless they are with other females for protection.

Zoos didn't discover this fact until 1971, when 20 southern white rhinos were brought to the Safari Park to start a breeding program. There wasn't an adult male in the crash, so the Park borrowed the adult male from the San Diego Zoo. The male had never had babies before: maybe he was infertile, too old, or just not interested in the female he was with. But he and the female were brought to the Park and he did a great job. And the female gave birth to eight calves, because she had other females watching her back to help protect those calves.

Female rhinos defend their calves because they put so much parental investment into raising a calf. Rhinos are pregnant for 16 months (yes, you read that correctly) and they nurse for up to two years. So mom has a lot of incentive to ensure that her baby survives into adulthood.

Southern white rhinos Kacy and 10-month old Kayode.
Photo courtesy of San Diego Zoo Safari Park.

Kayode, the 93rd southern white rhino calf born at the Safari Park, was born on exhibit on February 25, 2013. Now he is over a year and a half old, and still nursing from his mom, Kacy. When he was born, he had to stand on tip-toes to nurse, and now he is so big (over 2,000 pounds!) that he has to lie down to nurse. Kacy is still incredibly protective of him, and I got to witness that first-hand on August 18th. Maoto, Kayode's dad, sniffed Kacy and started to make a move to mate with her. Kacy turned on a dime and growled at him. Kayode jumped between them, clearly thinking, "I'll save you, Momma!" Maoto picked Kayode up on his horn and threw Kayode. Maoto then proceeded to chase Kayode around the exhibit, while Kayode squealed and called for help. Kacy swerved between Maoto and Kayode, growling and roaring at Maoto. Kacy and Maoto sparred with their horns, shoved each other, and growled, but neither would back down. Then the rest of the crash, the five other female rhinos, came charging down the hill to defend Kacy. They formed a perfectly straight line at Kacy's back; now it was seven against one. The girls allowed Kacy to fight her own battle against Maoto for almost 20 minutes, but finally stepped in and advanced like a line of knights in shining armor. Maoto ran away squealing, streaked across the exhibit at 30 miles per hour, and flopped in a mud wallow as far from the girls as possible. Kacy: 1, Maoto: 0. Kayode is nearing puberty now so Maoto is starting to see him as a competing male, instead of a baby. Kacy let Maoto know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this behavior is unacceptable, no matter how mature Kayode seems. Girl power.

Unfortunately, no rhino mother can protect her baby against the ultimate threat. Even if a baby rhino survives to adulthood in the wild, it is not safe. All six species of rhinos are threatened by poachers. Poachers kill rhinos because rhino horn is worth more per ounce than gold. Some cultures believe that rhino horn has medicinal properties: that it can lower a fever or act as an aphrodisiac. Rhino horn is actually made of keratin (the same stuff as your hair and fingernails). So you could bite your nails and get the same benefits that you would get from ingesting rhino horn. Plus there are much more sustainable alternatives, like aspirin and Viagra, that are cheap, over-the-counter, and don't result in the death of thousands of rhinos each year. In 2012, in South Africa alone, two rhinos were killed per day. The poachers are mainly organized crime syndicates and terrorist groups, who use the proceeds to fund their illicit activities. It's tough to tell terrorists what to do, so the solution is to NEVER buy rhino horn products.

Rhinos are disappearing at an alarming rate. Just by appreciating them as much as I do, you can help save them. Who wouldn't want to save an animal that can simultaneously be incredibly impressive and so stinkin' cute?

Permanent Safari Park Position

I found out today that I am being kept on permanently as a caravan tour guide at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. This means that my seasonal job won't end in September, but will continue part-time through the off-season, which is exactly what I had hoped for. I am now a permanent employee of SDZG!

New Blog Post!

My second post appeared in the San Diego Zoo Global blog. Enjoy!

Happy National Zookeeper Week!

July 20-26, 2014

"Our passion sustains us in providing the best care for our animals, connecting people to wildlife, and saving species from extinction...We believe in challenging our current knowledge-base and we strive to communicate effectively with others in our field in order to perfect our skills. What we learn, what we share, and how we engage are powered by the passion that we have for the animals we care for. We also believe that the passion we have for animals exceeds all borders. This passion enables us to make a profound impact on conservation; it drives the collective effort that enables us to send hundreds of thousands of dollars to support worthy conservation efforts each year. We do all this because we care for animals."

--Bob Cisneros, President

American Association of Zoo Keepers

Behind-the-Scenes Tiger Tour at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park

Petting a sugar glider at the
Wildlife Workshop

Well, this tour was awesome. One of the perks of working at the Safari Park is that I get to go on tours of the rest of the Park! This week I went into work on my day off to take a behind-the-scenes tour.

Delta, the eldest female Sumatran tiger at the Park,
in her Tiger Trail bedroom

On the tour, guests ride on a golf cart with a guide to different off-exhibit areas. Our first stop was the brand new Tiger Trail bedrooms. Five Sumatran tigers were on exhibit and we were able to get up close and personal with the oldest female, Delta, in a bedroom. She was enjoying clove and cinnamon enrichment scents when we saw her. What a change from the tigers I worked with at the Binghamton Zoo! The Safari Park houses Sumatran tigers, the smallest subspecies, whereas the Binghamton Zoo cares for Amur tigers, the largest subspecies. Delta, weighing in at 172 pounds, was a mere kitten compared to Koosaka's 382 pounds! I can't imagine feeding a tiger only four pounds of meat each day instead of 12--so much easier to carry. And the Park's tiger keepers don't even have to carry the meat uphill in the snow...

Stealing a drink!

Next, we went to a behind-the-scenes viewing area of the elephant exhibit. All of the elephants were roaming through their six-acre exhibit, so one of the keepers called some of the elephants over and gave them a shower from a hose. One of the older elephants was sucking up water from the hose using his trunk like a straw. But every time he tried to squirt the water into his mouth to take a drink, a younger elephant would insert her trunk into his mouth and steal his water! I absolutely loved getting to experience the Park's dynamic elephant herd from a few feet away.

Listen to what the little kid on my tour says when he notices that an elephant drinks using its nose...

The fun didn't stop there! I also got to see Lembe, a female black rhino, and her four-day old baby. The baby was born on July 12, 2014, and doesn't yet have a name. Afterwards, our group continued to the okapi barn, where we saw the newest baby and fed some female okapi. After feeding giraffes every day on my caravan tours, it is remarkable to be able to feed their only living relatives!

Unfortunately our tour had to end at some point. We finished at the Wildlife Workshop--the area where all of the ambassador and education animals are housed. A keeper introduced us to an echidna (the closest relative of a duck-billed platypus) and a sugar glider.

Meeting the echidna

I really enjoyed the entire tour! It was especially interesting to hear another guide's style and perspective. As a former zookeeper (or a "zookeeper on hiatus" as I think of myself), it was interesting to compare the bedroom layouts, food brands, safety mechanisms, and husbandry tools between the Binghamton Zoo and the Safari Park. For example, using a crate as part of the tigers' shifting hallway so they become desensitized to going in the crate? Brilliant. I noticed lots of minor differences between small and large zoo management styles. And who can complain about meeting new animals?

New Blog!

I have been selected to write posts for the San Diego Zoo Global Blog! My first post appeared today.
Enjoy!

What is Protected versus Free Contact?

ELEPHANT MANAGEMENT AT THE SAN DIEGO ZOO SAFARI PARK

African elephant in Tanzania (photo taken Spring 2010)

Why are the elephants at the Safari Park in their own exhibit instead of in the large field exhibits?

This is one of the most common questions I'm asked on tours by fellow elephant-lovers. The answer is simple: if the elephants were with all of the other herbivores in the large field exhibits, keepers would not be able to drive into and walk through the exhibits. I would also not be able to lead tours through the exhibits.

The elephants at San Diego Zoo Global are managed using protected contact, which means that there is always a barrier between the keepers and the elephants. If you read my previous "Training 101" post, the video of me training Tala, the North American river otter, depicts protected contact. There is a barrier between Tala and me at all times. The photos of me training Xiao Li, the red panda, in the same blog post portray free contact. Free contact means there is no barrier between the trainer and the animal.

Free contact used to be the accepted management style, not just for elephants, but for all animals. However, free contact is inherently more dangerous for the trainers and the animals. In free contact with elephants, the trainer enters the elephants' enclosure and uses positive and negative reinforcement to become a dominant member of the herd. Using free contact, the keeper has to punish the elephant for misbehaving or risk losing dominant status. For the keeper's own safety, the elephant (a 12-foot, 7-ton animal) can never be dominant, so the keeper must insist on 100% compliance at all times. Elephants are punished with a bull hook or ankus for misbehaving. Keepers are capable of having loving, meaningful relationships with their elephants using free contact, but more often than not the elephants are afraid of or resentful of the keepers. Free contact with elephants resulted in many keeper injuries and fatalities over the years. Between 1976 and 1999, 17 keepers in the United States were killed by elephants using free contact. Free contact can be a very useful management tool for other animals, but with an animal as big and powerful as an elephant, it is unsafe. So many zoos and sanctuaries have switched to protected contact in recent years.

Brian Greco checks Umngani's mouth using protected contact
(photo courtesy of San Diego Zoo Global via Union Tribune San Diego)

San Diego Zoo Global began transitioning to protected contact with elephants in 1992. Using protected contact, the keeper does not enter the elephants' enclosure or societal hierarchy. Protected contact is still "hands-on" because the keepers touch the elephants, but they do not share physical space with the elephants. The keeper only uses positive reinforcement, never negative reinforcement, punishment, or physical discipline. This fosters a positive, cooperative relationship between the elephant and the trainer. The elephant trains because it wants to train to receive treats and rewards from a keeper. If an elephant is ever bored or uninterested, it simply walks away. This is acceptable because the keeper is not in danger from the elephant disobeying. Even though protected contact is not foolproof, it is safer for the keepers and the elephants than free contact. Protected contact training is also teachable: there is a consistent formula for new, inexperienced keepers to follow. Finally, operant conditioning using positive reinforcement and protected contact is actually enrichment! Training sessions get the elephants out of their normal routines and discourage stereotypic behaviors. These sessions reward the elephant for thinking through problems and forming cooperative bonds with other herd members and trainers.

Keepers at the Safari Park give a pedicure to Ranchipur,
an Asian bull elephant before he was moved to the San Diego Zoo
(photo courtesy of Los Angeles Times)

Protected versus free contact management styles are still hotly debated. Yes, it's true that using protected contact, keepers can't ride an elephant, jump into a watering hole to give an elephant a bath, or bring an elephant to a TV studio. But using protected contact, keepers can give the elephants pedicures, baths, vaccines, blood-draws, play-time, and install tracking devices...voluntarily! Protected contact is a much safer, more positive management style for both elephants and the keepers who care for and love them.