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ABMA 2011 Monday Abstracts
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SOCIAL / BEHAVIORAL ENRICHMENT VIA FORAGING: PROMOTING NATURAL BEHAVIORS IN SOUTHERN GROUND HORNBILLS
Allyce Lindner, Tracy Aviary Watch Video (Login required) Full Abstract
The Tracy Aviary recently finished a new exhibit to showcase our family group of Southern Ground Hornbills (Bucorvus leadbeateri). Tracy Aviary is currently one of the few zoological institutions to keep these birds as a family group, the social system that would typically be seen in the wild. In conjunction with Dr. Scott Echols, staff at the Aviary undertook a project to explore ways to increase activity levels and behavioral enrichment. The goal was to do this in a way that would allow us to highlight and interpret their unique social behaviors for visitors while keeping the new exhibit looking as natural as possible. Encouraging increased food foraging activity seemed an obvious choice since the study of Southern Ground Hornbills in the wild suggests that the family groups’ social organization is maintained by allopreening and complex interactions involving the giving and withholding of food (Kemp, Allen. 1995). We installed a forage field, several forage boxes, a deer feeder device, and holes were drilled in exhibit furniture and perches across the enclosure. Current assessment of population management for this species suggests that the family social environment and social learning is very important for this species and we believe that increased foraging activity helps enhance social learning and problem-solving skills in juvenile birds. The addition of these items, along with a varied schedule of use and dietary enrichment items used in devices, resulted in a great degree of interest and additional activity for the Aviary’s Southern Ground Hornbills. |
HOW DO YOU SOLVE A PROBLEM LIKE BERNARD? USING TRAINING TO SIMPLIFY THE MANAGEMENT OF A BEARDED DRAGON (Pogona vitticeps)
April Martin*; Amber White; Dr. Leigh Clayton; Liz Evans; Sue Hunter, National Aquarium Institute Watch Video (Login required) Full Abstract
The staff at the National Aquarium encountered a difficult dilemma with Bernard, a 3 year old male bearded dragon, whose refusal to eat produce had led to a noticeable dietary deficiencies. Attempts to increase his consumption of produce though medical treatment, social changes, and changes in housing were unsuccessful. In fact, as time went on Bernards's health worsened. He acted sluggish and started to refuse almost all food items. The staff decided to approach the problem from a behavioral perspective. As with other training plan, the goal behavior of consuming salad was broken down into smaller approximations and, after 15 weeks of training, Bernard's weekly consumption of produce increased. Subjectively seeing success, the data was compiled into three 15-week periods: before, during, and after training. The graphs showed that the increase in produce consumption was statistically significant. As an added benefit, Bernard was simultaneously trained on a husbandry behavior (orally taking medications from a syringe). Using training, the staff was able to transform Bernard from a sick and high maintenance animal to a very stable and valuable program animal. |
THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX STALL: ELEVATING THE CARE OF STABLED EQUINES THROUGH COMPREHENSIVE BEHAVIORAL MANAGEMENT
Jody Ambrose, Training Made Simple Watch Video (Login required) Full Abstract
Modern equine management practices are often dictated by the practical limitations of open space, economics, and human convenience rather than consideration for the well-being of horses. It is estimated that 60-90% of performance horses develop gastric ulcers during the course of their careers due to environmental and training-related stressors. Behavioral issues such as resistance to training, stereotypy, and anxiety-related aggression are common. The majority of stabled horses are owned by amateur handlers who want the best for their horses, but for whom time, money and personal safety are high priorities. Their options for dealing with problematic behavior are often limited by these aspects as well as the logistical constraints of boarding facilities and a culture which favors familiar methods such as physical restraint, chemical restraint, punishment, abandonment, and euthanasia. The objective of this study was to address potentially serious behavior problems in several commercially-boarded performance horses, utilizing a comprehensive behavioral management approach similar to those used with other captive species such as dogs and zoo animals. Techniques included protective and free contact positive reinforcement training, environmental and behavioral enrichment, and empowering horse owners and care providers through education by helping them develop a better understanding of animal behavior and its relationship to the physiology of stress. |
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GETTING INSIDE THE EMOTIONAL MIND OF THE DOG OWNER FOR BETTER DOG TRAINING ADVICE
Simon Goodall, Dog Guru Watch Video (Login required) Full Abstract
In a world where we have to work with the public it can be difficult to obtain trust from the owner of the animal you are working with. This talk looks at what Simon Goodall from Dog Guru has used and modified over the past 12 months to get clients on board using a range of questions to get into the "emotive" mind of the clients and establish trust early on. These can be used for any profession where you are trying to establish a training programme. |
Full Abstract
The National Aviary is currently home to approximately 200 different species of birds and maintains a world-class veterinary department for their medical care. As with all animals maintained in zoological facilities, routine medical care is a necessity but is often stressful for the animals. Utilizing positive reinforcement and desensitization techniques with birds in the education and show bird collections has allowed a number of birds to be treated with minimal stress. Training medical procedures greatly improves quality of life, particularly in situations where the birds are under treatment for long periods of time. Some of the birds being highlighted in this paper include a rehabilitated bald eagle that was trained to do voluntary bandage changes and physical exams on black kites while the birds sit on the glove. |
MIX METHOD OF POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT AND NATURAL HORSEMANSHIP USED ON WILD EQUINES
Frantisek Susta, Zoo Praha (Prague Zoo) Watch Video (Login required) Full Abstract
For our Przewalski horses (Equus caballus przewalskii ) and Kiangs (Equus kiang holdereri ) we have developed combination of two ways of equine training, which look antagonistic, but sensitive mix leads to effective method. Widely known positive reinforcement we apply by the same way we do with other species. Natural horsemanship, which uses reduction of perceived pressure and expression through trainer ´s body language, is specific for equines. In first steps the training is provided by only one trainer who mix techniques from both training methods. For shy equines usually the presence of any human is a strong negative and there is no willingness to work for food. So the presence/absence of trainer, body language and distance from the trainer is used as the first reinforcer, which starts the training process. During next steps the technique comes more positive reinforcement and in the end all the advance is positive based. At this final step the trainer introduces the advance to keepers who use it in daily routine. For protected contact with aggressive males the accent is on very short opportunity windows, giving horse power, clear trainer´s body language and dealing with distance. For “semi-free” contact we first simulate horsemanship techniques for circular yard. Then we teach target and change to positive reinforcement. For free contact we use mostly positive reinforcement. Thanks to this method we can effectively manage behavior of horses and introduce it to all keepers. |
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A STUDY ON HUMAN-DIRECTED CONTRA-AGGRESSION TRAINING USING POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT
Darren E Minier, Lindsay Tatum, Daniel H Gottlieb, Ashley Cameron, Jessica Snarr, Richard Elliot, Ashley Cook, Kami Elliot, Kimberly Banta, Allison Heagerty, and Brenda McCowan, California National Primate Research Center, University of California Watch Video (Login required) Full Abstract
The quality of human-animal interactions can be an indicator of well-being for most captive species. Increased anxiety-related behavior, such as aggression, may compromise an animal’s ability to maintain normal mental and physical states, reduce growth and reproductive performance, and decrease coping efficiency with long-term exposure. Additionally, the safety of animal caretakers is of principal concern when working closely with potentially dangerous animals; therefore there is a need to survey effective techniques that encourage safe, cooperative relationships between animals and animal care staff. The Behavior Management Program at the California National Primate Research Center sought to improve human-animal management relationships by testing the effects of positive reinforcement training (PRT) on reducing human-directed aggression in rhesus macaques. A three-tiered method of contra-aggression training was established that combines systematic desensitization, shaping by successive approximations, and alternate response reinforcement to actively reduce instances of aggressive behavior. Accordingly, a study on the efficacy of the contra-aggression method and an assessment of the degree of generalization between trainers and non-trainers was conducted. Preliminary results indicate the contra-aggression method and PRT in general can substantially reduce aggressiveness in nonhuman primates and thereby enhance their well-being and human-animal interactions during routine animal care and husbandry procedures. Being based on the principles of operant conditioning, the contra-aggression method should be of interest to professionals working closely with any animal, in that the method can be applied to a broad range of species in research facilities, zoos, sanctuaries, shelters, and wildlife reserves. |
CONDITIONING VOLUNTARY INFANT REMOVAL WITH COQUEREL'S SIFAKA AT THE DUKE LEMUR CENTER
Meg H. Dye, Animal Management Resources, Inc. Watch Video (Login required) Full Abstract
In the spring of 2007 an operant conditioning training program was established at the Duke Lemur Center (DLC) with four groups of Coquerel’s Sifaka. The sifaka were chosen as the initial group to work with due to the challenging nature of their husbandry care. An exciting part of the DLC’s husbandry program is the arrival of sifaka infants each year. While the majority of infants are born healthy and remain with their mothers, occasionally medical assistance is needed. In such cases, every effort is made to provide medical assistance to the infant while they remain in the care of their mother. A goal of the DLC training program was to establish the behavior of voluntary removal of an infant from its mother. Voluntary infant removal offers many benefits to the overall sifaka program including medicating ill infants, routine weighing of healthy infants and the collection of infant morphometric data. In December of 2009, voluntary infant removal was utilized with two new born sifaka, Rupert and Wilhelmina. The need for the behavior was different with each infant. Rupert was in need of daily medical treatment while Wilhelmina was a healthy infant with a mother that had a history of biting technicians. This presentation will look at the role that operant conditioning played in Rupert and Wilhelmina’s care. Specifically, the conditioning of voluntary removal of Rupert that allowed for an elevated level of veterinary care and the use of voluntary infant removal of Wilhelmina utilizing protected contact to increase technician safety. |
PERSONALITY PROFILING FOR BIG CATS
Ingrid Russell-White, San Francisco Zoo Watch Video (Login required) Full Abstract
The purpose of my Master's project was to create and test a personality profile for African lions and tigers which could be used as a captive management tool to facilitate more successful animal introductions. Big cat introductions are necessary for captive breeding and for creating social groupings. Although not a common occurrence, there have been cases of animals injuring or killing each other during an introduction. My goal with this tool was to provide to managers of big cats a way of anticipating outcomes and making adjustments toward more successful ends. I began preliminary work on this project when I was a part of the African Lion SSP Management Group. At that time, I assisted with the oversight of a growing lion pride at my institution and the need for additional tools for introductions became evident to me. At my current institution, I oversaw 2.2 African lions, 1.0 Amur tigers, and 4.2 Sumatran tigers (3.0 cubs resulting from a successful introduction last year). The development of a personality profile can assist in understanding big cats as individuals and how to facilitate successful introductions. One of the outcomes of this project was how "personality" in big cats affects how they exhibit and how they may need to be managed differently depending upon how they interact with people. I will discuss the process my project followed and it's outcomes. This paper was my final project for my Master's degree through George Mason University's ZAL program, a collaboration with AZA. |