Wednesday Abstracts

ZOO KEEPER TO LAB RAT: IMPROVING LABORATORY ANIMAL WELFARE THROUGH LESSONS LEARNED IN THE ZOO WORLD

Angelika
Rehrig,University of Rochester


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Zoological and research institutions vary widely in their purpose, yet animal welfare is vital to both. The zoo world has been a leader in animal management by striving to meet both the physical and psychological needs of its captive populations. By providing naturalistic enclosures and abundant environmental enrichment, zoo species often engage in species appropriate behaviors essential to well-being. Working as a zoo keeper for 12 years allowed me to understand the zoo mentality. However, as an animal behaviorist in a research institution, it has been challenging bringing these values into the controlled environment of the laboratory animal world. From rodents to primates, offering activities that promote psychological well-being, giving them a degree of choice and control and reducing stress are crucial to both the animals’ health and the validity of the research. The difficulty arose in trying to find ways to enrich the animals while working within the constraints of the science. Whether the solution lie in more complex environments, offering novel items to manipulate or ingest or positive reinforcement training to engage the mind, the laboratory field is pushing ahead with a focus on the mental health of its various species. By sharing the improvements I have seen and been a part of, my ultimate goal is to bridge the two worlds in an effort to improve animal welfare across the board.

​REFINING BEHAVIOR-ANALYTIC ORE: FROM PRINCIPLES TO PRACTICE

Ben Witts, Daniel Reimer,
University of Nevada, Reno



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The science of behavior has greatly enhanced the ability of animal managers to effectively interact and care for the animals they are responsible for.  Since their advent, operant (Skinner, 1938; Thorndike, 1898) and classical conditioning (Pavlov, 1927) have played large roles in the training and management of animal behavior.  The principles of reinforcement that were developed in the university laboratory have been expertly applied in many different settings, enhancing the passion and assiduousness of animal caretakers by providing them with thoroughly researched, scientific tools (Pryor, 1989; Ramirez, 1999).  However, animal management has yet to exhaust this valuable resource.  An entire field of behavior science, dedicated to the experimental analysis of behavior, is continuously studying classical and operant conditioning and their effects on animal behavior, developing principles that can be invaluable to caretakers and trainers.  The results are a proverbial gold mine!  The purpose of this presentation is to highlight basic principles that behavior scientists have discovered which could further contribute to the care and management of animals and suggest ways that behavior analysts and animal managers can collaborate for mutual benefit.   

References:
Pavlov, I. P. (1927). Conditioned reflexes. New York: Dover.
Pryor, K. (1984). Don’t shoot the dog. New York: Bantam Books.
Ramirez, K. (1999). Animal training: Successful animal management through positive reinforcement. Chicago: Shedd Aquarium.
Skinner, B. F. (1938). The behavior of organisms. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.  
Thorndike, E.L. (1898). Animal intelligence: An experimental study of the associative processes in animals. Psychological Review Monograph Supplement, 2, (Whole No. 8)​
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STARTING A BEHAVIORAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAM FOR NORTH AMERICAN RIVER OTTER (LONTRA CANADENSIS) PUPS

Andrea Dougall,
Oakland Zoo


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In February 2011, the Oakland Zoo welcomed the birth of 1.1 pups to their existing group of 2.1 North American River Otter (Lontra canadensis).  Months of planning went into creating a plan for the physical care and management of the dam and pups and although we were unsure of what path to take with their behavioral management, we knew that in order for them to have successful lives in captivity their training needed to start as early as possible.  At 12 weeks, our first priority became clear.  The pups received their second injections in a series of three vaccinations.  At 3 months old and less than 5 lbs. they squirmed, they wiggled, they bit, and they presented a very big restraint challenge for the zoo’s experienced veterinary technician. After this experience it was evident that cooperative injection training was going to be essential for the next set of vaccines, scheduled a mere four weeks later.  Keepers worked with them twice a day for the next four weeks and both pups received a total of 5 vaccines cooperatively in the following month.  But once we were over that big hurdle, what was next?  In the following months, we went through many ups and downs but we continued to grow and refine our program; what we learned along the way will help us develop a plan to train future litters in a more organized and consistent fashion, resulting in happier, healthier otters (and keepers).
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HERDING IN A NEW DIRECTION

Anita Yeattes and Stephanie Peters,
​Busch Gardens Williamsburg


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The Highland Stables, located at the heart of Busch Gardens, Williamsburg, features an animal attraction that mimics a traditional Scottish farm. The attraction includes Clydesdale horses, Scottish black face sheep and Border Collies to tend the flock. While offering guests an age old view of sheep dogs at work, the training methods used here are far from traditional. The Goal was to have sheep that will be friendly enough to engage with the public while walking calmly through the streets of the park, yet still appear to show instinctual flocking drive to participate in herding demonstrations with the sheep dogs. Traditionally border collies are trained using positive punishment and negative reinforcement techniques. Sheep are trained to be afraid of dogs and people using negative reinforcement, fear-based techniques. So to offer guests a glimpse of “traditional” sheep herding while training Border Collies using positive reinforcement to herd sheep that are friendly and lacking fear or flocking instinct presented several challenges. 
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GROMMETS AND ZIP-TIES: A MEERKAT TAIL OF SURVIVAL

Jenn Donovan and Natalie Davis,
​Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium


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In spring 2009, a litter of 1.1 kits was born to the matriarch of our Slender-tailed meerkats. The female kit was observed suckling her tail from two weeks of age. Observations suggested that she used her tail as comfort during times of hunger when her mother was absent. The behavior continued and intensified. By fall 2010, her obsessive-compulsive behavior resulted in raw spots, bleeding, and eventually exposed vertebrae. In winter 2010, she began drug therapy in an attempt to reduce the desire to suckle her tail tip. This began a series of drug trials, catch-ups, manual restraint, veterinary procedures and multiple vertebral amputations over an eight month period. Throughout the process, keepers were resistant to a plan based solely on drugs—we wanted to extinguish the self-mutilation with behavioral management and we had to get creative.
Frustrated keepers began brainstorming out-of-the-box ideas to stop the behavior and save a meerkat from potential euthanasia. Knowing each individual and the gang as a whole were tolerant of change, we felt we had room to think creatively. "Eureka!" we had a crazy idea. Grommets, zip-ties, MacGyver and test tubes came to mind: a tail-cover attached to a fashionable meerkat harness that would prevent continued self-mutilation. Keepers planned, manufactured, and then implemented the design during one of the medical procedures. With modifications to the drug therapy and fine-tuning of the design, eventually our harness resulted in extinguishing the behavior and a healthy, well-adjusted, drug-free, "stubby"-slender-tailed meerkat who helped raise her younger brother.

“BALANCE INDEX” FOR GROUP BEHAVIORS – A MATHEMATICAL WAY FOR FINDING “WHERE IS THE TROUBLE”

Franťišek Šusta, Katarína Kamasová,
​Klára Vodičková,
Prague Zoo, Czech Republic, Europe


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When training gregarious zoo-animals, the effort of every individual is influenced by relationships inside that group.  Objective interpretation of these scenarios impacts our training success.  
In Prague Zoo one trainer presents a group of 8-11 trained Ring-Tailed Lemurs in a show. The hierarchical structure of this group is dynamic, and their relationships directly influence success of each animal.  To enable us to assess, as objectively as possible, what is going on the group, and hence continue to set them up to succeed, we have devised a rating system that can be mathematically formulated.  
Each behavior in the show is rated by “index of balance” (IB), which we calculate from the following variables:
1) K - Does animal KNOW the behavior?
2) R - Expected REWARD 
3) PA - Potential “to be ASSAULTED”. 
4) D - DIFFICULTY (also accessibility of resources). 
The IB expresses the probability in percentage for potential success.  We start the show with one special behavior out of visitor´s sight, and rate it using K, R. PA and D of each animal. This provides us with information what conditions to improve to assure success of actual show.  
This paper will outline how we do this, and detail all aspects of this process.  
Changing the viewpoint from the individual to the group and mathematical explication enables us to identify hidden motivation when training other species, like sea lions, horses, deer and others.
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SIT, STAY, ROUSE: A GUIDE TO CLICKER TRAINING YOUR BALD EAGLE

Theresa Rounds, Mandy McGuire,
​Oregon Zoo Wild Life Live Show Staff



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The Oregon Zoo has entertained and educated audiences with a free-flight bird show for more than 25 years. Many of the animals used for these presentations are wild, non-releasable native raptors. When working with these birds, it is of particular importance to take into account each animal’s injury and history. This understanding was especially useful after the acquisition of a male bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) in May 2010. The bald eagle came to the Oregon Zoo with a permanently damaged right eye and an injury to his right wrist.  All of the birds in the show program are free-lofted, but this particular bald eagle was not adjusting to these conditions. Our standard positive-reinforcement techniques resulted in limited success with basic husbandry procedures. He exhibited an extreme flight response to most stimuli and was eventually tethered for his safety. This was frustrating for the handlers and we were anxious to get him off the tether quickly. Although not conventionally used to train raptors, we established a plan centered on clicker training for both husbandry and education behaviors, and the results have been astounding. This paper discusses the approach we took in training our adult bald eagle to voluntarily participate in daily husbandry activities and conservation education presentations. We will discuss the conventional training methods that were used, the problems we initially encountered and the positive results we experienced through clicker training...
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​ENRICHMENT THROUGH HUMAN INTERACTION: AN OVERLOOKED  STRATEGY FOR PROMOTING WELFARE
IN CAPTIVE CANIDS

Lindsay R Mehrkam,
​University of Florida


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The benefits of environmental enrichment for zoo and laboratory mammals are well-documented in the scientific literature. However, many private sanctuaries that provide adequate care for exotic wildlife are unable to find the necessary resources to implement and evaluate enrichment strategies. One possible solution is to provide socialized animals with positive interaction sessions with experienced volunteers. Unlike positive reinforcement training, the potential for human interaction alone to be enriching and thus promote the welfare of captive animals remains virtually unexplored. What little research has been done is greatly restricted in terms of the range of species studied, and even within species, the results of these studies are inconsistent and rarely report data on the behavioral effects of human contact for individual animals. The present study aimed to evaluate whether human interaction was enriching for socially-housed wolves, wolf-dog hybrids, and coyotes at four sanctuaries. A reversal design was used to determine the efficacy of human interaction for promoting species-typical social behaviors and activity levels, and for decreasing pacing and abnormal behaviors. Behavioral observations were videorecorded and analyzed across time for each subject. Results suggest significantly higher rates of affiliative behaviors and activity levels, as well as concurrently lower rates of pacing, as a result of volunteer interaction sessions. Conspecific social interactions, including social play, also dramatically increased when a caregiver was present compared to baselines. These findings demonstrate that human interaction can be a potent and practical enrichment strategy to implement in facilities with socialized canids and properly trained volunteers.
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​​FROM FEAR TO FRIEND:
BUILDING TRUST BETWEEN KEEPER
AND ANIMAL THROUGH TRAINING

Eunice Hui, Molly Feldman,
CuriOdyssey


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Aggression.  Fear.  Distrust.  These are not the qualities keepers like to see in the animals for which they care; nor are they the qualities that make captive animal management easy.  So when it was decided in the summer of 2009 that Mina, a North American badger (Taxidea taxus), would be started on a training program, this is what we were dealing with.  After four years as a resident of CuriOdyssey (formerly “Coyote Point Museum”), she still showed an extreme lack of habituation which was expressed through a series of aggressive behaviors: hissing, grunting, and shaking when the keepers entered the service area, hiding in her den both on exhibit and in her night quarters, quickly running outside in the morning, and sometimes refusing to come in at night.  Needless to say, it was evident that something had to change.  Given the many benefits of operant conditioning, a formal training plan was written for Mina with the following goals in mind: 1) Target training, 2) Desensitization to two trainers in the room, 3) Crate Training and 4) Injection training.  But how do you train an animal that lacks the two most basic requirements for success: a willingness to approach a human being and a motivation to work, even for food?  The answer, we discovered, is slowly, patiently, and to never underestimate what is possible when you give your time to even the most uncooperative of animals.
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THE THREE DAY RULE: IMPLICATIONS OF A SPECIALIZED TRAINING PLAN FOR A NAÏVE NORTH AMERICAN BARN OWL

Lauren Baard & Megan Glosson,
SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment
​Busch Gardens Williamsburg


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To create a more dynamic presentation, a naïve North American Barn Owl (Tyto alba pratincola), “Cupid”, was selected to learn a circle flight over the heads of the audience. We attempted to back-chain the component flights of the behavior. Challenges arose when Cupid began turning at inaccurate locations. His failure rate made differential reinforcement of correct behavior unproductive and allowing him to continue the chain after an incorrect turn seemed to be self-reinforcing. These training complications were exacerbated when flying through an audience.  Upon recognizing these specific challenges, we began re-training the flight using a modified plan that included distinct visual markers, improved control of reinforcement opportunities, and the targeted cooperation of an audience. We also allowed for prolonged rehearsal of each approximation, a minimum of three successful days, a strategy referred to by the team as “the three day rule”. Subsequently, Cupid’s success rate improved steadily until he was performing the complete behavior in presentations. Although the team has had success training chained behaviors with a variety of animals including Gray Wolves, foxes, and other raptors, applying similar training protocols to chain the Barn Owl flight resulted in limited success. Consideration of Cupid’s individual limitations and the natural history of the species allowed for a plan better suited to his capabilities. Such insight, particularly when attempting to train unique or challenging behaviors, is critical to identifying avenues for success. By recognizing the importance of flexibility and individualization when implementing a training plan, previously unreachable complex behavioral goals become attainable.
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GET YOUR GOAT- GOAT TRAINING AT THE OAKLAND ZOO

Elizabeth Abram,
​Oakland Zoo
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Oakland Zoos Valley Children’s Zoo Contact Yard holds 9 domestic goats (Capra hircus); 5 Pygmy, 4 Nubian and 1 Boer.  A training program consisting of various husbandry and veterinary behaviors which facilitate their day to day care has been developed.  Behaviors include cooperative hoof trims, standing on scale, and cooperative crating.  Individual behaviors for specific animals were created when necessary and include physical therapy for limb irregularity as well as milking of infected udders due to false pregnancy. Completely unrelated to their daily care- though just as important- is training on an agility course.  The agility course is comprised of several dog agility obstacles along with many handmade items.  The goats benefit from the agility program which combines training, enrichment and physical exercise.  This paper will examine the varied benefits of the Oakland Zoos goat training program and illustrate its value as a training tool used to assist new trainers hone their training skills.