Wednesday Abstracts

How Changing from Stockmanship to Positive Reinforcement
With One Steer Led to Multiple Positive Program Changes and Staff Skill Development

Elise Dubuisson, Debbie Marin, and Amy Phelps,
San Francisco Zoo

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Traditional handling practices for domestic livestock often involve the use of chutes, penning systems, hand restraint, and positive punishment. While these methods can achieve results, these practices may result in animals displaying fear or aggression towards their caretakers, which compromises animal welfare and staff safety. The San Francisco Zoo’s Children’s Zoo is home to a 1,000 pound steer, which was historically aggressive towards staff when walking between yards. The steer was originally managed using a halter with a chin chain that remained on him at all times. Through the use of positive reinforcement techniques, staff trained a haltering behavior to put on and take off the halter daily, and then transitioned to a chain free halter. We trained the steer to walk voluntarily on lead so he could be safely moved between exhibit areas. Establishing a solid behavior foundation allowed us to train more ad- vanced and invasive medical husbandry behaviors, such as injections and hoof care. This was accomplished in protected contact, with- out the use of physical restraint or positive punishment. The steer has developed positive relationships with staff, and more readily interacts with enrichment. The primary trainers for this animal were one experienced trainer who mentored a novice trainer. Through the development of this training program both the novice trainer and animal were able to develop their skill sets together. This pro- cess supported the improved welfare of the steer, advanced staff professional development, and laid a foundation for advancing be- havioral management programs throughout the Children’s Zoo.

Polar Bear Conservation Training At The Oregon Zoo..Let’s Dive In!
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A. Hash, A. Cutting, N. Nicassio-Hiskey, S. Morgan, R. Draughon, and J. DeGroot,
Oregon Zoo

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In 2008, the polar bear (Ursus maritimus) was classified as a threatened species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Zoos now have an opportunity to use cooperative training to collaborate with researchers, and better understand the challenges that polar bears may face in the warming Arctic. After a successful voluntary blood draw from 1.1 polar bears at the Oregon Zoo in 2012, a re- searcher from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) invited us to participate in a nutritional ecology project. This collaboration developed into an ongoing energetics research project with the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) and USGS. This research included training a 0.1 polar bear to wear a satellite collar and walk on a treadmill in order to obtain the energetic cost of resting and walking on land. The next phase of this three series project involved training the bear to swim and rest inside of a metabolic swim chamber to determine the energetic cost of aquatic locomotion. The researcher was able to compare the energetic costs of swimming to the resting and walking costs of polar bears and other species of semiaquatic marine mammals. Climate scientists predict with the decline of Arctic sea ice, polar bears will be forced to swim longer distances to reach stable platforms for denning and catching prey. Continued research examining metabolic costs of polar bears is needed, with zoo partnerships, and the Oregon Zoo is committed to supporting these conservation efforts.

Induction Chamber Training with a Two-toed Linnaeus’s Sloth (Choloepus didactylus)


Lauren Attaway,
Texas State Aquarium
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In January of 2018 the Texas State Aquarium acquired a juvenile male Linnaeus’s two-toed sloth (Choloepus didactylus) named Chico. In order to conduct the necessary physical evaluation associated with quarantine procedure, Chico would have to be anesthetized. Physically restraining a sloth poses risks both to the staff and to the sloth itself in the form of physical injury and undue stress. In order to reduce these risks, the staff decided to train Chico to voluntarily enter an induction chamber. Using positive reinforcement and operant conditioning techniques, the staff was able to train Chico to climb into a modified Tupperware container where anesthetic gas would be introduced. Not only did this behavior allow the staff to perform the physical evaluation necessary to clear Chico from quarantine, Chico now frequently participates in his own health care. Having the choice and control over when he enters the induction chamber has improved his welfare at the Texas State Aquarium.

​Creating a Behavioral Husbandry Program – Desert Style

Christine Montgomery,
The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens

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In early 2018 The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens in Palm Desert, Calif. added a behavioral husbandry curator to our staff of 35 curators and keepers to assist with the training, enrichment and welfare of over 400 desert dwelling species. Since then, the zoo has been a hotbed of behavioral growth. The enrichment program was heated up through streamlining of the approval process, organizing in- ventory, creating a master website of approved items, creating team contests and focus months. The sands then shifted on the train- ing program. Medical, husbandry and guest-focused behaviors had a fire lit under them under the watchful eye and guidance of the behavioral husbandry team. With the addition of the AZA welfare standard 5.1.0, a formal welfare assessment program was intro- duced, and sent through the accreditation process in early 2019. Diets were also evaluated, elevated, and the approval process was simplified. To say the behavioral husbandry process has been heated up is an understatement – we are at 100 degrees and we keep getting hotter! This presentation will show how the program has grown from its infancy and the innovations it has received along the way.

​Training for Euthanasia

Barbara Heidenreich,
Barbara’s Force Free Animal Training


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Many behaviors we train result in improved animal welfare throughout the life of the animal. However, training for end of life is a conversation that is relatively new. Euthanasia is often emotionally challenging for animal caregivers. Even more difficult is to watch an animal experience stress in its final moments after a lifetime of training to otherwise cooperate. This can be addressed by including training for euthanasia in the behavioral repertoire. Even if an animal is trained for injections, there are many details to consider to facilitate voluntary cooperation and high standards in welfare once the decision to euthanize has been made. These details include methods of euthanasia, choosing and preparing the location, reactions to sedatives, addressing declining condition and more. Know- ing what to expect, trainers can adapt shaping plans to minimize or eliminate stress. This presentation will discuss what trainers need to know to enable quality of life, even when passing.

​From Glove to Exhibit:
One Hawk’s Flight to the Top

Victoria Karabanova, Leslie Storer, Kameron Thiele,
Oakland Zoo

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In July 2015 the Oakland Zoo acquired a red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) “Ojai” from a raptor rehabilitation facility with the intention of training her to be an ambassador animal for our education department. The training plan was based on positive reinforcement and desensitization techniques as opposed to more forceful, traditional falconry techniques. Ojai presented us with many challenges, causing us to modify the training plan numerous times, including phasing out the glove entirely. We ultimately decided Ojai would not be a suitable ambassador animal for our education department. She would instead move to the zoo’s latest expansion, California Trail, an area that features species currently or once found in California. The training plan then prioritized crate training as well as training her to respond to a lure on the ground, so keepers would be able to recall her in the 18,000 square foot habitat she would share with two California condors (Gymnogyps californianus). Keepers created a training plan for acclimatizing her to the new habitat, the milestones of which she hit faster than expected. Currently, keepers maintain scale, lure, and recall behaviors and have introduced new staff. The future continues to present new challenges and goals: training in the same space as condors, preparing for pub- lic demonstrations, and desensitizing her for behind-the-scenes experiences. The journey continues.

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How Our Zebra Earned Their Stripes

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Jenyva Fox,
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

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Cheyenne Mountain Zoo's staff is passionate about taking animal training to higher levels to improve the lives of animals in our care. This includes forward thinking when it comes to training basic husbandry or veterinary care behaviors. Furthermore, our zoo's goal of creating defining moments for our guests inspires us as trainers to create opportunities that connect people with our incredible animals.
The power of positive reinforcement training with our 2.0 Grants zebra became evident years ago when we actively decided to move away from using negative reinforcement to shift them on and off exhibit. We started by teaching them to come toward us for positive reinforcers. This strategy lead to a more trusting relationship with our zebra, and we have been able to continually build many cooperative behaviors (injections, blood draws, hoof care, voluntary radiographs, etc.) with them since that time.
Additionally, relationship building with our zebra has led to exciting opportunities for us to provide our zoo guests with unique and memorable up-close encounters with our zebra. How many people can say that they have scratched a zebra or taken a selfie with a smiling zebra? These experiences connect our guests to our animals and inspire them to conserve wildlife, which is our ultimate goal. This paper will outline the behaviors we trained, how we give them choice and control during all training, including during interactions with guests, and how we got to where we are in creating a better future for wildlife through excellence in behavior management.

The Husbandry in Healing a Galapagos Tortoise (Chelonoides nigra) after Leg Surgery


Lindsay Glass,
Dallas Zoo
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Following rear leg surgery in March 2017 due to poor body conformation and an unwillingness to walk, 30 year old Galapagos tortoise (Chelonoides nigra) “#12” spent 15 months in Dallas Zoo’s A.H. Meadows Animal Health Care Facility under the care of hospital keepers. Responsible for daily wound treatments, husbandry, enrichment, and training, hospital keeper staff employed creative solutions to combat recovery challenges. Chief among these solutions were unique methods for encouraging proper mobility, changes of scenery for natural stimulation, stall modifications for a novel indoor experience, and a custom designed physical therapy regimen using operant conditioning in order to get this 250 pound adult prepared to return to habitat. By collaborating with multiple zoo departments, hospital keepers were able to tailor the husbandry to the patient and provide mental stimulation and enhanced quality of life by providing naturalistic opportunities that improved demeanor, increased interactions with his surroundings, and resulted in better wellness overall. By July 2018, the veterinary team was pleased with the wound healing and was confident in #12’s ability to ambulate correctly; he was discharged back to the care of the Reptile staff and returned to exhibit with his 2.4 conspecifics.

Evaluating Training:
What we learned and
​where we are going
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Dr. Cathy Mingee and Brandi Taylor,
Busch Gardens Tampa
and Denver Zoo

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It is widely accepted that positive reinforcement training with intermittent reinforcement is the best method for long term learning and behavioral success. What isn’t widely accepted is what the ‘best’ implementation of intermittent, variable, reinforcement is. That is, what sort of reinforcement will lead to the best behavioral success – primary reinforcement, secondary reinforcement, occasional non-reinforcement or some combination of all of these? Literature on operant conditioning, positive reinforcement and clicker train- ing are all easy to find, but few articles evaluate and discuss the implementation of these methods on learning, long term behavioral success and animal welfare in a data-based model. This study was designed to not only begin exploring these questions, but also al- low us to truly evaluate our training program and interactions with our herd of Asian Elephants. The goal of our training program is to use a variable ratio schedule with a variety of reinforcement, but until now, we didn’t have any data to evaluate our program. Through extensive analysis, shared and discussed here, we were able to find out what our reinforcement schedules really look like and how our animals respond. With a better understanding of our training practices, we have been able to improve our comprehen- sion and implementation of the various reinforcement types available to us, understand how each individual animal responds, and
thus, advance the care and welfare of our animals.

Let’s Get Physical:
Physical Therapy and Guided Exercise in the Geriatric Health Management in a Herd of Elephants
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Laura Price,
San Diego Zoo

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At the San Diego Zoo, our elephant facility was built to accommodate the unique and special needs that a geriatric herd requires. We take care of four elephants: two Asian (Mary – 55, Devi – 42) and two African (Tembo – 42, Shaba – 38). We use a target pole and work with our elephants using operant conditioning using positive reinforcement in a protected contact setting. As part of their care, we do physical therapy four times a week and exercise walks regularly to meet all of their individual needs. Physical Therapy/exercise is preventative and focused on key muscle and joint movements.
It consists of these positions being held 3-5 sec each

- legs moving front and back
- front legs crossing – left and right - head down
- trunk up

This is an evolving program that addresses specific elephant needs with advancements in targeted movement to build stamina and endurance. The goal is to increase repetitions and duration of each targeted movement. We also do exercise walks with our elephants whether it is A-B’s with two trainers or a guided walk from 20 min – 1 hr. We do physical therapy and exercise sessions any- where in the yards, stalls or holding areas. We have transparent components of our program for the public to observe and under- stand. Physical therapy and exercise are necessary and therapeutic. We do our best to make it positive for our elephants, so that they will want to participate in their own health care.