Friday Abstracts

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Guest Speaker

Barbara Heidenreich

https://animaltrainingfundamentals.com/
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Exotic Animal Training: The Constructional Approach to Addressing Extreme Fear Responses and Aggressive Behavior

In zoological settings we are training everything from snarling big cats to flighty herds of antelopes. Traditionally our first step has involved delivering preferred food items. But some animals present such extreme fear responses or aggressive behavior in the presence of humans, that food holds little value. Trying to use systematic desensitization and keeping animals below threshold can be challenging to apply for many reasons. Results are often slowly realized in these cases, if at all. The constructional approach empowers animals to replace fear or aggressive behavior with desired responses. Using this procedure, the animal is approaching to accept appetitives usually within one or two sessions. When applying the constructional approach in zoos, we have a number of different challenges to address such as enclosure design, limited visibility, needing to know the natural history of the species, and how to apply the protocol to a group of animals. This presentation will address questions such as what is maintaining undesired behavior, why the usual advice of superimposition of positively reinforced behavior is less successful, and why behavioral interventions are non-linear. It will also provide video examples of how the constructional approach is helping a variety of species of animals commonly cared for in zoos.

Friday Papers

BMF Scholarship Presentation

Using The Premack Principle
​And Control
To Establish A New Behavior Without Food Reinforcement

Lyndsay Newton

Zoo Atlanta

The Importance Of Training For Enhancing The Animal Welfare For The Birds Of Prey At Landgoed Hoenderdaell, The Netherlands

Silke Kruk,
Saskia Verbruggen

Animal Training Roundeurope,
Landgoed Hoenderdaell

Building Confidence Through "Free Choice-Training” In Companion Parrots and Parakeets

​Hildegard Niemann
​
​
Parrot Behaviour Consulting

Social Media Panel

​Tursiops and TikTok:
Insulating Your Zoological Brand Online
​in 2021 

Erin McKinney

Disrupting Homogeneity:
Strategies for Intersectional Engagement

Corina Newsome

​The Wild Side with Clay
​

​Clay Carabajal

​Using humor and beauty to build community

Holly Richards
Rebecca Fabri

Friday Papers (cont.)

Training Free Flight Parrots --
​A Different Perspective

Chris Shank

Cockatoo Downs

​Positive Reinforcement In A Pinch​
​

Timothy Van Loan

ABQ BioPark

Guest Speakers

Thad and Angi Lacinak

Precision Behavior

Targeting and Desensitization in
​Advanced Application

Targeting and desensitization are often referred to as ‘foundation’ behaviors. There is good reason for this as they are stepping stones to virtually every complex behavior, particularly medical behaviors, that trainers request of animals in their care. The skillful application of these two ‘basic’ concepts, however, can yield impressively advanced results. This presentation will provide video demonstrations with a variety of species including mammals, reptiles, birds and fish plus service dogs.

Friday Papers (cont.)

​Rodents Of Unending Surprises
​​

Katie Stevens

​Columbus Zoo and Aquarium

Early Morning Cheetah Experience

​Charmaine Davis
​
San Diego Zoo