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IFAW

2019-2020 Australian Bushfire

IFAW

http://ifaw.org/au

Connections (Keynote Presentations)

Available only through July 31, 2021

Our keynote speech will be a panel discussion entitled "Connections" and will discuss the animal-human bond as well as mental well-being during a pandemic.  Our panelists are Dr. Scarlett Magda, Veterinarians International; Dr. Suzan Murray, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute; Dr. James Hassell, Yale Public School of Health; Dr. Sue Varma, New York University Langone Health.


Everything is connected.
From recent world events and how it has affected our industry, to how a person handles the stress that comes with the territory of working in the professional animal field. Connections is a four-part approach to breaking down topics and finding viable solutions. First, we will discuss the pandemic; how it happened and wherewe are now. Second, we will focus on the "One Health" approach, and how we need to recognize these connections. Third, we will look at human/animal conflict and what we can do to continue to progress in this area. Fourth, we will discuss self-care during stressful times, addressing compassion fatigue and techniques to seek help. These connections run deep and offer strength and hope to the animal community.
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Guest Speaker

Gary Wilson​

Moorpark College

Making Quality Connections at Moorpark College

The Exotic Animal Training and Management Program at Moorpark College has been teaching aspiring animal trainers how to make quality connections with their animals for almost 50 years. Gary Wilson has been steering the animal training curriculum for 35 of those years. In this live presentation from the college’s animal facility, America’s Teaching Zoo, Gary will share his thoughts on training trainers and his students will demonstrate what they have been able to achieve in training some of the college’s 110 animals.

BMF Scholarship Presentation

Ruta Vaicekauskaite
​

Environmental Enrichment Induces Positive Changes In Black Sea Bottlenose Dolphins’ Attitude And Increases Their Willingness To Participate During Public Presentations

Zoological institutions use a variety of environmental enrichments (EE) to improve welfare of the animals under their care and to encourage them to display their behavioral diversity. Enrichment protocols, related to the biology and physiology of particular species or groups of species, need to be further studied to understand how they affect animal welfare. To our knowledge the impact of EE before public presentations has not yet been studied in bottlenose dolphins. The aim of our study was to assess how interactions with familiar humans impacted Black Sea bottlenose dolphins’ (Tursiops truncatus ponticus) behaviors while using EE before public presentations and to consider for the first time dolphins’ attitude. We used a Likert scale to score dolphins’ attitude during public presentations in six bottlenose dolphins in Attica Zoological Park, Greece. An attitude assessment method was created to be easily and thoroughly used by professional care staff during each presentation and was implemented during a three-month period. Results showed significant changes in dolphins’ attitude and greater willingness to participate during public presentation after EE sessions highlighting the crucial role of interactions with familiar humans for dolphins under professional care. Ultimately animals’ attitude scoring could be a potential tool to develop EE strategies and could improve animal welfare assessments for marine mammals under professional care. In conclusion, we discuss different ways to assess the effectiveness of EE on dolphins and the potential of using this approach for other animal species kept in zoological settings.

Thursday Papers

How Much Can You Remember?
Operative Memory Capacity As Mental Stimulation In Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)
​

Ricardo Ruiz
​
​​​Welfare and Husbandry
Innovative Training​
​​

Full Abstract

In recent years with the research in the cognitive behavioral training we know that short-term retention is present in marine mammals. But can our animals remember past events and tasks and reconstruct them in future scenarios, or is it something that only humans can do? Our animals can´t verbalize the memory, so it is difficult to test this hypothesis. The last three years we chose Maya the dolphin to create a cognitive stimulation program, the goal was memory and perception. The choice was not random, Maya repeats aberrant behaviors after training (regurgitation). The first stage of the program was to examine the operational memory and the behavioral retention capacity. The second stage included presenting the different color boards, the dolphin could retain in memory shaped task’s. The third, Maya had to retain on memory all this information until a future training session 48 hours later. Methods to address the question of memory retention: The attention as basic for memory exercises. The redirection in case of wrong answers. Diminished the use of secondary reinforcement to condition memory tasks by using exclusively primary reinforcement, reducing the anxiety involved in the mid-term tasks. Maya remembered 18 different tasks which are elicited two days before, and the aberrant behaviors decreased to 95%. In conclusion, the stimulation of the operational memory is very useful for the mental stimulation of our animals. Also we believe that this type of programs can help to extinguish aberrant behaviors typical of areas with a history of low mental stimulation.

Training A Rescued Seal Pup
New Insights For An
​Experienced Training Team
​

Gabrielle Harris
​
South African Association
For Marine Biological
Research

Full Abstract

Recently at uShaka Sea World we introduced a rescued non-releasable young seal pup called Nala into our resident South African Fur seal group. While working with this naïve animal, our pinniped team adopted a novel strategy with the objective of ensuring generalised confidence with the entire group of trainers. The hope was that this would ensure long term confidence that will generalise to other areas in her life. To achieve this, a collaborative plan was put into place. The plan included very careful and detailed communication between all parties. There are 11 trainers in the team, and the decision taken was that all would work with Nala from the outset. Each trainer was working on a particular goal behaviour. Behaviours chosen all contributed to form her foundation training. Trainers were encouraged to watch each other’s sessions. Particular attention was given to ensuring that the training plans always included a safe behaviour with the objective of providing her choice and control in her training. Training progressed really well, and as a result her integration into the resident group went very smoothly. She remains a confident animal in the established group. Just 9 days after entering the presentation area, trainers were able to present her in our formal guest experience. A bonus of this entire process is that Nala has inspired some great team building skills to the pinniped team.This paper will highlight the strategies used in our team training plan and the insights we gained during this journey with Nala.

Guest Speakers

Dr. Susan Friedman

and

​Rick Hester

Quality Connections In Zoo Consulting: Improving Outcomes And Creating A Legacy

Helen Keller said, "Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." These wise words reflect our experience collaborating at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, first spearheaded by Bob Chastain and Steve Martin over a decade ago. The goal is improving animal welfare by extending the application of behavior-change science and technology to zoo training programs. In this session, Curator of Behavioral Husbandry Rick Hester, and applied behavior analyst Susan G. Friedman, Ph. D., invite you to observe their live behavior consultations with zookeepers teaching giraffes and penguins to be active participants in husbandry and medical care.

Guest Speaker

​
Chiraq Patel

Developing Quality Connections Through Practical Applications Of Behaviour Science

Skinner said: “What is love except another name for the use of positive reinforcement? Or vice versa, but he Is also quotes as saying "The way positive reinforcement is carried out is more important than the amount.” The science that's been derived from the work of B.F.Skinner and many people following him has provided a solid basis for our training and behaviour modification technology today. In this presentation Chirag will discuss ways that we can develop very strong relationships with our learners using practical examples to illustrate the science and practical examples. We will look at idea of providing our learners with control, on the fly functional assessment and look at examples from aggressive behaviours to general shaping principles in practice.

Thursday Papers (cont.)

When A Seal Teaches Us About
​Our Life Support System

Jose Miguel Pereira Gomes

​
Melbourne Zoo,
Zoos Victoria

Full Abstract

A female, long-nosed fur seal developed corneal disease shortly after arrival at Melbourne Zoo in March of 2015. The condition was characterised by left eye pain caused by multiple pin point ulcers in the cornea. In addition, the corneas of both the left and right eyes were determined to be unhealthy when examined under anaesthesia. Identifying the main causal factor for her decline in eye health was extremely challenging, but after consulting with water management consultants, it was hypothesised that the production and presence of disinfection by-products resulting from ozone dosing could be a contributing factor. A life support system review was undertaken and the resulting implemented changes (particularly the organic matter reduction and the adjustment in oxidant dosing) resulted in remarkable improvements in the fur seal's eye heath. These improvements also allowed the keepers to train the seal to receive eye drops voluntarily.

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Ready, Set, Train...To Save A Species

Wouter Stellaard

Columbus Zoo and
Aquarium

Full Abstract

In February of 2020, 2 cheetah cubs were born at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. They were the first cubs born at the Columbus Zoo in years, as well as the first cubs to ever be born, in any facility, using IVF transfer in cheetahs. The benefit of these cheetahs training program was vital to the success. All the procedures beside the implantation of the fetus were done voluntarily. The hormone injections, injection for anesthetization, blood collection, x-ray, ultrasounds and milk collection were all done voluntarily. The relationship the staff had with the animal involved was paramount. This was a huge accomplishment and a great example of how zoos can work together and training is important to save a species. Adriene Crosier and Dr. Pierre Comizzoli, from the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, were the science behind the success. The sire, from Fossil Rim Wildlife Center and the Dam, Kabibi from the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, in the same area as the surrogate mother Isabel. The vet staff at both Columbus Zoo and the National Zoo worked closely together with the trainers to make this a success. This paper will focus on how the training of the cheetahs was vital to the success and makes the science possible to save a species.

It Takes A Village:
A Unique Approach To Desensitization Of Wolf To Human Presence

Darren Minier

Conservation Society of California,
Oakland Zoo

Full Abstract

In July 2018 Oakland Zoo opened its new 51-acre zoo expansion, 'California Trail'. During the preceding six months as construction was ongoing, keepers were actively desensitizing new pair of 6 year old Gray Wolf to a boardwalk which winds above and through their 1.5-acre exhibit. Within the year, the pair would need to be comfortable with the large crowds of guests anticipated with the opening of California Trail. Both wolves had been previously managed in a ‘hands-off’ style with two to three carcass feedings each week, and as such were not accustomed to interacting with caretakers in a zoo-like environment, which limited our ability to utilize now-standard reinforcement techniques. We employed a program of counter conditioning (training an animal to display a behavior that is different than its current reaction to a stimulus) and desensitization (the process of exposing the animal to a stimulus beginning at a very low intensity) utilizing Zoo donors, docents, and eventually members to incrementally increase human presence. This presentation will describe our process, our need to communicate and work with other departments not skilled in animal training, and the lessons learned in non-aversive training with limited to no reinforcers to increase resilience and comfort, and ultimately wolf welfare.

Confidently Training Dolphins For 
Cooperative Gastroscopy –
Equipment and Training Solutions

Gabrielle Harris
​​
South African Association
For Marine Biological Research

Full Abstract

To monitor the health of our bottlenose dolphins, we have trained them to participate in cooperative gastroscopy procedures. This has assisted us in many health interventions and assisted vets to monitor health concerns and adjust treatment more proactively where required. Furthermore, information gathered has provided scientific evidence for a master’s project that investigates social impact on this health indicators. Ensuring that the animals were safe and also that expensive equipment is not damaged during the procedure was a primary concern when training for this procedure. Initially, staff anxiety around this issue, compromised successful training. To protect the equipment and provide staff with the confidence required to train more successfully, a special bit was designed. There were also requirements from the veterinary staff such as using air and keeping the animal in a specific position for the procedure. This poster will describe the equipment used and outline how the behaviour was successfully trained with all ten of the bottlenose dolphins.

Guest Speaker

Hillary Hankey

Less Stress With More Flex – What Are You Missing In Your Toolkit?

With a singular focus on positive reinforcement as the driving force of empowerment, we can miss other choice-based opportunities for the animals in our care to communicate their needs and wants in the training relationship. This presentation explores scenarios in which a nuanced approach to reinforcement, combining positive and negative reinforcement, can help us look past more rigid uses of conditioning principles that can lead to stress and confusion for the animal. We will put our actions under a microscope and utilize timing and reinforcers in an intentional way. In turn, this helps us accurately assess what is actually at play in the training session and use these principles to each of our advantage, propelling forward our skills, understanding, and accountability as a trainer and learner of animal behavior.