Animal Behavior Abstracts
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Juggling Cats: Coordinating the Daily "Reef Feed" at The Florida Aquarium Laura Wandel, The Florida Aquarium Watch Video (Login required) Full Abstract
The ‘Coral Reef’ is the largest habitat at The Florida Aquarium with a volume of approximately 500,000 gallons. The habitat is home to 74 distinct species and is used throughout the day for public dive programs. Ensuring that every animal gets the proper nutrition is a challenge all on its own, but FLAQ is committed to providing individualized care and husbandry/medical related training to as many animals as possible. Currently the ‘Coral Reef’ contains more than 2 dozen individual animals in 8 separate species groups that receive specialized care and training during a single daily training session. This presentation will discuss how all of these groups are coordinated in concert with each other and the individual group challenges and successes of the Reef Feed training program. |
Improving Animal Wellness in Southern Stingrays (Dasyatis americana) Through Behavioral Modification
Jessica Sandelli & Alyssa Fessett, The Florida Aquarium Watch Video (Login required) Full Abstract
The Florida Aquarium houses seven female Southern Rays in the deep side of our 500,000-gallon coral reef habitat. This habitat contains most of the aquarium’s elasmobranch collection within either the shallow or deep sides separated by a corralled platform. In this environment, we developed a training plan for the rays that has improved the time of catchups, reduced staff and animal stress, and ensured all samples are collected on schedule in preparation for sampling with the South-East Zoo Alliance for Reproduction and Conservation (SEZARC). By inviting the Southern Rays into the corral, we condensed the time needed to move the rays while decreasing the amount of staff required through reducing the need to dive. Six out the seven Southern Rays came into the corral when invited; divers brought in the last. Moving forward, we hope to add behaviors to the rays’ repertoire resulting in increased participation in wellness assessments. |
The Taming of the Shrew -
Charlotte's Story Stephanie Shannon, Mystic Aquarium Watch Video (Login required) Full Abstract
When you’ve got a Green Sea Turtle on a 100 day hunger strike and you need to get her to participate in her own health care…. what do you do? This talk will go into the tactics used to condition our ~20 y/o Sea Turtle to help her progress from despondent to willingly stationing on a platform under UV light. The talk will also go into the animal’s history/rehabilitation and weight pouches used to compensate for the positive buoyancy “Bubble Butt” caused by the accident and how it affected training. *Spoiler Alert*Also turns out Charlotte is really a Charlie…. |
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Keeping Fit; Healthy Body, Mind, Alligator, and Penguin
Maegan Gentry, The Florida Aquarium Watch Video (Login required) Full Abstract
As our industry grows and evolves, our techniques, attitudes, and animal welfare advances as well. Training our animals, aquatics and terrestrials alike, has become a significant part of our daily routines. This training allows us to provide the creatures in our care with mental and physical stimulation, reduced stress during physicals, ease of catch-up, as well as improved relationships between animals and trainers. At the Florida Aquarium, the animal welfare programs for two of our semi-aquatic animals, American alligators and African black-footed penguins, allow for the best care and comfort of our animals. The behaviors we have taught our American alligators and African penguins also provide our biologists with ease of care, ease of medical exams and exhibit maintenance, as well as fun, engaging, and connective experiences for our guests. It is hoped that this presentation inspires other animal care professionals with training techniques and ideas for their animals. |
Methods for Stretcher Training the Bonnethead Shark (Sphyrna tiburo)
Hannah Cutting, New England Aquarium Watch Video (Login required) Full Abstract
Training of elasmobranchs in public aquariums is an emerging husbandry practice used to improve overall care and reduce stress associated with handling. In 2016, animal care staff at the New England Aquarium in Boston, Massachusetts made the decision to begin stretcher training the bonnethead shark, the only shark species in our main exhibit, the Giant Ocean Tank (GOT). Prior to training, the sharks were stick-fed by divers, which presented many challenges, including risks to the divers due to the sharks’ excited and unpredictable response while feeding. Training took place at the NEAq’s offsite facility in a 30’ round tank containing six bonnethead sharks. The sharks’ behaviors were gradually modified to train them to consistently follow a target into a stretcher for feeding. Three sharks have been successfully transitioned back into the GOT using this method. This presentation demonstrates the methods for offsite training as well as keys to a successful transition back onto exhibit. |
Cleatus: Working with a Goliath Grouper
Laura Wandel, The Florida Aquarium Watch Video (Login required) Full Abstract
Cleatus has made his home at the Florida Aquarium since 1995 and in recent years he has participated in a training and enrichment program dedicated solely to him. The past 2 years have seen large periods (60+ days) of inappetence during the late summer/fall season with reduced participation in training and enrichment sessions. This presentation will detail the variety of methods used to encourage him to eat as well as the subsequent behavioral conditioning put in place to make future handling and veterinary procedures less stressful for Cleatus and the husbandry team. |
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Full Abstract
The Georgia Aquarium’s animal care team took on the task of rethinking how to go about minimizing stress on whale sharks in its care, yet still have the ability to acquire blood samples for analysis. Previous efforts required a large team that steered the shark into a vinyl stretcher to lift the shark’s tail out of the water. This new effort would again require the entire team’s participation as well as support from other departments and would occur during a normal feeding session. A desensitization process preceded each attempt that allowed those feeding, the divers, and the sharks to become familiar with each other. Utilizing knowledge gleaned from previous attempts on one particular specimen, the team successfully obtained blood samples from the other three whale sharks on the first attempt each time. Additionally, documentation of this process was prioritized which would allow it to be repeated and even improved upon. |