So today was a really fun day. I got to hang out with the zoo's famous animal behaviorist and trainer, Jay Pratte. Before this experience, I thought I had a good idea of what his role is here. Luckily, I did have a good idea, however, not all of it. To start off our day, we started training the two main African lions, Mr. Big and Nala, their target training. After warming them up, we started to train them so we could get their tails to come over to us so we can take blood samples. This was really cool to watch. The lions had a total different behavior in the back holding compared to their public display areas.
After the lions, we then moved to the Malaysian tiger. This was really interesting to watch since the tiger, Mia, only had three legs. One of hers got amputated due to poaching before she was brought to the zoo. She was too mangled up and in order to save her life, the procedure had to be done. Even though this is not the ideal way of living, Mia does get around pretty well and can still be persistent through training. She is a trooper!
After this, we went over to hoofstock and got to hang out with the giraffes. What a character they are. The keeper area is located right where the giraffes can put their head over the ledge to give us a nudge to ask us for some treats. We did needle injection training here.
We then ventured over to the aquarium. Here, we did target feeding with the sting rays and zebra sharks. Here I observed that every animal is different. Each one has it's own characteristics and personality. It is important to work with animals on a regular basis so you could notice if there is any change in behavior. I especially saw this when we were target feeding the African painted wild dogs.
The dogs are located under the gazebo that got taken down that I mentioned in a previous blog. There were bats in there and we tried to clear them out before it got torn down. This event effected the dogs since it was a lot of commotion up the hill for them. Since then, the dogs have not been in their regular routine for training. From this event, this changed their behavior. The keepers need to spend some extra time to make sure that they are cognitively all right and are able to bounce back to their A-game.
After a long day of training, we ended our training at the komodo dragon. This guy is super smart. He knows how to do target training. However, he doesn't know his station very well when he approaches the open window. Some advice that I heard Jay tell the keepers was possibly setting a log by the window so that he knows his exact location of his station instead of being half way through the display window.
After the day is over, I learned so much from Jay. He has really put things into perspective in what I want to do. After observing and asking questions all day, some things that he really stressed that if I want to do this is to get experience. Experience is very valuable. Without his multiple experiences, he even mentions that he would not have this job today. So far what I have done in my life is great, but I still need to do more since this kind of job is so competitive. Hopefully through my time paying my dues and getting experience, I can pull it off and be like Jay Pratte! :)
Another thing I learned is that it is very important to maintain positive reinforcement when training. If not all of the keepers are not on the same level when trying to perform a task, the animal could lose interest and the task to be trained becomes harder. You should never give up, should always be patient, treat every animal as a unique individual and respect their needs. After using these requirements, training becomes a lot easier and fun!
As you all are probably wondering, why would I like to do training? Well, Jay put it in very good words and I can totally relate and agree with him. I like how the Omaha Zoo, Jay and I are on a mission to have training serve as a means of providing a positive experience in every animal's lives. We need to unlock the code that the animals are trying to tell us what they need so then we can therefore provide a better life for them. It is a learning process for both sides coming from the animals and the keepers. Also, training helps the animals gain enrichment for ways of getting their diet and help out when the veterinarians need to do anything with the animals. It makes the animal more comfortable with us and the procedure we need to do with them.
All of this was just a wonderful day. I hope that I can continue the quest as did Jay in his experiences and end up like him someday. Today has definitely put things into perspective for me on what I want to do. It's amazing how much he inspired me by allowing me to tag along and shadow him. I hope one day I can do the same in his position and inspire another intern who was in my spot. We need more people like Jay. Together, we can education the world on how important animals are and by being educated on this, we can save our animal friends and live in harmony with them! :)
