Zoo InternQuest is a career exploration program for high school students. For more information see the Zoo InternQuest Journals. For more photos see the Zoo InternQuest Photo Journal.

If I got a dollar for every correct answer on a test, I’d probably try a lot harder to get as many right answers as possible. That’s the same concept the animal trainers at the Zoo use to persuade the animals to do certain things. Animal Training Manager Kristi Dovich and the Wegeforth Bowl Team showed us the techniques used to train the animals.

One of the coolest things about how animals are trained at the Zoo is the techniques can be used to train your pets at home. The main thing to remember is that the Zoo does not use negative reinforcement, only positive. The key is to use a signal to say “good job.” This signal is meant to represent a reward, usually in the form of food. Anything will work for a signal, but a clicker is more convenient than saying “good boy!” every time the animal does something good. To make sure that the animal makes the connection between the noise and a reward, the first thing the trainers do when they start to train an animal is click and feed. They just have to make sure that the animal isn’t doing anything bad when the connection is established. It wouldn’t be very good if an animal were accidentally trained to charge people!

Another thing that’s cool about how the animals are trained is that the animals learn at their own pace. If the animal is trying, or gets part of a motion down, then it gets rewarded. Once the animal improves significantly, the trainer raises the criteria for the animal to get a treat. Also, when the animal starts to get full of food, the trainer works on easier behaviors with the animal, like walking over the drain (pictured). Just like how you wouldn’t want to run a mile on a full stomach, an animal wouldn’t want to do something like a back-flip after it has eaten most of its meal.

Even though it may seem like the animal shows at the Zoo are just for fun, they do so much more than entertain the guests. Disguised within the merriment of the shows is a lesson in why people should care about and engage in conservation actions for the amazing animals on the stage and in the Zoo. Also, since none of the animals used in the shows can be released into the wild for one reason or another, the shows at the Zoo give these animals a chance to help their species and many others. By educating and motivating everyone who watches the shows, these amazing animals help gain support and funds for conservation around the world. So next time you go to the Zoo, make sure you check out one of the shows. Those animals and their trainers just might teach you some new tricks!

Madolyn, Real World Team

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