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.

Watching the elephants at the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park was a fresh and stimulating experience, as we were obliged to look at the animal’s actions from a behavioral biologist’s point of view. Dr. Matt Anderson and Dr. Lance Miller accompanied us on our outing to observe the African elephant herd and assisted us in trying out our skills as behavioral biologists. Behavioral biology at the San Diego Zoo involves studying animals in captivity and using the information gleaned to better care for captive animals as well as better protect animals in the wild. Studying the animals can also be a way to learn if an individual animal’s behavior is changing, and to improve our ability to breed the animals.   

Behavioral biologists sometimes use a method called focal sampling. With this method, the observer focuses on one specific animal of interest. The behavior of this animal may stay consistent for a long duration of time or change from day to day, or even from minute to minute. In an elephant herd, changing the focal animal everyday for, say a week, gives biologists at the Park a chance to compare different individuals in the herd and note any variations in behavior between older and younger animals as well as animals with diverse levels of dominance.

While watching an animal, it is a behavioral biologist’s job to systematically note its activities, for example once every minute. This method allows the biologist to record what an animal is doing as well as where it is at a certain point in time. But documenting what the animal is doing is not the only thing a behavioral biologist does. Taking note of what an animal is not doing, especially behaviors that normally happen in the wild, is also part of the job. Dr. Miller commented that watching the animals is his favorite part of the job. It is not all pleasurable though. On some days, hot ones for example, when the animals are spending their time resting in the shade and hardly doing anything at all, watching them becomes boring very quickly.  Behavioral biologists not only watch what an animal is doing but also record the vocalizations they make, figure out what percent of the time an animal does certain activities (such as eating, walking, or socializing), compare the behavior of animals in the Zoo to the behavior of wild animals, and help to create an environment for the animals that will stimulate natural activities. They work with people who design the animal exhibits to create an enclosure that will reinforce the animals’ natural behaviors and tendencies.

Behavioral biologists are beginning to tap into new technologies in order to help them monitor the animals they are studying. One such method is GPS, or global positioning systems, which allows biologists to track an animal’s position and observe what other animals they are spending time with or avoiding, without a constant direct watch over them. This limits the amount of time that biologists need to be visually watching their study subjects. But sometimes complications arise. Soon after putting GPS collars on the elephants at the Park, resident biologists realized that the devices needed to be waterproof in order to withstand the frequent dips that the elephants enjoy taking in their swimming pool. The GPS collars used at the Park not only records the wearer’s location but are also fitted with special equipment to record any vocalizations made by the animal. Behavioral biologists are extremely curious about certain sounds that animals make because at least some of the tones or pitches are too low of a frequency for people to hear. One such sound is an elephant’s rumble. Without the proper technology, these subsonic messages would be totally lost on us.

Danielle, Careers Team

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