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.

Much the same as you command your family dog (or maybe even your younger sibling) with verbal or visual signals and then reward him or her with a treat and praise, so do Heidi Moomaw and Katie Springer, animal trainers at the San Diego Zoo, teach animals to perform behaviors. Except, of course, the two don’t train their younger siblings but work with wild animals! Cheetahs, sea lions, anteaters, condors, wolves, hyenas, opossums, macaws, even domestic canines, Ms. Moomaw and Ms. Springer have a wide variety of students.

Animal trainers teach the stars of the shows at the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park. Besides using food, the trainers use patience, cooperation, and affection to help their students earn A+ marks. While an animal is acclimating to its new surroundings, it is observed by the trainer to see if any of its natural behaviors can be refined. Trainers start brainstorming which behaviors to teach the animal once it’s ready. Then they begin interacting with the animal in its own environment until it is comfortable enough to be trained away from its home territory. Trainers at the Zoo use food and a clicker as the top ingredients in their successful recipe for productive training sessions: positive reinforcement. Each time the animal correctly follows a command or goes out of its comfort zone to follow directions, the trainer presses the clicker and gives the animal a treat. Then it’s time to move on to the next lesson plan while still practicing the skills they’ve already learned.

The animals that really know their stuff get to interact with the public. These well-behaved animal ambassadors encourage their audiences to do their part to maintain the  natural world so their species can thrive. Just as a person watching the Westminster Dog Show is influenced by a particular breed that seems to shine with beauty and proper behavior, so do these animals act as a link to the public and influence a Zoo visitor to fall for something as seemingly unlovable as an opossum.

Andrea, Real World Team

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