Tag Archives | zoo animals

clicker training a giraffe to touch a target

Wordless Wednesday: Giraffe Training

Okay, as usual, this is going to an an almost Wordless Wednesday post! I’ve been chatting some with Linda, who works at Zooworld in Panama City Beach, Florida. In the picture above she is working on target training (using clicker training) with one of the zoo’s young giraffes. I’ve written before about why training is […]

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dallas zoo gorilla

Clicker training gorillas to “trade”

Last spring, I spent a very fun day at the Dallas Zoo. My professor and advisor, Jesus Rosales-Ruiz, spoke at a weekly lunch lecture series the zoo has for their staff, sharing information about some of his research on poisoned cues. I wrote most of this post then, but never got around to completely finishing […]

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Many examples of animals trained with clicker training and other positive reinforcement training methods

If we can teach wild animals….

Have you seen Lili Chin’s latest poster? It’s inspired by this great quote from Ted Turner (behaviorist and head trainer at Sea World): “If you can teach a whale to pee in a cup, you can train your dog without punishment.” The illustration features twelve great examples of wild animals who have been trained to […]

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Clicker Training Goes to the Zoo

Clicker Training Goes to the Zoo

As many of you know, I’m part of ORCA (the Organization for Reinforcement Contingencies with Animals) at UNT. Much of what ORCA does is research, training and community service. However, one of our other missions is to educate the public about positive training. We do this at our big annual animal training conference and by […]

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Why do animals exhibit stereotypies?

Stereotypical behaviors (abnormal repetitive behaviors) are commonly seen in animals kept in captivity. Polar bears and other large carnivories are notorious for repetitive pacing type behaviors. Grazing animals kept in unnatural or confined environments often resort to chewing on bars or fences or obsessive licking. Other animals rock back and forth, obsessively groom themselves or engage […]

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