Humphrey Training & Animal Escape: Last Day of Internship Madness

   Today started out with a bang with an animal escape. One of the red pandas managed to get out of their exhibit. This caused many keepers to come surround her (as she climbed a tree) and figure out a way to get her down. She did eventually come down and they safely crated her and placed her safely back in her home.  It was a good experience, since it is something that occasionally happens at zoos, as it has taught me the importance of triple checking that locks are secure and that you know where your animal is at all times. As well as knowing that while you may think you can trust your animal, they are still wild and could always surprise you with what they do.

   We also have begun Humphrey foot training, where we place a x-ray plate near his foot and train him not to move it, which he currently does since it makes him nervous. Providing treats for not moving and positive reinforcement helps direct him to an appropriate response and will eventually allow the vets to take x-rays if there is ever a need to do so.

  All and all, today was an exhilarating last day of my fantastic internship at the Cincinnati Zoo. I feel that I have learned a lot of valuable and memorable skills that have truly helped prepare me for the future. Keep tuned for a post exclusively of photos I've taken throughout the summer!

P. Horse Training

  As one of the training objectives we are trying to train one of our P. horses, Bajkit, to be more comfortable with us so that we can eventually put fly spray on her and do more medical training without having to knock her down each time. To start this training one of the keepers has been target training her and I get to help. Whenever she properly does what she is asked she is given an apple & oats biscuit while a clicker is clicked (those are my jobs!). She does very well with target training so far as well as with "stationing" which is her going to a specific area in her stall.

  Watching more and more training with our various animals in the canyon has taught me a lot about proper training techniques and I am excited to eventually get to implement them myself!

Crate Training a 5 Month Old Bactrian Camel

  Jack, our 5 month old Bactrian Camel, is moving to Scovill Zoo in October and because of this we need to start getting him crate trained for his move. Today was the first day we introduced him to the trailer and he did really well! He wouldn't come near it at first, but as soon as my keepers and I began to stand inside it and call him over he approached it cautiously and began smelling it and standing by it for extended periods of time. Since this was the first day of training we consider this to be extremely well done for our little (big) man! We are hoping that soon we can get him to stand in it, even for short periods of time.

   Today we also did our last needle training with Harapan and the vets before the first blood draw next week. While we are not quite trained yet for blood draws from his leg, we will be taking blood from his ear next week. However, it is happening next Saturday, after I leave, so I will not be able to know first hand how he does (sad face) though I'm sure he'll do great!

Running a Red River Hog & Elephant Foot Work

   To start the day we moved Rhea, the red river hog, from her normal exhibit across the canyon to hang out with our pot belly pigs for about a month. This is because tomorrow they are starting sand blasting in Harapan's usual stalls, so he will be taking over Rhea's home for about a month, therefore also using her normal yard. So this morning we opened the doors between all of the yards in the canyon and tempted her with treats so that she would walk from her home, which she is used to, across all of the yards to her old home with the pot bellies. 

  I then got to end my day watching one of the female elephants get her feet work done. Since Cincinnati Zoo is a free contact facility with female elephants we were able to go into the enclosure as the lead keeper did one on one training and foot work with her. The keeper begun by showing us the tools he uses to give her the mani/pedi's, most of which are the same as are used on horses hooves, though some were larger scale. He also uses some power tools which help grind down the dirt and excess pad on the bottoms and toe nails of the elephants. He explained the technique involved and showed us how she is trained to lift various feet up on a bench so he can easier work on it. The bull elephant is also trained in this and we got to see an example of what he does when he is getting foot work done. -- the main difference being that it is protected contact with him rather than free! 

   After the foot keeping seminar we got to take pictures and love on the female elephant a little! 

Target Training with Harapan

   We are still working closely with Harapan on his medical shoot training, but we have decided to mix things up and train him also on target training so that he isn't receiving the same training every day, therefore not being able to guess what is coming. For target training we use a long stick with a buoy glued to the end. We say target, he touches the buoy with his nose, we click the clicker so that he knows he did well, and then give him a treat (apple, pear, banana, carrot, etc). This training is going well and we are hoping we can eventually use it as an aid to his training for blood draws.

Liwu's Physical & Dollar Day Madness!

  Today was dollar day here at the Cincinnati Zoo which means INSANITY! There were over 20,000 people here, bustling around. However, it made for an excellent camel talk as we filled two buckets of treats and fed them all out without problem!

   We also had Liwu's (one of our red pandas) physical today which I got to go see. First, the vets came to her enclosure where she was then netted and then given the shot which has the sleeping drugs in it. We then turned off the lights so she could calmly fall asleep. Once she was out the vets moved her into a carrier and we drove her to the vet hospital on grounds. Once inside they laid her on the table and hooked her up to oxygen tanks which would keep her under during the exam. She got her nails trimmed, hair brushed out, urine sample, and blood samples done, as well as getting up to date on her vaccines. She also got a weight and x-rays to ensure everything was healthy. They checked her heart rate, and I got to listen to her heart beat through the stethoscope! All in all, Liwu is a healthy girl and shouldn't need another physical until next July!

Teaching a Flamingo to Follow

   Today I got to help teach a baby flamingo to follow. While this is not my usual area, it was a fun adventure nonetheless. We have flamingos at the zoo which are used for educational programs. They are taken from their mothers at a young age so that they can be imprinted by the humans that work with them. This allows us to take them on walks around the zoo where they follow us without having to be touched or handled. This baby I was working with today has been recently taken from his/her mother and is being worked on imprinting, which as you can see from the photo below is working wonderfully!

   Today I also got to help with the giraffe feeding, where I was handing crackers to the guests and keeping the giraffes up at the ledge. I also cuddled the baby Duiker today since we are trying to get her use to human contact. We also had extra time today so I got to give Rhea a belly rub as enrichment!