Training: Enriching the Lives of Animals and Their Keepers

Here at the Perkins Wildlife Center, there is a lot more to taking care of our animals than just feeding them and cleaning their cages. Training with the animals is one of the most important parts of our day.

We never train our animals to do “tricks”. The behaviors that we train our animals to do either mimic natural behaviors, allow us to give them medical care, or keep both animals and keepers from harm’s way. Continuously teaching new behaviors and practicing the already learned behaviors help to keep an animal’s body and mind physically and mentally healthy.

Many of our animals are kennel trained, which allows us to easily transport them to the vet without handling them. Our larger mammals are also station trained. This means that they know to wait at a certain station or area when the keepers enter the enclosure. This not only keeps us a safe distance from the animals, it also helps deter food aggression between animals sharing the same exhibit.

“Target” training is another behavior learned by many of our animals. By “targeting” to a ball on a pole, an animal can be moved from location to location within their enclosure. This is important because if anything harmful ever gets thrown into one of the exhibits or something dangerous is discovered inside (ex: bee hive), an animal can be moved out of the area quickly and easily.

Teaching our animals different behaviors also strengthens their relationships with us, the keepers.

Melissa Terwilliger, Wildlife Specialist and Training Coordinator