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

Bird Vet Visit

In order to keep the museum's animals as healthy as possible, we make sure they see a veterinarian at least once a year for a full check-up. While the Perkins Wildlife staff is trained to identify and treat many injuries and illnesses, it is unable to look inside of an animal to see how well its body is functioning. We have several collaborating veterinarians, each specializing in different kinds of animals. This spring, Dr. Lindstrom of Animal Clinic Northview came to CMNH to take blood from our birds and to deliver their annual West Nile vaccinations. The wildlife staff is trained to catch and restrain the birds in a safe manner for the exams. Since we cannot explain to the birds what we are doing, it can be a stressful experience for them. In some cases, a hood is placed on the bird’s head to impair its vision and reduce stress. George, a Bald Eagle, wears a hood whenever he needs to be grabbed for vet visits or coping (trimming of the beak and nails). In addition, some birds get a shot of vitamins to reduce the risk of capture myopathy, a potentially deadly syndrome that can occur after the restraint of wild animals.

Melissa Terwilliger is pictured below restraining George for his examination:

West Nile has had a strong impact on American birds since it arrived in New York City in 1999. It is spread through the bite of a mosquito and has been detected in 250 avian species. Some have been devastated by the virus. American Crows, for example, experienced a 45 percent decline throughout the nation. North American raptors (birds of prey) are very sensitive to the virus, especially those living near swamps and rivers. Some of our birds came to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History from rehab centers and still exhibit lasting effects of West Nile virus. Venus, our female Bald Eagle, recovered from the virus but now grows defective flight feathers. Arwen the Red-tailed Hawk and Big Mama the Great Horned Owl both have neurological issues caused by West Nile. Getting this vaccine will protect our birds from this potentially deadly virus.

In addition to vaccinating and examining them physically, our veterinarian draws blood from the birds so we can get a full picture of their health. This spring all of our blood results came back healthy, except for our Eastern Screech-Owl, Easo. The results indicated that Easo’s liver is not functioning properly. With this knowledge, the wildlife staff was able to prescribe an appropriate daily dosage of liver medications. Our collaborating veterinarians are a major factor in the health and well-being of our resident animals and their time and effort is much appreciated by the Perkins Wildlife Center staff.

Kaitlyn Gabriel
CMNH Wildlife Specialist

Peregrine Falcon Chick Banding 2012!

This morning was the banding ceremony at the Terminal Tower Peregrine Falcon nest site! Only one chick hatched this year and it was determined to be a female. She is not named at this point but suggestions were given to Ohio Division of Wildlife staff and the choice will be released at a later date.

The chick was found to be in good health, free of parasites, and on the plump side. Being an only child has advantages. Namely, all of the food and parental attention!

Mother falcon SW continues to run a successful nest. One can observe the scrape online via the FalconCam.

http://www.falconcam-cmnh.org

Michelle Leighty
CMNH Perkins Wildlife Center Co-Manager

Turtles!

Wildlife Specialist Kaitlyn Gabriel teaches about the Eastern Box Turtle and the Painted Turtle in this Creature Feature video:

Fish Crows in Ohio!

I wrote a short article for the Kirtland Bird Club (http://www.kirtlandbirdclub.org) about the Fish Crow nest CMNH Curator of Ornithology Dr. Andy Jones and I found last week and thought I should share it on the Wildlife Blog as well:

When I woke up on April 22nd, did I think I would be spending my day dashing back and forth across the busy intersection of Cedar and Green in University Heights with a recording device, or riding in the passenger seat of a car with my head out the window following a crow? Of course not, but it was the perfect way to spend Earth Day 2012.

The adventure began when Andy returned to our home from the grocery store with some edibles and the comment that he might have seen a Fish Crow in the parking lot. Seconds after unpacking the groceries (keeping a bag of chips for the road) and grabbing a camera, we were off! I wanted to see this possible Fish Crow while I had the chance! And maybe even help confirm its identity.

I would not call myself an expert on crows, but I do have an advantage over many people; for the past six years I have been caring for the animals in the Perkins Wildlife Center at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and the captive American Crows are counted amongst my favorites. And in exchange, I am counted amongst their favorite humans. That is what I assume, anyway, since every day when I enter their exhibit, within a minute I have one crow sitting on each of my shoulders and cawing in my ears. Up until the moment I was in the Heinen's parking lot scrutinizing the crow in question, I hadn't realized the full advantage of this squawking in my eardrums. But as soon as I heard our parking lot crow's vocalization, I agreed with Andy. It was not like any of the typical American Crow calls I was so used to hearing. Andy knew what Fish Crows sound like and I knew what American Crows do not sound like and our suspicion was growing.

It was time to document! After we spent several minutes running between grocery store and gas station parking lots with the recording unit and camera, our crow flew south, and the chase was on! Andy drove while I searched and soon we were tracking the bird through a Shaker Heights neighborhood. When the crow landed and we had parked the car, we were surprised to find that our possible Fish Crow had become six possible Fish Crows, with a nest to boot! We spent that afternoon observing the colony, and returned the following morning. When we felt confident with our identification, Andy hit the listservs with our photos and audio files, and crow experts agreed with the assessment. We had found the first documented Fish Crow nest in Ohio!

Michelle Leighty
Perkins Wildlife Center Co-Manager

Some photos of the Fish Crows and nest (click to enlarge):

Turkey Vulture Creature Feature

Perkins Wildlife Center Co-Manager Michelle Leighty discusses the cool behaviors/disgusting habits of Turkey Vultures in this Creature Feature video:

New Kid on the Block

The Wildlife Resources department is pleased to announce it recently added a new member to its collection, an American Bullfrog named "Frogger."

Frogger was found as a tadpole by a young boy living in the Shaker Heights area in 2007. As an adult frog she became too difficult to care for so she was donated to the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes, where she lived for some time. She recently was transferred to CMNH for use in our live animal programs.



Bullfrogs lay about 20,000 eggs at a time which then hatch 4-5 days later. They stay in the tadpole stage for the entire summer, hibernate under the mud and then finish metamorphosis the following August or September. So Frogger is about 5 or 6 years old. American Bullfrogs live an average of 8 to 10 years in the wild but in captivity can live for much longer. We hope to have Frogger as part of our collection for many years to come to teach visitors about amphibians.

Bullfrogs get their name from the distinctive call the male uses to announce his presence to females and to let other males know his territory. While many describe the sound as "jug-o-rum," others think it sounds similar to a cow mooing. This is where the "bull" part of the name comes from. The vocalization can be heard up to a quarter of a mile away.

Bullfrogs can be found living in most calm freshwater bodies of water in the United States. They were native only in the eastern and central United States until they were introduced to the Pacific Northwest in the 1920's as a food source. This introduction has led to competition with other small species of frogs for territory and food.

American Bullfrogs are opportunistic hunters. They lie in wait at night for small animals to cross their paths and will jump out with mouths open to grab their meals. They will eat just about anything that fits in their mouths including insects, small reptiles, mice, and the occasional bird. Their mouths do get fairly large considering that these frogs can get up to 8 inches long and weigh around 1.5 pounds. Some bullfrogs have been known to be as heavy as 3 pounds.

While you cannot see a bullfrog this time of the year in your backyard, you can join us at Cleveland Museum of Natural History where you just might meet Frogger doing an educational program!

Traci Lambert, CMNH Wildlife Specialist