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Operant-Conditioning Programme for White Rhinoceros, Black Rhinoceros

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Operant-Conditioning Programme for White Rhinoceros, Black Rhinoceros 144 ELEPHANTS AND RHINOCEROS Int. Zoo Yb. (2006) 40: 144–149 ©_The Zoological Society of London Operant-conditioning programme for White rhinoceros, Black rhinoceros and Indian or Greater one-horned Asian rhinoceros Ceratotherium simum, Diceros bicornis and Rhinoceros unicornis at Whipsnade Wild Animal Park, Dunstable, UK M. D. HOLDEN, J. GREGORY, V. WATKINS & L. RADFORD Zoological Society of London, Whipsnade Wild Animal Park, Dunstable, Bedfordshire LU6 2LF, United Kingdom E-mail: [email protected] This paper describes the development of an operant psychological needs of the animals in their conditioning programme for rhinoceros at Whips- care (see also Hutchins & Kreger, this nade Wild Animal Park, Dunstable, UK. The pro- gramme was designed to facilitate the treatment of volume). Encouraging animals to partici- a range of health conditions and to allow husbandry pate in routine husbandry procedures can procedures to be carried out without the need of be as important as providing optimal anaesthesia. A successful conditioning programme nutrition (Clauss & Hatt, this volume), a requires good planning, consistency and precise record keeping. Routine management practices can complex habitat and an appropriate social be now carried out within a safe and largely stress- structure. At time of writing Whipsnade free environment for both rhinoceros and animal- Wild Animal Park (WWAP), Dunstable, management staff. UK, maintains three species of rhino- Key-words: health, husbandry procedures, manage- ceros: 1.6 White rhinoceros Ceratotherium ment, operant-conditioning programme, rhinoceros simum, 1.0 Black rhinoceros Diceros bicornis and 1.3 Indian or Greater one- Thirty years ago, the five extant species of horned Asian rhinoceros Rhinoceros uni- rhinoceros numbered over 70 000 (see cornis. The operant conditioning of http://www.rhinos-irf.org). Today, fewer rhinoceros at WWAP has an integral role than 18 000 rhinoceros persist as a direct in the management of these species. result of human activities (IUCN, 2004; http://www.rhinos-irf.org). Poaching, to TRAINING supply the trade in rhinoceros horn, and A well-prepared planning stage to identify loss of habitat, through logging and agri- the aims of the training will greatly cultural use of land, have accelerated improve the success of the programme population decline and four species are (MacPhee & Mellen, 2002: http:// listed as Critically Endangered (IUCN, www.animaltraining.org). Staff from dif- 2004; Amin, Thomas et al., this volume). ferent disciplines should be involved Zoological collections can support the because, although keepers carry out the long-term survival of rhinoceros by main- daily hands-on contact with the animals, taining well-managed captive populations, input from veterinary staff, line managers enhancing public awareness and educa- and curators is also essential. As well as tion, and promoting in situ and ex situ defining the behaviours required of the conservation initiatives (Foose & Wiese, animals, it is important to discuss when, this volume). where and how training will take place in Managers of living collections must order to secure a safe environment for consider the physical, behavioural and both animals and staff. WHIPSNADE WILD ANIMAL PARK: RHINOCEROS OPERANT-CONDITIONING PROGRAMME 145 Prior to designing the training pro- to allow the rhinoceros to walk up and gramme at WWAP, information was touch the target in the position designated gathered from collections in North by the keeper. Other, more complex, America where operant-conditioning pro- behaviours were then built into the grammes were already established, programme. including Fort Worth Zoological Park, At WWAP two members of staff are Fort Worth, TX, and Fossil Rim Wildlife usually involved in each training session. Center, Glen Rose, TX. The experiences All staff should understand the principles of staff using similar procedures for Asian and techniques of training, be fully elephants Elephas maximus and Califor- instructed in the health and safety issues nian sealions Zalophus californianus at related to the procedure, and be conver- WWAP, and Black rhinoceros at London sant with the behavioural profile of each Zoo, UK, were also documented to animal, amassed from daily recordings in inform the planning process. the section diary and working consistently This paper does not document training with each individual animal. One member and its terminology comprehensively but of staff acts as the primary trainer, giving briefly explains some basic definitions, cues to the animal and offering reinforce- adapted from Pryor (1999) and MacPhee ment through tactile stimulation and & Mellen (2002: http:// verbal praise. The support trainer offers www.animaltraining.org). Operant condi- only food as a reinforcement, usually tioning allows the animal to ‘operate’ in comprising a small piece of apple, carrot its environment to receive a reward by or banana. Primary trainers are usually exhibiting a particular behaviour. Behav- limited to two per section so that the iours are ‘shaped’ by teaching each training is uniform and continuous, fol- required behaviour in small steps or lowing the ‘Ten Laws of Shaping’ ‘approximations’. At WWAP the comple- described in Pryor (1999). tion of each step was signalled to the To chronicle progress in training a animal by a secondary reinforcer (dog record is made of the staff present, behav- whistle), also known as a ‘bridge’, fol- iour and procedure carried out, as well as lowed by a primary reinforcer (food, tac- the time and location of each session. tile stimulation or verbal praise). The These data can be used to review and secondary reinforcer had been condi- assess the effectiveness of the training pro- tioned earlier in the programme by cedures, so that changes can be made if pairing a positive stimulus (food: a necessary. Each animal is treated individ- primary reinforcer) with the sound of the ually: methods that produce good results whistle. Because the sound of the whistle with one animal may not be successful indicated that the behaviour displayed by with another. Good record keeping can the animal would result in a positive provide a framework that can be applied experience (receiving food), it would, to different species within the collection, therefore, be likely that the behaviour or to help other collections establish would occur again and was thus ‘rein- similar programmes. forced’ or ‘conditioned’. To manipulate the rhinoceros into posi- DEVELOPMENT OF THE OPERANT- tion, each animal was trained to touch a CONDITIONING PROGRAMME ‘target’, either a keeper’s hand or the end Rhinoceroses generally respond well to of a stick. Once this was achieved, ‘cues’ tactile stimulation and can become quite were added and the animal learned the tractable in captivity. Therefore, it is often desired behaviour associated with each possible to carry out many husbandry cue; for example, the verbal cue ‘come up’ procedures without a structured condi- paired with the presentation of the target, tioning programme. 146 ELEPHANTS AND RHINOCEROS At WWAP it was impractical to initiate following training, after placing the foot a conditioning programme for White on a wooden block rhinoceros owing to the large herd size (c. 30 cm25 cm4 cm high), so they [1.6 (7.8)] and restrictions on staff time, could remain standing while the pro- especially as this herd had few medical cedure was carried out. Rhinoceros could problems. However, the species has a even be anaesthetized by positioning the docile temperament which allows many animal so that a veterinarian had good routine procedures, such as visual and access to the area of the neck to facilitate manual inspections, topical applications hand injection, while the keepers would of creams and sprays, washing and blood keep the animal calm. After c. 8 months sampling, to be carried out while the pododermatitis had been effectively scratching the animal or hand-feeding. In controlled and could be treated without 2004 a 28 year old 8 underwent a lateral the use of anaesthesia. buccotomy under anaesthetic, where an In 1998 the conditioning programme incision was made in the left cheek to was introduced to 1.1 Black rhinoceros in remove an infected molar tooth. The order to facilitate the collection of blood follow-up treatment included daily samples and ultrasound procedures cleaning of the incision, flushing with pev- (Thorne & Whalen, 1996; McCaskill, idine antiseptic solution and the applica- 1997; Schaffer et al., 1998; Mylniczenko, tion of an antibiotic cream (Orbenin LA) 1999; Pill, 2000; Shaffstall, 2000). In cap- until the wound healed c. 8 months later. tivity Black rhinoceros are more suscept- The operant-conditioning programme ible to a range of diseases, such as was developed in 1996 in order to treat a leptospirosis and haemolytic anaemia recurring problem with pododermatitis (Bobko, 1996; Miller, 2003). In 1999 a (inflammation of the dermal tissue under- 7 year old 7 developed interdigital hyper- lying the horny layers of the hoof) in plasia and was observed resting his front Greater one-horned Asian rhinoceros at right foot on the toe nails. A hole in the WWAP. Pododermatitis is one of the sole of the foot tracked into the space most common medical conditions between the middle and inner toe, observed in this species in captivity (von resulting in a crack c. 3cm1 cm. Hyper- Houwald, 2001, 2002). It particularly plastic growth occurred, causing further affects the hind feet of 77 and is discomfort. The rhinoceros was condi- characterized by an overgrowth of the tioned to present the infected foot on a middle toenail causing further growths wooden block (c. 30 cm20 cm10 cm and infections between the toes. The most high) (Plate 1), both flat on the sole and effective treatment involves trimming the on the toe nails, to allow the affected area toenail, removing the hyperplastic tissue to be treated daily, which involved and cleaning the infected area, which may cleaning the foot, flushing with pevidine require an animal to be anaesthetized sev- antiseptic solution, trimming the necrotic eral times a year, with all the associated tissue and applying gentamycin antibiotic risks of this procedure.
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