1. How Pandas at Oji Zoo Learned Through Daily Apple Training
Since 2011, the giant pandas at the Kobe City Oji Zoo have undergone "husbandry training." [3] This training happens every day at 5:00 PM for 5 to 10 minutes. The reward is apples, which are the pandas' favorite food among their usual meals. Eventually, reports say they became able to have blood drawn without anesthesia. [3] Husbandry training is defined as teaching animals to cooperate with actions and postures needed for health checks and treatment. It is also called "medical care behavior training." [1]
Blood draws are reported to happen every 3 months. [3] Since training happens daily, that means there are about 90 days of daily practice for each single blood draw (calculating 3 months as 90 days). You can read from these numbers that the daily practice comes first. But what does the very first practice session look like?
It is not just the day of the blood draw that is special. The accumulation of short, daily practice sessions comes first.
2. Why Keepers Show the Needle Before Using It
Animals do not naturally do exactly what we want from the start. So, keepers gradually increase the behaviors the animal can do. They give rewards like food when the animal succeeds, which strengthens that behavior. [2]
At the Virginia Zoo in the United States, blood draw training starts by showing the animal a syringe without a needle and letting it touch the syringe. Next, they use a blunt needle, and finally, a real needle. [6] The Smithsonian's National Zoo uses the same idea for lions. Their training involves steps: lying down and pressing against the mesh fence, allowing their tails to be touched, showing tools first, and practicing injections with saline solution. [5] The big task of inserting a needle is broken down into small movements. But are any rewards okay for moving through these steps?
3. How Rewards Differ from Animal to Animal
Rewards vary by animal. The pandas at Oji Zoo get apples, while the lions at the Smithsonian's National Zoo get meatballs. [3][5] The Lincoln Park Zoo shares examples where treats were used to get polar bears to present a foot for an X-ray, rhinos to stand still for blood draws, and otters to present themselves for injections. [4]
The Virginia Zoo states that besides favorite foods, petting or scratching can also be rewards. Finding what motivates each animal is part of the keeper's job. [6] The foundation of this "change behavior with rewards" idea is operant conditioning, a concept from psychologist B.F. Skinner. The Brelands, who came from Skinner's lab, started an animal behavior company in the 1940s and expanded to training dolphins and whales for shows in the 1950s. They are said to have spread more effective and humane training methods during a time when punishment-based training was common. [8] However, just because the reward is the same does not mean the animal will always respond.
4. Why Zoo Animals Are Allowed to Choose to Leave Training
The Sapporo City Maruyama Zoo values "voluntary" participation in orangutan training, meaning the animal decides whether to join. The area is generally not locked, so the animal can leave freely if it wants to. Orangutans can stay interested for at most about 10 minutes. [1] This 10-minute limit is specific to the orangutans at Maruyama Zoo and is not a rule for all animals.
The Lincoln Park Zoo explains that all animals choose daily whether to participate in training and move the session with their own actions. [4] The Virginia Zoo also states that training is always voluntary. If the animal refuses, they take a break and try again at another time. [6] As a prerequisite, the Sendai City Yagiyama Zoological Park notes that keepers and veterinarians build trust through daily care and carefully check the animal's willingness before proceeding. [2] Sometimes animals come closer on their own. So, how long does it take to actually reach a blood draw?
5. How a Diabetic Chimpanzee Succeeded on the 18th Try
A report from 1996 describes one chimpanzee. It was a 3-year-old female with diabetes. The record shows training to collect urine and blood with the animal's cooperation. [7] Urine collection was achieved on the 4th training session (totaling 42 minutes). The first successful blood draw happened on the 18th training session, after spending 275 minutes total. [7] 275 minutes is 4 hours and 35 minutes.
This is an example of a sick animal cooperating with tests without anesthesia through training. However, this is just one example mentioned in the abstract. The number of sessions changes depending on the species, the individual animal, and the training method. While practice can lead to success, this method is not perfect.
6. What Keepers Do When Pandas Lose Their Appetite
The Oji Zoo reports that when pandas lose their appetite during estrus or false pregnancy, they may not show interest in apples. This means they may be unable to do training they usually can. Therefore, finding non-food rewards is a challenge. [3] The power of rewards depends on the animal's mood and physical state.
Still, training continues because it allows for multiple tests and blood draws per year without the burden of general anesthesia. This helps with disease prevention and early detection. [3] The Smithsonian's National Zoo also explains that without training, lions would need anesthesia for every health check. [5] The Oji Zoo believes training also helps relieve animal stress (enrichment). [3] This is the zoo's perspective. In the scientific community, it is thought that training for captive animals has a high potential to improve animal welfare. However, the reports cited are mostly from research facilities, so they do not directly prove the effect in zoos. [9] So, where can you see this training at a zoo?
7. How to Spot Training Cues and Rewards When Visiting a Zoo
Zoo websites often have explanations or announcements from keepers. Training times and places differ by zoo, so check before you visit. There are three points to look for: Is the animal approaching on its own? If it no longer wants to participate, can it leave? Do you see the keeper giving the animal a reward? If so, watch what the animal did right before that. Even if you miss a training session, you can observe animal movements during feeding time. If you look with the idea that "this movement might have been taught by the keeper," the same exhibit may look different to you.