Hello friends, I hope you are surviving January! Its nearly over, we got this! I have an update for you on some of the training that’s going on in the park. (If you want to check out my progress from previous blogs you can find them here).
Orangutans
A few updates on the orangs! They are training for teeth brushing, which all three of them are very good at now. I’ve added a short video of Jin doing a lovely job of this. I have also introduced the electric nail file to Belayan, who allowed me to trim off a bit of overgrown fingernail. Molly has improved at coming into the house and the primate team are maintaining her bedroom training.
Cats
Back in September we successfully hand vaccinated the cheetahs, clouded leopards, pumas, jaguars, lions and tigers! I was very proud of all the cats. They were so brilliant in allowing me to do this and it means they did not have to be darted by the vet which is a very stressful procedure for the cats. I still need to work with a couple of the remaining cats who weren’t quite ready yet.
Colonel Tom, our male cheetah, joined us after this vaccination so he is due September. However, he is already trained and we just need to maintain this. He has settled in very well and his confidence makes him a lovely cat to work with in training sessions.
It was so rewarding to see the cats allow me to inject them and barely reacting to it. They maintained their position, and even waited there after I was finished. We will be continuing this with the cats and hopefully we can hand inject all of them this year!
I have also been working with the jaguars, lions, tigers, cheetahs and pumas for blood draws from the tail. The tail is moved out of the mesh, held firmly and I touch the site with the blunt training needle for as long as possible (around 20 seconds is normally enough time).
We did need to take a blood sample from one of the female cheetahs, Asha, when she came down from SWP. We managed to get a sample through this training, which was fantastic to see. What was even more rewarding was that after a first sample was taken, the vet decided she required a little bit more, and sure enough Asha came straight back and allowed us to repeat the procedure. What a star!
Common Marmosets
I have been working on crate training with these guys and so far they are progressing well. They are very comfortable with the crates and flock towards them when they see them! My task now is to start closing the doors of the crate. So far one of them allows me to do this.
Edgar
Our emperor tamarin has also been taking part in crate training. This little chap really enjoys his sessions. He is at the stage where he will come straight down and into the crate. I am just working now on moving the door until he allows me to close it. This is the part that is most delicate and can take a very long time.
The method is to gain his trust and let him know he is in control. So when I move the door to the crate, if he goes towards it wanting to leave, I stop immediately and open it again. This lets him know that he can get out if he wants to at any point. The reason we train this is if we need to move him or check on him closely we can rely on the fact he will come to the crate whenever he sees it.
Giraffes
In my last update Ron was only watching from the sidelines and had never taken part in training.
HOWEVER… I am very pleased to say he has come on leaps and bounds in a very short space of time! He will come all the way into the training area, chest to straps. He has also just started lifting his hoof onto the step for us too. I think I speak for all of us on the mammal team when I say that we are so proud of him!
There have been many moments in the Giraffe House where Ron has made a huge breakthrough and we were dying to let out a little squeal of joy but had to hold it in as not to spook him!
Don’t forget that if you ever want to know more about our giraffes we offer a giraffe encounter! This is the perfect way to learn all about our boys and ask as many questions as you’d like!
Maximus
One of the Visayan Warty Pigs took part in training sessions to remove the end of his tusk. These can become overgrown if not trimmed down and can cause infection. It took a few weeks of getting him used to the trimming device, and lots of tummy scratches to relax him. Eventually he did allow me to trim it. The actual procedure only took about 15 seconds, but you need to apply a lot of force to get it off quickly. So, I was pleased that he sat nicely throughout and didn’t try to run away.
We take the device up to the enclosure weekly to keep them familiar with it. We continue to touch their tusks with it, should we need to trim them again in the future.
Chimps
Elizabeth is a joy to train and she improves every day in her training sessions. She is already allowing us to touch her arm with the training needle.
She has also improved at giving back the station at the end of session. This is an important one as we use the same signal to ask them to give back any objects that they shouldn’t have!
She is one to watch if you are having training sessions with the other chimps though as she is always up to mischief! Whether she is throwing a blanket over the head of the chimp you’re working with so they can’t see, or trying to grab other chimps’ rewards, she is always up to something!
We have also started to introduce urine collection with the chimps. This comes in handy if we need to test it. The designated urine bucket on a stick (ever the glamorous job) is presented and that is their queue to try to go. So far I have seen Georgia, Faye and Elvira give us a sample.
Momo
I have invested a lot of time into creating a bond with Momo, our male Barbary Macaque, during our training sessions. I try to visit him as often as I can. Currently, I am working on injection training with him. This training allows us to administer drugs should the need arise. It the future it could avoid him having to be darted.
I’ll be back with more updates soon. Happy training everyone!
