|
|
III. Individual History | ||
| An
animal’s early rearing experience, its social rank, and its previous
history greatly impact an animal’s response to its environment and
affects its readiness to learn new behaviors. Animals that are
hand-reared versus parent-reared may have very different reactions to
their trainers. In some cases, having a hand-reared animal to train may
facilitate the training goals (e.g., the trainer can easily get close to
the animal without triggering a flight response). Or, hand-rearing may
be a hindrance to achieving goals. Some hand-reared individuals, when
sexually mature, may become aggressive or inappropriately bond with a
trainer. There is a wide range of other individual history factors that
may affect your training plan: social status within that animal’s
group, previous training experience, previous experience with a facility
or part of a facility, previous experience with people (e.g., trainers,
veterinarians), etc.
Also, the animal’s function or "role" in your collection may influence the type of training and your level of interactions with that animal. Animals that are part of a Species Survival Plan (SSP) or other breeding program may be worked (trained) in a remote manner or less intensively than an animal for which there are no plans for propagation. Animals that are allowed to roam free with visitors/guests may be worked very differently than animals that are contained by a barrier. |
|
||
|
Above and below: Hand-reared impala in holding area. |
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
