Given limited time and resources, an important first step in developing a training program is for key decision makers to prioritize the institution’s training needs. An initial focus may be to get animals to shift reliably on and off exhibit. A next step might be to partner with veterinarians and focus on creating a list of medical behaviors animals can be trained to accept.

In the beginning of Disney’s Animal Programs, the animal care staff (curators, zoological managers, animal caretakers, behavioral husbandry team, and veterinarians) developed a “top 10” list of animals they hoped, due to difficulty with anesthesia, they would not need to immobilize for husbandry or medical procedures (e.g., elephants, okapi, giraffe, hippopotamuses, rhinoceroses, crocodiles, and several bird species). The “top 10” list enabled staff to prioritize husbandry behaviors to be trained for these species and to identify roles and responsibilities among the staff in developing training plans. Examples of specific training goals included: training animals to stand on scales for weights, targeting to allow for body inspections and injections, and collection of blood, saliva and urine for medical tests and physiological studies. The first gorilla born at Disney’s Animal Kingdom received all of her infant inoculations while being held by her mother; her mother had been trained to hold the infant close to the mesh and to allow the injections.