Training Walls

The first big cat that I ever worked with as a primary trainer was a spunky young female jaguar.  There was a lot that I was hoping to do with her - facilitate medical care, provide mental stimulation, build a better personal relationship with her, and, I'm not ashamed to admit it, boost my profile with my boss.  The only problem was where to do it.  

Outside, at the front of her exhibit, was no good.  The mesh had openings that were more the large enough to accommodate her paws, and most of her legs.  If I was near enough to interact with her, she would be able to grab me, pull me in close, and then demonstrate the skull-biting behavior for which jaguars are so well known.  Doing it behind-the-scenes wasn't a great option either.  The building was claustrophobic, and I only had a relatively small section of exposed fencing to work with her through.

The exhibit, I mused, trying without much success to tong feed her rewards in the holding building, the only place where it was at least safe to work her, was not set up for enrichment.  When I later tried showing another keeper the progress that we were making, I always screamed with frustration.  There was barely enough room for us all to work in the cramped back section.  Showing any special guests what I was doing would have been impossible, or unsafe, to say the least.  Showing, say, a crowd of school children?  Laughable to even consider.

That's why many zoos are now building training walls into their exhibits.  A training wall is a section at the front of the exhibit, usually only opened up at certain times, where animals (in their primary exhibit enclosure) approach to participate in training demos with their keepers, who are outside in the public space (blocked off from the general public, but still accessible for them to see, watch, and ask questions).  Here the keeper can safely interact with the animal in an environment that is specifically designed with training in mind - i.e., the openings might allow for a tail to be drawn through for a blood draw, but not enough for paws to come out, or have platforms built on the animal side to allow the animal to sit at a level which puts them at eye level with a keeper, making them feel more secure.    While the keeper trains, another keeper, or perhaps an educator, can field questions about the process, helping visitors better understand what's going on and how training helps animals participate in their own care.

Training walls are becoming standard features in new exhibits for a variety of species.  At Como Park Zoo & Conservatory, I enjoyed seeing training walls for polar bears and gorillas.  They weren't in use at the time, but just seeing them was a reminder that the zoo was building new exhibits with improved animal welfare, keeper safety, and guest engagement at the forefront of their planning process.