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[title]Melbourne's zoos are among its most-visited tourist attractions, and yet there are heaps of occupations involved in keeping them afloat that the average Joe and Jane likely haven't heard of. For instance, last year we interviewed Yvette Pauligk about her work as a threatened species keeper, a role involving hands-on work with off-display captive breeding programs for species like the critically endangered plains-wanderer.
So, what other fascinating but little-known roles exist at our zoos? This time, we chatted with Kelly Hobbs, whose role as an animal training coordinator involves teaching critters to participate in their own healthcare. Examples of her work include training lions to open their mouths voluntarily for dental checks, getting cheetahs to present their tails for blood draws and instructing gorillas to show off their feet to be moisturised – how wild is that?
Here's what it's like to be an animal training coordinator at Zoos Victoria.
How did you get into the field of animal welfare and zookeeping?
"I've always loved animals and grew up with horses, cats and dogs. My mum was a safari bus guide at Werribee Open Range Zoo when I was a kid, and I remember going to work with her and sitting next to her on the bus, rattling off animal facts that I'd memorised," says Hobbs. "I travelled to Africa when I was young and on return, I knew I needed to pursue a career with animals. I was lucky enough to land a short contract as a zookeeper at Werribee, which turned into a 20-year career with Zoos Victoria."
What does a typical day in the role of animal training coordinator look like?
"One of the great things about my role is that every day is different! Generally, I spend most of the morning visiting animal training sessions around the zoo, as lots of training happens before our gates open to the public. This could involve heading to hippos to help train them to move into crates voluntarily or off to the monkeys to assist with hand injection training. I might also pop over to the koalas to observe some scale training to record weights or to lions to work on a voluntary tail presentation.
"Throughout the day, I try to catch up with keepers and managers to talk about any challenges they might be having with training or compile a list of upcoming health requirements with our vets to ensure we have training programs in place to assist them."
What are the benefits of teaching animals to participate in their own healthcare?
"When an animal chooses if they wish to participate in training sessions, they have control over their environment. If they choose to walk away or not participate, that means we as trainers need to assess what we can do to make it more appealing for each animal. We try to provide even more choices and more communication on what we are asking them and make sure the reward is clear. Training sessions and interactions between trainers and animals must be 'worth' the animal's effort. And just like people, every animal is different.
"With proactive healthcare through training sessions, we are providing necessary preventative care. This is much easier than providing surgery on a giraffe or lion, for example. Training allows us to not only ensure animals are physically healthy but that they are learning constantly and are exposed to challenges that keep them mentally healthy and stimulated."
Can you elaborate on the process of training an animal to learn a skill?
"Training an animal, like a lion or cheetah, to present its tail to trainers allows us to closely inspect this body part if it was wounded and allows vets to draw blood from a tail vein when needed. Trainers start by positioning the animal to lie down, then safely touch the tail with a stick or broom handle. Each time that tail is touched, the trainer will give the animal a chunk of meat or lactose-free milk, or whatever food the animal values highly.
"This is repeated several times, dependent on the individual animal, and then the stick is placed slightly away from the tail. The lion or cheetah then moves its tail to touch the stick, as they know what the [result] of this touch is – yummy food! In very small steps, and over many sessions, the stick is moved and the animal is asked to present their tail closer to the trainer through a small hatch. Trainers then begin touching the tail, presenting clippers, capped needles and veterinary equipment to the animal. Each and every step results in the animal receiving a food item that they value."
What are some of the challenges that you face in this role?
"Every organism learns, so it's up to us as trainers to provide the information that each animal needs in a training session. That can be a challenge sometimes, but we're pretty good at overcoming this, and our trainers are wonderful at thinking 'outside the box' when it comes to what we can try in our animal training."
The challenges that I face are never about the animal or species, but more about the limitations that humans might put on them.
"I'd say [another] challenge that we all face as trainers at Werribee Open Range Zoo is the weather. This is totally out of our control and has a big impact on the motivation of animals and people!"
What are the most rewarding aspects of your role?
"I love seeing the success of animal training programs and the achievements of our trainers. So much time and dedication is given to each and every training program, so when we reach the goal of the program, it's really rewarding for everyone involved. I obviously really enjoy being around animals, and when I see an animal understand what we're looking for, it's really exciting."
Did you know this role existed when you started your career?
"The animal training coordinator roles at Zoos Victoria are the first of their kind in Australia, so it seemed slightly out of reach as a career path when I first started in the industry. I did always gravitate towards animal training in my zookeeping role, even working through breaks to make sure I could train the animals in my care. US and European zoos have similar roles, and I feel very privileged to be part of an Australian organisation pioneering this role."
Are there any aspects of your role that people would be surprised by?
"My role involves working with people and coaching them on how to encourage behaviour changes. I've found that with time in my role, the way that I interact with people takes on those behaviour-change processes that we are using with animals. Using positive reinforcement in our interactions with each other and with animals can be extremely effective if we put in the time and dedication. I've also learned to never underestimate the learning capacity of any animal. They are much smarter than humans in so many ways."