IMPRINTING:
This is a genetically programmed form of learning in which a newly hatched or newborn learns to identify with its species within a finite time by following or being exposed to stimuli it learns to identify. The sensitive period for imprinting baby mallard ducks to follow a man instead of other ducks is 13 to 16 hours after hatching. This is the time when the female typically leaves the nest and, by following, the ducklings learn they are ducks.

Newborn Canada Geese

HABITUATION:
This is the suppression of response to a repeated harmless stimulus. An example might be animals learning to ignore a train or the sound of a horn near the enclosure. The stimulus results in no reward or punishment.

CLASSICAL AND OPERANT CONDITIONING:
Involves rewarding an animal for a particular action while at the same time providing a separate and distinct stimulus. Pavlov's work giving a dog food, which resulted in salivation while at the same time ringing a bell was repeated. Then he found just ringing a bell would elicit salivation. This operant conditioning is used to train dolphins. Can you make Pavlov's Dog drool? Try interactive game at the official Nobel Museum's web sitet http://www.nobel.se/medicine/educational/pavlov/.

Diagram showing Pavlov's apparatus for measuring drooling from dogs.

EXPERIENCE:
This is the basis for trial and error learning. An example is the frog that snaps up a wasp and gets its tongue stung. The frog learns to associate the color and pattern of the wasp with pain and will not again try to eat a wasp. When a young insectivorous bird leaves its nest it picks at pebbles, leaves or sticks until it finds and eats an insect. Once the bird has eaten the insect, a reward, it greatly reduces the frequency with which it picks at pebbles, sticks or other non-rewarding items.

INSIGHT OR REASONING:
This is the most sophisticated form of learning where the solution to an entirely different problem is used to solve a new challenge. Chimpanzees using straws to fish termites from burrows would be an example.

One of the most important skills a zookeeper can acquire is the ability to observe animals and accurately record and interpret what is being seen. This ability grows with experience and as you become more familiar with the individual animals. The more you know about the animals, their normal appearance and behavior, the easier it is to determine when something is wrong.

Often the sense that something is wrong is in the form of a feeling for something undefined. At other times cues may be more obvious, such as a limp, a swollen limb or lack of appetite. You must learn to make your mind receptive to the information provided by your senses. The more receptive your mind is to what you see, the easier it is for it to be registered in the conscious mind. Often your subconscious may register small changes in deportment, posture or locomotion that will trigger the feeling that something isn't normal about an animal. Learn to trust your instinctive response to what you see.

Try to really "see" what you are looking at and train yourself to observe details. Zoo keeping is a profession where observation, retention and interpretation of sensory information, plays an important role. You must not let your "book learning" blind you to subconscious interpretations or signs.

Try to get to know all the animals in your care as individuals by individual markings, color or tag or band number. Scars, cuts, lost feathers or missing digits can all help you recognize individual animals. Look at things in the exhibit for clues too. Fresh secretions indicate an animal marking its territory; hair or feathers could indicate molting or a fight. The condition of the feces can be a good indicator of the animal's general condition.

Use your eyes, ears and nose to evaluate your animals. Know what a healthy specimen's stance, or posture, coat condition, smells and eye shine are like. Look at the fences and buildings and see if there are holes, projecting nails, broken boards or other hazards and if there are repair or report them.

Remember to:

Whenever you look at an animal you should be observing the following and asking the following questions:

If an animal has stopped eating you should be able to determine if it is about to shed its skin, give birth or if it is sick. If everything is not normal record it and try to ascertain why.

Spiny Lizard - be careful when seizing any lizard to avoid
grasping the tail which may break off at the slightest pinch.