I am mostly known for my work with parrots, however I did get my start many years ago working in zoos. I do still consult with zoos on animal training and thought I would share some awesome training done when I was consulting at the Dallas Zoo. This training actually won the 2010 Behavior of the Year: Husbandry Award from the Interantional Association of Avian Trainers and Educators (www.iaate.org) Congrats to the trainers and the Dallas Zoo! Below is the abstract I wrote for the presentation on this training. It helps tell the back story on this video.

The Dallas Zoo is home to 0.1 Harpy Eagles (Harpia harpyja). The mature female hatched in 2002 has been on exhibit since 2004. In September 2007 Keepers initiated a training program to facilitate optimal care of this individual. Initial training included the use of targets to teach hands off behaviors such as moving from point A to point B, shifting into a holding area, stepping onto a scale and flying from perch to perch on cue. Eventually keepers were able to work in the enclosure with the eagle and incorporated these behaviors into educational presentations. As the bird continued to progress, it was decided to train behaviors that would allow the eagle to make appearances outside of the enclosure. This included teaching the bird to wear falconry equipment and sit comfortably on a glove in public areas. Because of the birds role as an exhibit bird it was important to the facility that equipment could be removed completely for when the bird was on display. This challenged keepers to train the eagle to allow daily manipulation of feet, extensive touching to the tarsus while anklets and jesses were attached and removed, and learning to step onto a glove voluntarily. By adhering to a strictly positive reinforcement based training approach staff members were able to successfully achieve their goals and more. This paper will share the triumphs and challenges of using positive reinforcement to train one of the largest and most powerful species of eagles in the world. Read the full paper on my website http://www.goodbirdinc.com/profession...

Barbara Heidenreich
www.GoodBIrdInc.com
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