Our recent episode on the Least Reinforcing Scenario (#113) set download records and elicited so much feedback from listeners that we invited long time animal training experts Chuck Tompkins and Ted Turner back to discuss other controversial operant conditioning terms and topics. The Intermediate Bridge and End of Session signal are two such concepts about which few behavior training professionals are ambivalent. Chuck and Ted reflect on the validity of these concepts and warn trainers against letting humanistic interpretations of animal responses cloud their decision-making when it comes to behavior management using operant conditioning. 

That Sounds Wild: African lion, coyote, and new guinea Singing Dog.  EATM at Moorpark College.

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Dr. Barbara Baker the president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium for thirty years spoke at the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums annual meeting in February (just as  the COVID-19 pandemic was arriving in the United States) as part of a panel discussion made up of leaders of major zoological organizations from around the world. She also serves as the Board Chair for the trade association known as the Zoological Association of America. Dr. Baker shares her insights on Expedia's decision to support ticket sales to zoos and aquariums accredited by a few trade groups but not others. Given the resurgence in activism by well-funded companies like PeTA and HSUS, Dr. Baker warns of the federal, state, and local legislative bills targeting such aspects of zoo operations as animal ambassadors, transports, breeding and public display. She argues these efforts are intended to force zoos into adopting a sanctuary model and eventually into extinction. She stresses the need for all zoo and aquarium accreditation organizations to work together and to resist activist efforts to divide and conquer zoo and aquarium professionals.

Also, Dr Jo Fava from Animal Necessity returns with a great way for zoo and aquarium fans to support their local facilities struggling with the loss of revenues during the pandemic.

That Sounds Wild: Asian Elephant cows

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Recently, the Georgia Aquarium site of the Animal Planet show, The Aquarium, announced the birth of a large female beluga whale calf. Long time marine mammal husbandry and training professionals, Eric Gaglione and Dennis Christen describe the extensive planning and staff preparation that occurs in advance of any cetacean birth. Most important to the process is the extensive desensitization training based upon operant conditioning and positive reinforcement that the expectant mother receives from her caregivers. The goal is to prepare the team and the animals for any conceivable contingency prior to, during, and after parturition. Hear the latest on what challenges occurred during delivery, how the team successfully responded, and the latest on how the calf is doing.

That Sounds Wild: Beluga chorus.

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Few behavioral terms or concepts have engendered as much discussion, confusion, and heated debate among zoo professionals, behaviorists, and animal trainers over the past thirty years as the Least Reinforcing Scenario, known simply as LRS. Two of the original LRS architects, Chuck Tompkins and Ted Turner, describe the concept and the fundamental shift in behavioral psychology it represented by rejecting the status quo of traditional animal training that urged trainers to say "no" to animals when they make a mistake. Chuck and Ted clarify what the LRS is and is not, and why its development made trustful relationships and incredible behavioral advancements with with killer whales  possible. The LRS has since been applied to the care of hundreds of other marine and terrestrial species, as well as, domestic pets.

That Sounds Wild: orcas.  SeaWorld Hubbs Research Institute.

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Dr. Andreas Fahlman returns with doctoral candidate Alicia Espinosa to describe their research using tools and knowledge of human spirometry to better understand dolphin pulmonary function. Their goal is to establish a baseline of small cetacean pulmonary physiology measures for use in assessing wild and stranded dolphin respiratory health.

Global Diving Research

That Sounds Wild: Bottlenose Dolphin whistle

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With science proving to be an easy target these days for those looking to politicize it, what lasting harm is done to the public discourse and society's faith in anything the research community at large has to report on any subject, in those rare instances when unsubstantiated, misleading, or unethically crafted papers clear a respected journal's peer review process?

Dr. Heather Hill, principle author of the recent rebuttal letter to one such concerning peer-reviewed paper joins researcher Jason Bruck, PhD to discuss the implications for us all.

That Sounds Wild: Red Tailed Hawk.  Frank Buck Zoo

To download the rebuttal/commentary: Distinguishing personal belief from scientific knowledge for the betterment of killer whale welfare – a commentary The International Journal of Comparative Psychology (IJCP)

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When the plea for help went out across the US for medical professionals to lend their talents to the city hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic, like nearly 100 thousand of his colleagues, Ohio surgeon Dr. Ray Gagliardi answered the call. Dr. Ray shares his insights into the myriad of ways the deadly disease attacks the human body making it much more than just a respiratory illness.  

That Sounds Wild: Great Horned Owls.  Frank Buck Zoo

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John Lukas is president of the Okapi Conservation Project which works in the Democratic Republic of Congo to study, protect and preserve the elusive large mammal known as okapi, nicknamed the ghost of the forest. Despite its large size for a forest-dwelling species, the okapi, a relative of the giraffe, was only recently described by western civilization in the early 1900's. Its great mass enables it to easily plow through dense jungle forests which serve to camouflage the species from predators like leopards as well as humans.

That Sounds Wild: Flamingos  Frank Buck Zoo

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The Director of Research for the Dolphin Research Center, Dr. Kelly Jaakkola is back describing a recent Connecticut bill intended to ban all relevant activities surrounding cetaceans living in human care. The bill's timing coincides with a federal import permit application by the state's only marine mammal facility, the Mystic Aquarium, seeking to add a handful of beluga whales born at a crowded facility in Canada. Mystic Aquarium has a well regarded rescue and research program for animals in human care and the wild so the bill's intent seems more concerned with ending public display rather than ensuring the best possible welfare interests of these animals. Not surprisingly, the bill's author has publicly denounced keeping cetaceans in human care and is a vocal member of an anti-zoo organization.

That Sounds Wild: Red Foxes. Frank Buck Zoo

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The National Marine Mammal Foundation has been studying chronic effects from the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, one of the largest oil spills in history. The NMMF's Director of Medicine, Dr. Forrest Gomez describes some of the findings from field research and wild population assessments on cetacean health and reproduction, particularly for bottlenose dolphins. The data shows dolphins are still experiencing toxic effects more than 10 years later with some populations not expected to recover for decades.

That Sounds Wild: Squirrel monkey. Frank Buck Zoo.

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