The benefits of animal training go beyond making great shows, writes Elly Neumann, Senior Keeper, Marine Mammals. Images by Plummer Kennedy Conspiracy. 

Australian Sea-lions like Malie (pictured) are the rarest seals in the world.

Trained Seals

Positive Reinforcement

Modern animal training is based on positive reinforcement and only really started developing over the past 60 years.

It has led to today’s training techniques in which the animals cooperate in their own care and demonstrate their natural behaviours to our visitors.

Today’s training is based on operant conditioning, where the seals change their behaviours because of positive reinforcement, making them most likely to repeat the action when asked.

With our seals we use a variety of reinforcements, although a fish snack is the most popular. Trainers also provide toys and even gelatine cut into cubes.

When a seal follows a request it’s rewarded with a fish. If the seal doesn’t do what the trainers ask, we give it a few seconds and then try again. Reinforcing the animals’ cooperation is the key to successful training.

Tools of the Trade

We also employ a few training tools that make our job easier, the main one being the whistle you see around a trainer’s neck.

When we first start training our seals we pair the sound of the whistle with fish. So each time they get a fish they hear the whistle and soon begin to realise that the whistle means a good thing is coming.

The whistle, also known as a ‘bridge’, is used to pinpoint the behaviour trainers are asking for and to indicate that a fish is on the way.

We also use ‘targeting’ when training our seals, where they touch their nose and flipper to something we present to them. This could be our open hand or a ball on the end of a stick.

Masterclass

You might be wondering how giving a seal a fish or treat when they do the right thing can end up with the seal performing a leap out of the water?

Well, all our behaviours are broken down into tiny little steps we call ‘approximations’.

Before we start any new behaviour we break it up into smaller steps and introduce all these steps individually and then piece it together at the end.

The final demonstration by the seals you see in a show may have taken months, or even years, to learn.

Cooperative Care

The most common question we get asked as trainers, is why we train our seals.

The main, and most important, reason is it allows us to provide them with proper care on a daily basis. We call this ‘training for animal husbandry’ or ‘cooperative care’.

We can train our seals to do numerous things including opening their mouths, allowing us to brush their teeth, and lying down and rolling over, allowing us to inspect their whole body. We have even trained our female seals to lie down for an ultrasound to monitor their pregnancy.

As all these behaviours are rewarded, they are positive for the seals – it’s like taking your pet for a vet inspection and the animal actually enjoying it!

Other animals in the Zoo that have learned to work cooperatively with their keepers include giraffes for hoof trims and X-rays, hippos for ultrasounds, lions to receive injections, and Tree Kangaroos for pouch checks, to name a few.

We also train our seals to keep them constantly challenged and stimulated, as well as for research and to demonstrate to our visitors their amazing natural behaviours and abilities.

One of the exciting things that we are training our seals to do at the moment is going for walks around the Zoo grounds, allowing visitors to meet the stars of the Seal Show up close.

Taking their cue

If you’re wondering how our seals know what’s expected of them and when to do
it, they’re carefully watching their trainers for subtle hand and leg signals, or what
we call ‘cues’.

Once we have introduced a new behaviour, we pair it with a chosen signal (cue). The seals quickly learn that every time the trainer presents the cue and the seal carries out the requested behaviour, it is rewarded with a fish.

Some cues are quite obvious, such as the trainer waving, which is the cue for the seal to wave. Others are very subtle, such as the trainer taking a slight step to the left, resulting in the seal diving off the rock.
Our seals are so smart that we can use the same cue on different parts of the stage to mean completely different things.

Now that you know our training secrets, see if you can spot our cues on your next visit.

Diet

The seals at Taronga Zoo eat a variety of fish fit for human consumption, with their food intake and weight carefully monitored.
While our seals never go hungry, their wild cousins are not so lucky.
Choosing seafood from a sustainable source ensures there’s enough fish for everyone. Find out more at our Seal Shows.

Meet the Stars of the Seal Show

Name: Miya       

Species: Australian Sea-lion (Neophoca cinerea)
Origin: South and South-western Australia.
Back Story: Found as an orphaned pup on Kangaroo Island and sent to Taronga Zoo by the Adelaide RSPCA.
Role in Show: Demonstrates how easy it is to put rubbish in the bin.

Name: Ronnie

Species: New Zealand Fur-seal (Arctocephalus forsteri)
Origin: New Zealand and Australia.
Back Story: Arrived at our vet hospital with wounds to three-quarters of his body after being attacked by a shark.
Role in Show: Demonstrating the amazing bond between seal and trainer.

Name: Michi

Species: Californian Sea-lion (Zalophus californianus)
Origin: Northern Hemisphere, from Southern Mexico up to British Columbia.
Back Story: Born in Stuttgart Zoo, Germany, and relocated to Taronga Zoo.
Role in Show: Star of the Seal Show; performing more than 50 behaviours.

Animal Training

You may have seen a seal clap, but do you know how it was trained? This two-day training course gives you the opportunity to go behind the scenes to learn the tricks of the trade.

Ausgrid Seal Show

Taronga Zoo’s seal show has been delighting visitors for more than 20 years. Now you can meet Michi, Mali, Miya, Lexie, Tathra and Mav in the brand new marine theatre.