Let's Train Marine Mammals!
By: Jessica S.
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To be a marine mammal
trainer, most jobs require a Bachelor of Science degree and psychology
or animal behavior degree, which can take a minimum of four years. Also,
a scuba certification is mandatory. Employers are looking for people
that have a previous history of interacting with animals and have good
public speaking abilities and people skills. The ability to communicate
with other trainers is essential to the animal’s health and welfare. |
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Two dolphins show their skills and jump
out of the water. |
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Marine mammal trainers
are responsible for the animal’s mental and physical health. They
must prepare the food, clean habitats, perform general maintenance duties,
interact with the public and keep up to date records about the animals.
This job requires hard work, careful observation, practice, positive
attitude and genuine commitment. The job is often time consuming and
difficult, requiring physical and emotional strength. |
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The philosophies that have evolved
on training mammals are to reinforce the behavior you want to see again
and ignore behaviors you don’t want to see again. You must reinforce
your animal with a reinforcer such as fish, toys, rubdowns or other
touch. A tool that trainers use to work with the animals is called a
bridge. A bridge is a stimulus that the trainer uses to communicate
the moment an animal does something correct. A bridge can either be
a whistle or a verbal “good”. When the animal hears the
bridge, they know they have done something correct and they will get
a reinforcer. |
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Another tool that trainer’s
use is a called a target. A target is a pole with a ball on the end
of it, and the trainer uses this as an extension of their hand. The
animals are trained to touch the ball with their nose or mouth when
doing tricks. If an animal does a behavior wrong or just does nothing,
the trainer has to pause for 3-4 seconds so the animal knows they have
done something wrong. In order for the animal to learn the trick, the
trainer must work with the animal and repeat the trick over and over
till the animal learns it correctly. |
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Related links
Find out what it takes to be a marine
mammal trianer. |
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Learn what a marine mammal trainer really does. |
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Find out what tools you need to train marine mamals. |
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What is a typical day like being a dolphin trainer? |
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How we communicate with marine mammals. |