Harpij 2 2007
Training of a Nile monitor at Antwerp Zoo
Ben van Dijck
Enrichment
of reptiles and amphibians is considered important at Antwerp Zoo, as long as it
is enrichment for the animals and not for the keepers.
The reptile and amphibian department at the Antwerp Zoo follows the
philosophy that “the invested
keeper time must not exceed the amount of time that the animal is busy with the
enrichment”. It is often easy to enrich these animals using means that cost
little keeper time or money but result in hours of exploratory behaviour, for
example adding a new log to the enclosure, or drops of a scent that they find
attractive (e.g. drops of cow blood for monitors).
Training
is an extended form of enrichment, and the author feels that training should
achieve two criteria: to increase the safety of the animal and keeper, and to
reduce stress during handling of the animal in situations outside the daily
routine. The example given is training a cobra requiring regular medical
treatments to enter a transparent plastic tube closed on one side. First a prey
item was placed in the tube, and later only a scent After a couple of weeks the
cobra entered the tube with no enticement.
Because
Antwerp Zoo will be receiving Komodo dragons in the future the author went to
London Zoo to learn about the care and training of the Komodo dragons there. As
it is unclear when Antwerp Zoo will receive the Komodo dragoons the author
received permission to train the Nile monitors in the interim, so that he would
not loose his knowledge and because monitors do often become aggressive to their
keepers, therefore training is useful. It was decided to work with a sub-adult
male and female that had recently arrived at the zoo.
Objectives should be set with a training program, and in this case it was
1) to be able to move the individual animal to another enclosure or night area,
2) to persuade the animal to remain still for short periods, e.g. for an
inspection, and 3) to train it to enter a crate for medical procedures.
Important points are to be consequent and focussed in the training. Only one
person should perform the first training stage, as individual differences
between different trainers can be confusing initially. More trainers should be
involved once the animal is trained. Several short training sessions are better
than one long one, and it is better to limit a training session to achieving one
goal, for example persuading the animal to approach to a distance of 4 m in one
session and thereafter 3 m in another, rather than both
in the same session.
Because
the male Nile monitor was very
dominant over the female, it was decided to train him first, The author
initially made a clacking noise with his mouth to signal the animal, but later a
clicker was used, so that the bridge would be the same among keepers. Prey items
were used to motivate the monitor, and all the goals were achieved. Training of
the female will now commence.
The
below is a summary compilation of two articles:
The study of the pregnancy of a Malayan tapir using blood progesterone
values and sonographs by Mark Hoyer, veterinarian, and The pregnancy of tapir
Aya
by Lars Monnik, keeper, at Amsterdam Zoo.
The study of the pregnancy of a Malayan tapir using blood progesterone values and sonographs.
There
are two Malayan tapirs in Amsterdam Zoo. The male Dick, born in Mulhouse Zoo, has been at Amsterdam Zoo since 1993,
and approximately 14 old now. The female Aya, born in Dublin Zoo on 17 November
2002, has been at Amsterdam Zoo since October 2004. She was introduced to the
male for the first time on 23 May 2005. It
took a long time to train Aya to fall into such a “hypnotic” state when she
is brushed that blood sampling without restraint was possible, but once this was
accomplished (12 May 2005) she became an excellent candidate for a study on the
reproductive cycle of Malayan Tapirs coordinated by Rotterdam Zoo.
A
blood sample was taken from a vein on the inside of one of her feet weekly or
bi-weekly. A local anaesthetic crème was initially used, but proved to be
unnecessary. Blood values for estrogen and progesterone were measured at both
the laboratory in Rotterdam Zoo and in the haematological
laboratory at the OLVG Hospital in Amsterdam. It was found that while
progesterone trends were similar,
absolute values between these two sources was different (see graph). A
reproductive cycle of 60 days was observed, with the exception of the cycle
preceding copulation with the male on 16 December 2005. This cycle was only 30
days, a phenomenon that the authors hope to research further in the future. The
progesterone values continued to increase after fertilisation. Blood sampling
was done weekly during the pregnancy, and daily during the last two weeks before
the expected parturition date (12.5 months after fertilisation). Daily blood
samples were analyzed at a hospital close to Amsterdam Zoo.
A portable Asaote PieMedical® Aquila
scanner with a convex 3.5 MHz probe was used to make the sonographs. Aya did not
accept rectal scanning, thus scanning was trans-abdominal.
The first sonograph, made when Aya was three months pregnant, revealed
the foetus.
Sonographs were made every two weeks
thereafter, and the images recorded on video for measurements. The last month of
the pregnancy the foetus became too large to see on the sonograph.
The birth of a female on 19 January 2007,
at 2:00 AM, was clearly recorded on video. The baby was
named Tumpat, after the former female at Artis, who had been the full
sister of Aya. The first Tumpat had died of an intestinal blockage along with
her almost fully grown foetus in August 2004. The young Tumpat grew quickly, and
already began losing her stripes and getting her white saddle when two months of
age. The keepers quickly began brush training her, and her first blood sample
was already taken on 1 February! Because of bad weather Tumpat was not able to
go outside until 5 April, but enjoyed fully exploring every inch of her
enclosure, except for the pool, which she still found a bit scary, once she was
outside.