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CLEVELAND AMORY BLACK BEAUTY RANCH @2007
Babe's caretaker, Arturo Padron, draws blood from her ear as Babe patiently cooperates. |
In December 2006, the Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch's African elephant, Babe, underwent her yearly physical exam. Though elephants, being the largest land mammal, may appear to command all within their reach, elephants in captivity must be monitored carefully for various health issues and ailments. This year's physical for Babe was particularly rewarding as a year and a half of positive reinforcement training made the experience run very smoothly.
The goal of Babe’s annual physical is the same as that of a human physical: to assess health and overall condition of the body. However, the process is more challenging, as Babe’s physical requires the assistance of the state highway department, veterinarians, radiologists, and all her caretakers in order to complete the test.
Preparing for the Physical
Babe has been in training since the summer of 2005 to learn a system of elephant management called “protected contact,” which relies on positive reinforcement. The goal of the training is to help her understand and respond appropriately to requests and feel comfortable in doing so. First a physical barrier is used to reduce the chance of injury to Babe’s caretaker. Then through rewards of food and praise she is taught the behaviors necessary to provide good care (for example, allowing a person to touch her foot or ear). There is no force involved, no physical or psychological control, and no discipline. Babe makes her own choices and is free to cooperate or ignore our requests.
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CLEVELAND AMORY BLACK BEAUTY RANCH @2007
Babe's left front foot and leg are xrayed. Babe lifts each foot upon request while constantly being praised and rewarded with her favorite foods. |
Her caretakers also were trained in methods of positive reinforcement at the same time. Since Babe has responded so effectively, caretakers are now able to perform several different procedures with her, such as drawing blood samples from her ears, placing her feet and legs in positions for X-rays, and handling and manipulating her trunk for sample collection for tuberculosis testing.
It has been a process that required commitment and patience. The training for drawing a blood sample from Babe’s ear, for example, required her to understand the request to hold out her ear. Then she learned to tolerate touching the back of her ear, especially the veins. From there, she was asked to hold out her ear for longer periods with touching, and then a syringe, without a needle, was introduced to her ear. Through constant support and rewards, she overcame her concerns. Eventually, Babe was comfortable with all the equipment, procedures and people involved in drawing blood from her ear.
Next, Babe learned to relax her trunk completely and allow her caretakers to touch it for extended periods of time. Since elephants are susceptible to tuberculosis, they must be tested annually with a procedure called a trunk wash. Unfortunately it’s not the outside of the trunk that needs cleaning…it’s the inside! It may sound like a simple request, but getting Babe to understand the requests—and subsequently rewarding her for every move toward that goal—took months. After the relaxation concept was understood, the next step was introducing a washing solution to the inside of her trunk and then getting her to blow it out into a plastic bag. The level of trust between Babe and her caretakers, as well as her strong interest in learning, helped her accomplish request after request.
A Successful Physical
The year and a half of training made Babe comfortable and confident during all the pokes and prodding associated with her physical. Ultimately Babe’s behavior throughout her examination, whether it was holding her leg or foot in position just so for an x-ray or stepping onto the mobile truck scales provided by the highway department to weigh her, was exemplary. She completed all her test requirements with flying colors. The results of her lab work indicated her overall health is very good, and new x-rays showed that the condition of her injured legs and feet has remained stable over the last year. She weighs a dainty 7,600 pounds.
Despite Babe’s life in the circus world where she suffered both indignity and injury, she now demonstrates great trust and cooperation. This trust is the key to our being able to care for her effectively, and we are honored to uphold it.
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Posted March 22, 2007
