Elephants Elephants - Wildpro - Twycross Zoo

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behaviour by dividing it into small steps and teaching one step at a time until
the behaviour is achieved. Shaping is improving with positive means, a series
of steps to get the required end result.
The handler primarily uses positive reinforcement to teach the elephant each
step of the behaviour. Positive reinforcement is providing a reward that the
elephant desires, such as food and/or praise, when the elephant executes the
behaviour chosen by the handler. The presentation of the reward has to be
given to the elephant at the exact moment the elephant performs the
behaviour in order to communicate to the elephant that that behaviour was
the one being requested. Timing of the reward is one of the most important
aspects of the communication process. Presenting the award too early or too
late communicates to the elephant that the behaviour they were performing at
the moment of receiving the reward was the desired one.
Handlers can also use negative reinforcement to teach an elephant a behaviour.
Negative reinforcement is often confused with punishment but the terms do
not mean the same thing. Negative reinforcement encourages the repetition of
a behaviour and punishment is used to extinguish a behaviour. Negative
reinforcement removes something in conjunction with the performance of the
desired action or response. The use of an ankus to cue a behaviour can be an
example of negative reinforcement. An ankus is a tool used by many elephant
handlers and a cue is a stimulus where the response is reinforced. An example
of negative reinforcement is applying pressure when placing the tip of the
ankus against the back of the elephant’s leg to communicate to the elephant to
move its leg away from the pressure. This action can then be rewarded with
food and praise using positive reinforcement to further communicate to the
elephant that the behaviour of moving its leg was correct.
If the elephant performs a behaviour incorrectly or in a manner not up to
standard, it is given another opportunity to either earn the reinforcement or
given a time-out. This is a form of punishment in which the opportunity to gain
reinforcement is withheld for a brief period of time immediately following an
inappropriate or undesirable response. An example of a ‘time-out’ is when
the handler leaves the training area for a designated period of time, thus
removing any opportunity for the animal to receive attention or further food
rewards. The time out technique can only be used effectively in protected
contact situations.
There are many variables that affect the elephant’s response while being
trained; the social structure of the herd, the surroundings where the handler is
working, the number of handlers teaching a behaviour, the elephant’s health,
and the elephant’s demeanour to name a few. Recognizing these variables is
crucial to success. Training can be more productive if some of the variables
are eliminated or controlled.
One variable that can easily be controlled is the number of handlers teaching a
behaviour to an individual elephant. It is highly recommended that only one
handler be given the responsibility of training a new behaviour. The handler
has to have knowledge of every aspect of the training process: the elephant’s
demeanour, its daily response to the training sessions, its response to the
shaping procedure and its day to day level of understanding of the training