Student Scholars Day

Bottlenose Dolphin Care and Training

Kirkhof Center 2216

Animal psychology is closely associated with the learning theories of operant and classical conditioning. Together, these are the basis of animal training by teaching animals specific responses to certain stimuli. Through my internship at Sea Life Park Hawaii, I learned the fundamentals of animal care and training. My internship focused on Bottlenose Dolphins, Tursiops truncatus. I worked alongside trainers at the park focusing on marine mammal training and husbandry. I learned that animals benefit medically, physically, and mentally through a structured training program. Trainers accomplish these benefits through positive reinforcement, which is the primary motivation for the animal to elicit a desired behavior. Through this, trainers not only draw attention to a desired behavior by rewarding it, but also form human-animal relationships. In my presentation, I will explain my experience as an Aloha intern, showing what I did on a daily basis.