From Avian Behavior Conservancy
A big part of our birds’ jobs is going to programs confidently and being able to handle unpredictable conditions. Training for this starts at home, helping them work through different puzzles and challenges that aren’t straightforward, like crating voluntarily.
Aldo is demonstrating how “motivation” to get into the crate works. I use the same sized bit of food and change the conditions for entry. So it’s not that he wasn’t hungry or motivated enough, he just didn’t have the skills for what I was asking him to do.
Crating him and working through simple behaviors in programs won’t always be straightforward. It will have unforeseen distractions. Teaching him to handle imperfect conditions builds up his confidence!
Wow that is gorgeous! Thanks for sharing!
It’s really quite bizarre to imagine. One of the favourite examples is to imagine what it’s like to be a bat and all the weirdness that entails. I think it’s just as hard to imagine the Owl’s perspective, even though it’s not as bizarre as a bat!
They had quite a number of owls on display, ranging from this one to some pretty rough ones. If you’re interested, I did a post at the time I was there rating them all out of 10.
It also has this adorable little Ookpik (toy/souvenier of a Snowy Owl) made by IIRC Native Canadians!
I don’t know if I could handle being a bat. All that upside down stuff and eating bugs… I just looked it up, and at least they go back upright before they go to the bathroom. 😅
I know very little about bats, though possibly I will get to learn some this year, pending results of my rabies antibody test. My uncle used to be a park ranger at Carlsbad and give bat talks, but I wasn’t much interested back then.