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| OUT OF AFRICA WILDLIFE PARK | ||||
Sunday April 19 2009 On Sunday we took a trip to the OUT OF AFRICA Wildlife Park North of Phoenix. What an amazing time. Owner Dean Harrison and his staff have done an incredible job moving the facility from Phoenix to their new location off the I17 and Hwy 260 (Camp Verde). The park used to be on the McDowell Indian Reservation, and was "encouraged" to move to make way for development. I love the new place, and it makes a great Sunday drive. The Tiger Splash was amazing, as always. And of course, you get to see the animals performing in their "natural" environment. Speaking as a Animal Behaviorist, I enjoy witnessing the tigers, and for that matter many of the other predators, acting in their natural ways. It allows us to evaluate and learn from behavior, and while I realize these are wild animals / predators, a lot of the behaviors are similar to those of the dogs we work with daily. Dean and his crew of handlers play games with the tigers, where they chase beach balls, toys and other playthings. To see the prey drive is just awesome. Obviously the handlers (playmates) control it carefully, doing just enough to generate excitement, but not too much to evoke a predatory or hunting instinct I also love how they have to bribe the cats with food to give up the toys. The cats actually know they ae going to be "distracted" with food, and wait for the handlers to offer the food. This is DIVERSION at its best, and reminds me of how we use food with dogs to distract them from other dogs, thereby minimizong territorial behavior. The handlers, who Dean explains are NOT trainers, as there is no training as such, are also careful not to cross the line with the tigers, in so doing triggering a more territorial response. Dean also points out the "show" is not really a show, but is more of a social playtime between the tigers and the handlers. Again, this is similar to techniques used by Partners Dog Training staff where we use social interaction between dogs, and the trainers, to encourage a positive interaction. Later Dean also showed us how a tiger actually plays with a lion. Im told Dean likes to "mix & match" various species to see how they interact. But before you have a heart attack, I have also seen animals in the wild interact with others that would be prey under other circumstances. By the way, I love this type of public demonstration of wild (exotic) animals. One, it teaches people how loving and affectionate animals can be, two it introduces animals to our kids which results in them being more protective of the animals in generations to come; and three, it also provides a rewarding experience to us animal lovers. Many of you may not know this, but I was privilaged to be given the chance to work with Cheetah when I love in South Africa. It was simply an incredible experience, as they are like great big kittens. They purr, nuzzle and play just like a (domestic) cat. I grew up spending many of my vacations in huge game reserves such as Kruger National Park, as my father was a professional wildlife photographer. I have personally witnessed "kills", elephants, leopards and many other species in the wild. I often wonder whether it was this exposure to animals that led to my interest and life devotion to animal behavior. My in-laws have a game reserve in South Africa, where they spend the summers. My son, Christopher gets to spend about two months a year sleeping next to monkeys, elephants and other animals. He tells of elephants playing in the jacuzzi and baboons stealing food out of the kitchen, while they are in the dining room. What a life for a kid! While Out of Africa Park will not give you that, it is close, and we should encourage these experiences with our kids. On this trip we were fortunate enough to be given a private tour by Courtney Palmer, who is in charge of a number of the animals. She is a graduate of Northern Arizona University, and is looking into doing her Masters in Animal Behavior, which of course is what all trainers dream of doing. I got to actually pet a giraffe, zebra and a few other animals. But the highlight of my day was the rhino, Boom-Boom. Rhinos have always been one of my favourite animals. They can be incredibly soft and gentle, and yes, they really are lovable creatures. But they can also be cantakerous and territorial as well. Few animals will challenge a rhino, which at four to five thousand pounds, are a serious package. Their eyesight is poor, but they have a great nose, and can sense when you are around. According to Dean, they can travel up to 35 mph, and yet run with soft gentle footsteps. That is twice as fast as a human, and faster than my dog when he is chasing my ATV. During a discussion on whether an animal is being "mean" when they try and eat you, Dean made a great point worth mentioning. "Mean" is a misnomer, in that all the animal is being is territorial, hungry or defensive. Mean is us humanizing the animals, a common problem in dog behavior. So is a dog "mean" when they growl at another dog that has invaded their terrotory? Or are we mean, when we place a dog in a crate? I'll let you decide that. Finally, Courtney allowed us the honor of watching her feed Boom-Boom. It was at this time she completely stunned me! Would you like to pet him, she asked me. Wow!!! Did I hear right? You mean come inside, and pet a rhino that could, in an instant, squish me like a bug! Those of you that know me, know there is not a lot I am scared of. Petting a real, live, living and in your face, Rhino. Absolutely unbeleivable! I was so excited I had a hard time staying calm. Did I mention he weighed just under 5,000 pounds! So staying calm is important! Just breath, and act like a real trainer! Right..... But Boom-Boom was the perfect gentlemen. His skin was rough, with folds, and is horn felt chalky, like Sandstone. He barely noticed first Loni, (manners, girls first, you know), and then me. (Im just kidding, I was taking photographs remember) And no, he did not try and eat us, in fact, his only issue was me distracting him from his meal. I have been around animals my entire life, and this was one of my favourite experiences. Thank you Boom-Boom for making my day! And for not squishing me like Sponge Bob! (Just for the record, Courtney was right next to us all the time, and we had a huge concrete wall behind which I could hide if he decided to add me to his diet. So while I do not advise you go out and pet a rhino, we were not in any real danger.) But I was watching him more than just a little... just in case!
Thanks again to Dean, Courtney and the other staff.
For more information: The park is open Wednesdays through Sundays. http://www.outofafricapark.com/index.html
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All the information above is Copyright Leighton Oosthuisen.
Author: Leighton Oosthuisen Author and Animal Behaviorist Leighton Oosthuisen of Partners Dog Training has been working with animals for about 30 years. Leighton@PartnersDogTraining.com |
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