As reported in 　this news article, Ueno Zoo completed improvements to Asian Elephant enclosure in March 2009 and is now working on target training for the male elephant, "Ati" (training to teach him to give specific responses to cues such as sounds or pointers).

More than three months have passed since then. Initially, we started by getting her used to the new fence. We moved Atti to a small enclosure with a fence, and let her eat near the fence and touch it freely to ease her apprehension. Atti showed almost no signs of apprehension and got used to the fence just by lightly touching it with her nose.

We continued these preparations for two or three days, and then we started training using a "target stick." This involved having Atti stand in a designated spot and, in response to animal keeper 's instructions using a stick, getting her to extend her feet or ears from a specific point within the fence.

First, we positioned Atti so that her body was parallel to the fence. At this point, we let Atti choose which side to turn her head to, and she chose to turn her head to the right from animal keeper. Next, we inserted a target stick through the fence and gave the command "Head." Once Atti touched the target stick with her head, we gave her food.

Next is training to get Atti to extend her right front paw from a designated spot. Insert a target stick through the gap in the fence where you want her to extend her paw, and give the command "paw." When Atti lifts her front paw and touches the stick, give her a treat. Then give the command "put down," and when Atti puts her paw down, give her a treat. After the front right paw, do the back right paw. Then, place the stick next to her ear, give the command "ear," and when Atti spreads her ear and touches the stick, give her a treat. Keep Atti facing to the right and repeat the same training for several days. Once Atti gets used to it, change her direction and continue.

Since we had previously done similar training through a chain fence, Atti can perform all the movements regardless of whether she is facing left or right. Therefore, we plan to move on to the next step in her training, such as increasing the time she spends with her legs lifted and her ears spread.

These training sessions are conducted for the purpose of managing the elephants' health. In the future, we plan to enable them to perform procedures such as blood sampling, hoof trimming, and treatment. However, the elephants' mood is the top priority during training, so if an elephant clearly shows no motivation or appears irritated, we will not force them and will stop the training. Please note that the training is conducted in areas that are not easily visible to visitors, so that the elephants and animal keeper can concentrate on the training.

We don't know how long it will take until we can manage the elephant's health as we wish, but please watch over Atti's progress as she works on her training. The training sessions are held irregularly, but mainly around 2 PM.

[Takuya Fujimoto, Animal Care and Exhibition Staff, Ueno Zoo, Ueno East Garden]

(July 31, 2009)