How We Prepare for the
Walk on the Wild Side Animal Show
Written by Sharon Clay, Curator of Animal Programs
March 31, 2023
The fox is running free: no harness, no leash as she darts across the stage and with a bounding leap she is up on the backdrop, balancing as she runs across like an acrobat.
The raven opens a box with a push of a lever, grabs a tool, and carries it across the stage. Thousands of people enjoy our Walk on the Wild Side Animal Show each summer. We are often asked how we get the animals to do these behaviors. Why don’t they run off?
It’s called Choice and Control Positive Reinforcement Training. Using some of the most modern forms of training, Animal Care Trainers are able to showcase a full array of natural behaviors of the animals. In this form of training, the animals have a choice every day and in every instance, whether they want to participate or not in the trainings and on show day. Our job is to make it worth it for them so they choose it. It is a process that takes time, consistency, clear communication, patience, and a lot of relationship-building.
During this process, we slowly add each of the variables that may distract them during the show. We start with the trainers and an empty, quiet theater. Then, we add a few people. Then the music and eventually lots of strangers. That is where our guests come into the picture to help with the training. We take ten weeks between the end of our winter programming and the start of rehearsal week to proceed through this training process. In April, we open it up for our guests in our Open Training Sessions. We open the theater for any guests to come and observe us train and watch the progress of the animals. It’s a time to get a glimpse into how it all comes together! Come stop in for a few minutes or the entire hour. Watch one step with an animal or many repetitions. The choice is yours!