<p><em>By<br />Angie Adkin, Assistant Lead Keeper<br />Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, IL</em></p>

<p><strong>Background:</strong><br />
Standing 8ft. tall and weighing 1772lbs.1, Indie is an 11-year-old female Bactrian camel [Camelus bactrianus] that was born at Lincoln Park Zoo (LPZ). Prior to 2004, Indie had no formal operant-conditioning training nor was she halter trained as a youngster. Instead, Indie was mother-reared amongst a large herd of females in a protected-contact setting. Indie is a dominant female at LPZ who is extremely food motivated. I used both of these factors to my advantage when I started her operant-conditioning program. </p>

<p>In 2004, when I first met Indie, I began the process by feeding her carrots and conditioning her to get used to my presence. The formal operant-conditioning training started, in the fall of 2005, when I introduced her to the bridge. Within a few weeks after I introduced the bridge (whistle), Indie paired the bridge with food. She proved to be an eager participant in the operant-conditioning program.</p>

<p><strong>Training Triumphs:</strong><br />
The stalls in the barn had horizontal oak boards with metal bar windows that give just a small access area for target training, which I felt was limiting Indie's training potential. After discussions with my managers, we installed a 2' x 3' [~ 0.6 x 0.9m] heavy-duty nylon net, known as a horse stall guard, across the stall door opening. This allowed Indie's head and neck to be more exposed for tactile desensitization (i.e. palpating, grooming, checking eyes/ears) when the stall door was opened while inhibiting her from exiting the stall. Additionally, it was determined that it would be best for me to enter the stall to work with Indie (with another keeper present for safety) when she was laying down sternally with all four of her feet tucked underneath her body. This position is referred to as a cush in the camelid world.</p>

<p>Indie responded well to me entering her stall since animal keepers in the past had gone in with her in this position. However, since she had a tendency to be a bit assertive in a cush, I decided it was best to only give the primary reinforcer, food, at the end of the cush session. During the cush session, I used a secondary reinforcer of tactile scratches/ brushing to reward her. In the new protected-contact setup Indie's training flourished and evolved. It even included desensitizing her to a wearing a pink halter.</p>

<img src="http://aecetia.net/gws/aazk/wp-content/uploads/camel.jpg" alt="camel" title="camel" width="522" height="377" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-642" />
 

<p><strong>Whos Training Who:</strong><br />
So the training went on…until, one morning this past fall, I shifted the camels inside from their overnight yard and noticed that Indie was in a cush within 10 minutes after eating her morning grain ration. Typically, she would cush in the stall, but not until 30–60 minutes after coming into the barn. I thought to myself, hmmmm, maybe she's just really eager to train today. So, I immediately reinforced her with her favorite fruits. At the moment, I realized that it might be possible to capture the cush behavior. </p>

<p>Historically, the traditional way to train a domestic camel to cush involves roping their legs to forcefully encourage them down. This training typically happens when they are youngsters. For Indie, this was not a plausible option...</p>