Here at the sanctuary, we utilize Positive Reinforcement Training (PRT) to work with the chimpanzees to participate in their own care. The possibilities of applications for PRT are nearly endless, and help us perform many necessary tasks here at the sanctuary in a way that the chimps enjoy and can actively participate in!
The uses of PRT range greatly…we use PRT to station Jamie during meals to allow everyone else in the group to enjoy their meal, ideally without stealing or intimidation. We use it to apply lotion to Willy B’s dry feet and Rayne’s dry forehead. We use it to teach the chimps to present different parts of their bodies for us to observe for a variety of reasons, including asking Willy B for his right foot currently so we can get a look at how his toe is healing (which is very well!). And very recently, we have started utilizing PRT to train the chimpanzees to provide awake EKG readings utilizing the KardiaMobile, as J.B. discussed in a recent blog.
Willy B on his first day of EKG training, not quite sure what the human wants yet, but looking handsome while he ponders it!
Training for awake EKGs with the KardiaMobile is such an exciting and rewarding process. While it may look and sound simple to hold one finger from each hand to the device for 30 seconds, it is far from simple when working with a chimpanzee (they aren’t really known for their patience…). Willy B has so far been our star student where KardiaMobile is concerned. He is eager to participate when he sees the KardiaMobile holder, and has obtained several EKG readings. However, progress is not perfect, and a regular part of the PRT process is regression. Just because Willy B has mastered the KardiaMobile during one training session does not mean he will always do so from now on. Recently, I asked Sabrina to come with me to film KardiaMobile training with Willy B, as I was excited about the progress he had been making and wanted to show you all how well he was doing. He presented me with the idea for this blog instead! He has racked up several completed KardiaMobile readings, but during this session, he seemed to have forgotten he needed to present both hands at the same time, and somewhat comically kept switching out one hand for the other when I tried to ask for both hands. He even once presented a hand and a big toe at the same time (because you never know, maybe that is what this silly human wants!). We prepare for situations like this to happen when initially planning how to train a new behavior, so we “went back to kindergarten” and I tried asking for one hand on the KardiaMobile and the other to be presented at the same time anywhere in the caging. From there, I could ask him to present his hand at varying heights until it is presented over the KardiaMobile at the same time as the other hand that he has been resting there. At this point, I can try again asking for both hands to be presented over the KardiaMobile using the normal cue for this, and if he does so correctly, provide him with a jackpot treat (like a handful of blueberries, or several peanuts).
Willy B starts to get the hang of this thing! Soon enough, he’ll be presenting both hands.
Some training sessions, we don’t get to the end result we were hoping for, and that is okay. It is part of the process. Sometimes an individual is too distracted to focus on the task at hand, or confused about what you are asking them to do for some reason. Sometimes their friends are crowding them and preventing them from having the space to participate, or the social setting is not conducive to them being able to participate (for example, if high-ranking Jamie is sitting right next to low-ranking Foxie, and neither Foxie or Jamie are willing to relocate, providing a high-value reward to Foxie could get her in trouble with Jamie and possibly even start a fight. I need to be sure I can reinforce Foxie for doing what I ask before I start a training session, and under these conditions I would not be able to do so safely. Training can wait until another time when an additional trainer is available to train with Jamie at the same time, or Foxie is in a better location where she can receive her rewards for a job well done). While we attempt to work through these hurdles and have strategies to help them understand what we are asking for, sometimes the best tool we have is to ask for a simple behavior we know that the individual can do successfully, reward them with a tasty treat for their success, and call it a day!
