animal training
grrlscientist | June 21, 2010tags: book review, Lift, animal training, peregrine falcon, falconry, hawking, memoir, creative nonfiction, Rebecca K. O'Connor
It's rare indeed when I read a bird book by a previously-published author whom I've never heard of before, but a few months ago, I was contacted by a published writer who was unknown to me, asking if I wanted to read her story about what it's like to be a woman falconer. Of course! eagerly replied this wannabe falconer. After a few postal mix-ups and delays, the book finally arrived at my door in Germany. This slim paperback, Lift (Los Angeles: Red Hen Press; 2009),…
grrlscientist | May 13, 2010tags: Mouse Agility Course, animal training, clicker training, target stick, behavior, behavioral modification, streaming video
Training animals (and people) to do what you wish them to do is a vanishing art. However, there is a training method that is gaining popularity for teaching animals, ranging from rodents to whales, to perform certain behaviors on command. This training method is clicker training. Here is one example of clicker training with a common ordinary pet mouse, where it has been trained to follow an obstacle course that is truly epic in its size.
How the heck did this mouse…
grrlscientist | March 16, 2010tags: Bill and Coo, Tour of Chirpendale, film, movies, silly, funny, humor, fucking hilarious, animal training, birds, parrots, streaming video
I have never seen nor heard of Bill and Coo (1948), but it's a real treat. It features an all-bird cast (trained by George Burton) acting out a story involving Taxi Driver Bill Singer wooing his beloved Coo whilst fighting off a parakeet-devouring crow! This clip features a tour of the town of Chirpendale and its inhabitants. Oddly enough, the film won a special Academy award "In which artistry and patience blended in a novel and entertaining use of…
grrlscientist | August 30, 2009tags: parrots, pets, birds, behavior, animal training, basketball-playing parrots, streaming video
This amazing video of parrots playing basketball is fascinating watching because it shows the results of patience combined with excellent animal training techniques. This video shows clips from "1 on 1" and "2 on 2" basketball games, starring parrots, Bo and Yoda (Congo African Grey parrots, Psittacus erithacus erithacus) and Hannah and Gustav (Solomon Islands Eclectus parrots, Eclectus roratus solomonensis).