Dolphin Training: How Is It Done?

Dolphins are the most popular marine mammals and probably the smartest. Therefore, many zoos and aquariums gather large audiences for shows with these animals.  The shows are made possible by very sophisticated dolphin training techniques, which have changed radically over the last few decades.

So, most European and American trainers are adopting new, kinder, faster and more effective training techniques so that the animals also enjoy participating in the show. We’ll talk more about this below.

captive dolphins

Current laws prohibit hunting free animals to take them to zoos and aquariums. In fact, they have very strict controls to monitor where each animal that lives in these environments comes from.

In this sense, the animals we see in captivity have been rescued for many years and cannot go back to living in freedom, because they were born in these captivity, unable to survive in nature.

Some animals are long-lived and, despite surviving capture, are an exception in this case.

As we just mentioned, the dolphins that we can see in zoos and aquariums were rescued or were born on the premises. As such, they are not there for our enjoyment, as it is the only place they can survive.

the need to train

Dolphins are animals with extraordinary intelligence and love to learn and play.  Aquariums set up shows with these animals because this kind of mental and physical exercise is necessary for them. If they didn’t have mental stimuli, like learning choreography, they would be bored until they developed depression or madness.

In addition, with the shows, resources are collected that help maintain the facilities and hire trainers and veterinarians. Maintaining a aviary for dolphins costs a lot of money, and since they need to be busy learning and playing, this is used to defray the cost.

dolphin training

For some decades now, dolphin training methods have been modified, being not only more enjoyable, but also faster and more effective. In this sense, Karen Pryor comments in her book “Don’t Kill Him!” that nothing is impossible, thanks to positive reinforcement and the use of a clicker.

The clicker is a very popular technique for training dogs, but it works very well with any animal, especially dolphins. Karen Pryor is an expert in the use of the clicker and has been training dolphins and trainers with the device for decades.

Using the clicker, you get the animal to associate a noise (a whistle, in this case) with a reward. In this way, it is possible to tell the animal when it has done something good.

And the good thing about the clicker is that the prize can be given at any time during the exercise, although the final prize (fish) takes a few seconds to be given.

For example, if the trainer is practicing jumping with the dolphin, he can indicate in a very simple way the right height to reach. Without the clicker the trainer would not be able to reward it when the animal reached the correct height.

The use of the clicker, a positive reinforcement

The clicker, therefore, is based solely on positive reinforcement. If the dolphin doesn’t want to train or if he can’t perform an exercise, never punish him. However, he should only receive the prizes when he does it correctly, being an extra for his food.

It should be noted, in this case, that dolphins are not hungry when they train. Your motivation is to eat something tasty or the satisfaction of being able to exercise.

This method is completely voluntary. If the dolphin doesn’t want to learn, he just doesn’t get his sardines.  The trainers say that there are dolphins that go through phases where they don’t want to leave the pool and don’t have to because there are others who are craving their fish.

The clicker in other species

The clicker works for any species and, according to Karen Pryor, there are even fish that are trained to put a ball in a basket.

In addition to its use with dolphins, the clicker is widely used in dogs.  Clicker training can be used to prepare dogs for sport competitions or police service. Drug or explosive detecting dogs begin their training with the clicker.

Horses are also trained with the clicker technique. This technique allows training without touching or forcing the animal, being especially useful with large animals. Rhinoceros and elephants in zoos are also clicker-trained so they know how to behave on veterinary visits.

The dolphins we see in shows in modern zoos and aquariums are not animals captured from life in the wild, but trained from their young.  Thanks to the good results of the training, less intelligent animals started to be trained as well.  Fortunately, dolphin aviaries are not as cruel as they used to be.

Main image source: Gerald Carter