Fagen Et Al.

(Elephant Learning)
Aim:
To investigate whether secondary positive reinforcement could be used to train the
elephants to voluntarily complete a trunk wash, a behavior that allows the elephants to be
tested for a disease called TB.

Background:
Introducing Ariel Fagen
Dr Ariel Fagen is a highly qualified, board-certified veterinary behaviorist of the
American College of Veterinary Behavior, one of less than a hundred in the world.
She is the Medical Director and owner of a practice in Colorado, USA. Her ground-
breaking research documented the efficacy of secondary reinforcement training with
captive elephants for the very first time.
Ariel enjoys hiking, camping and skiing and her clients describe her as professional,
compassionate and extremely knowledgeable.

The study explored the effectiveness of secondary positive reinforcement for training
working elephants to voluntarily participate in trunk washing, a veterinary procedure used
to test for TB (Fagen et al, 2014). Four of the five elephants successfully mas tered the
necessary behavior within 35 training sessions (average session length of 12 minutes).
The training was seen to be effective in reliably producing the desired behavior of trunk
washing for juvenile (infant) elephants.
 The Psychology Being Investigated:
1. Operant conditioning
- Which is a learning process in which actions are dictated by their outcomes.
- Positive reinforcement, or rewards, are given to desirable behaviors in SPR,
making them more likely to be repeated.

2. Secondary Positive Reinforcement (SPR)

- When a desired behavior is exhibited, a positive stimulus (a reward) is introduced
to reinforce the behavior.
- This approach differs from conventional approaches, which frequently involve
punishment or negative reinforcement.

3. Animal Learning and Behavior Modification

- This research explores the application of learning theories to animals, with an
emphasis on elephants.
- It looks at how behavioral modification techniques can be used to train animals in
a way that shifts away from harsh methods and toward more welfare-focused ones.

4. Impact of training methods on animal welfare

- The effect of training techniques on the mental health of animals is a major area of
psychology research.
- The study does not explicitly address how stress reduction and increased
cooperation are two ways that humane training techniques like SPR can enhance
the mental health and welfare of animals.

5. Understanding Animal Behavior and Cognition

- The study advances our knowledge of elephants; cognitive capacities, including
their capacity for learning, memory, and cue response.
- It clarifies the mental mechanisms that underlie animal learning and how these
mechanisms may be used to an animals advantage during training.

Research Method:
Fagen et al. conducted a controlled observation of the elephant training sessions. The
observations took place while the elephants were chained in their stalls at the stable where
they lived and not in the wild, for example. It was also structured in that the observers
used a behavioral checklist (see Table 3.6) to measure how successful the elephants were
in completing various behaviors involved in the trunk wash.
 Sample:
The researchers studied five female elephants - four infants aged 5-7 years old and one
adult. The young elephants were all born in captivity. The adult elephant was at least 50
years old.
The elephants were chosen as they were all relatively gentle/tame and none was pregnant,
and because their handlers were all happy to take part. The elephants had no previous
experience with secondary positive reinforcement training and had only ever been trained
using traditional methods. The mahouts were present in all sessions to maintain the
trainers' safety, but they did not interact with the elephants.

Procedure:
Elephants underwent training using secondary positive reinforcement to complete each of
the five steps involved in the trunk wash. Elephants were trained using capturing, luring,
shaping and secondary reinforcers. Each training session was observed, with d etails of the
session and success rate recorded.

Results:
The four juvenile elephants all learned the full trunk wash in 25 -35 sessions. The mean
average session duration was 12 minutes, ranging from 10 to 13 minutes, and the overall
training time for these elephants was 367 minutes, with a range of 194 minutes (257-451
minutes). Elephant 5, the older elephant, was never tested on the full trunk wash as she
failed to learn the full sequence in the time available. The behaviors that she could not
master were blowing into the bucket and holding her trunk steady. Elephants 2 and 4 also
never fully mastered the trunk steady behavior, except as part of the full trunk wash.
Elephant 5 was also never fully desensitized to the syringe. When her training sessions
were added, the mean increased to 378 minutes. Over the cours e of the study, the
elephants' success rate for accurate individual behaviors and sequences increased from 39
per cent after 10 sessions to 89.3 per cent after 35 sessions.

Individual behaviors varied significantly in terms of the amount of practice necessary to

master them. For example, the most difficult behavior was the first one (trunk here/trunk
in hand), which took an average of 295 offers, compared with lower trunk into bucket (61
offers) and blow into bucket (54 offers), which required considerably less practice.
 Conclusions:
Fagen et al. concluded that secondary positive reinforcement is effective for training
juvenile, traditionally trained elephants to voluntarily and reliably participate in a trunk
wash.

- SPR was found to be a feasible and efficient training method for juvenile elephants.
- The study shows that elephants could be trained voluntarily without resorting to
traditional punishment-based methods.
- SPR training could be beneficial in various captive management programs
globally.

Strengths:
A behavioral checklist was used, which increased the reliability of observations.

The captive elephants were observed in their normal setting.

Weaknesses:
The elephants were observed by their trainers, which was subjective.

A very small sample of five female elephants was used.

Application To Everyday Life:

Improving captive animal welfare
Fagen et al. have developed a relatively safe and efficient way of training captive
elephants to co-operate during critical veterinary procedures. The trunk wash is central to
the management of TB in animal sanctuaries and zoological parks both in Nepal and
overseas. This is important because not only does it help to maintain the health and
wellbeing of these incredible animals, but it also reduces cases of TB in humans, who can
catch the disease from infected elephants.

Furthermore, Fagen et al.'s technique can be easily adapted to teach other behaviors
through positive reinforcement. For example, Deane (2017) explains how animals as
diverse as zebras, macaws, tortoises and tropical fish have all been trained to undergo
procedures including blood samples, x-rays and transportation to new environments using
rewards. These important advances in veterinary practice reduce the need for manual
restraint and sedative drugs, decreasing stress and improving wellbeing.