To teach a Killer Whale to jump over a rope in the air, the trainer first puts a rope on the bottom of the pool; each time Shamu swims over the rope he gets a small reward of some fish. After a while Shamu understands that if he wants recognition, he has to swim over the rope, so Shamu keeps swimming over the rope expecting to get some fish, at this time the trainer lifts the rope about 5 feet. Not enough to make a big difference and the rope is to close to the bottom for Shamu to fit underneath, so he continues to swim over the rope, and continues to get the reward. After a while the trainer lifts the rope another 5 feet,now Shamu swims under, nothing happens, but every time Shamu swims over the rope, he gets the fish. After a while Shamu learns that only when he crosses over the rope does he get the prize, so he does!
Next the trainer puts the rope half way between the top of the water and the bottom of the tank, until Shamu learns to swim above the rope every time, then they place the rope at water level. Every time Shamu jumps over the rope, a reward, but every time Shamu swims under the rope NOTHING! Read the rest of this entry »
