How Do You Train Dolphins?

Dolphins are the most popular and probably the most intelligent marine mammals. That is why it is difficult to find a zoo or an aquarium without a dolphinarium that performs shows with the public present. 

These shows are possible thanks to very sophisticated training techniques, which, it should be noted, have changed radically in recent decades.

Thus, the majority of European and American coaches follow the new learning techniques, which are kinder, faster and more effective than the traditional ones. We will tell you how they train the dolphins so that they too enjoy the shows.

Dolphins in captivity

Current laws prevent hunting wild animals to take them to enclosures such as zoos or aquariums.  In fact, very rigorous controls are in place to control where each of the animals that we can visit in captivity come from.

In this sense, it has been many years since the animals that we see in captivity have either been rescued and cannot live in freedom again, or have been born in captivity and, therefore, could not survive in the wild.

With regard to some especially long-lived animals, some specimens that were captured in their day still survive, but they are the exception.

As we have just mentioned, the dolphins that we can see in zoos or aquariums have been rescued or have been born in the facilities,  so they are not in captivity for our enjoyment; it is the only place where they are prepared to live.

The need to train

Dolphins are animals of extraordinary intelligence that love to learn and play. Aquariums design shows with animals because that kind of mental and physical exercise is necessary  for them. If these animals did not pose mental challenges, such as learning choreography, they would be bored to depression or madness.

The shows also raise money to help maintain the facilities and hire trainers and veterinarians. Maintaining a place like a dolphinarium costs a lot of money, and since the dolphins would have to be busy learning and playing, it is used to defray expenses.

How they train dolphins

In recent decades, the method of training dolphins has been changed to one that is not only kinder to animals, but is also faster and more effective. In this sense, Karen Pryor comments in her book Don’t kill him… teach him! that  nothing is impossible thanks to positive reinforcement and the use of a clicker.

The clicker is a very popular technique for dog training, 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 clicker trainers for decades.

With the use of the clicker, it is possible for the animal to associate a noise – a whistle in this case – with a reward  and, in this way, the animal can be told when it has done well.

And the good thing about the clicker is that it can be awarded at any time during the exercise, even if the final prize (fish) takes seconds to be awarded .

For example, if a trainer is practicing jumping with the dolphin, he can tell him in a very simple way how high he wants to reach. Without a clicker I could not reward you the moment you reach the desired height, because in the air it cannot give you the award.

The use of the clicker, a positive reinforcement

The clicker, therefore, relies solely  on positive reinforcement. If the dolphin does not want to train or if it does not manage to do an exercise, it is never punished, but it only receives rewards when it does well and these are an extra to its diet.

It should be noted, in this case, that dolphins are not hungry when they train. His motivation is to eat something appetizing or the satisfaction of achieving the exercise.

It is a totally friendly and voluntary method. If the dolphin does not want to learn, he simply does not get his sardine. The trainers affirm that there are dolphins that go through times that do not want to go out to the pool at the shows and are not forced, while there are others that are eager to win their fish.

The clicker in other species

The clicker works in any species and, according to Karen Pryor, fish have been trained to put a ball in a basket.

In addition to its use for dolphins, the clicker is widely used with dogs. Clicker training can be used to prepare dogs for sports competitions such as agility or for police service. Drug or explosive detection dogs begin their clicker training.

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

The dolphins that we see doing shows in modern zoos and aquariums are not animals captured from life in the wild and are trained for their well-being. Thanks to the way they train dolphins, they have begun to teach other less intelligent animals other things . Fortunately, dolphinariums are no longer cruel to their dolphins.

Main image source: Gerald Carter