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Introduction to Animal Training
When did people first start training animals?
People have been training animals for thousands of years. Historically, falconers have trained hawks, and hunters have trained dogs. Dogs have also been trained for herding livestock and for pulling sleds. Elephants have been trained for carrying logs. Horses and camels have been trained for riding and hauling. Today, people still train these animals.
Marine mammal training, however, is a relatively new field. For example, people have been training killer whales for only about the past 25 years. It is only recently that we have begun to explore the learning aptitude of marine mammals.
Something to remember about animal training.
The field of marine mammal training continues to change as we learn more and more about the behavior of these unique animals. Today's leaders in the field of animal training do not have all the answers to the questions that intrigue us. SeaWorld trainers are working at the forefront of animal training. Hence, our knowledge is relatively new and ever-changing. Long term studies in marine mammal behavior will continue to give us new insights.
Introduction to Animal Behavior | Introduction to Animal Training | How Animals Learn | Marine Mammal Training At SeaWorld | The SeaWorld Auditory Cueing System | Why do We Train Animals? | Bibliography | Books For Young Readers
