All creatures great and small! Positive Reinforcement can also help a Manatee learn about a new worl

We would like to thank Awesome Ocean for reporting the story of Mr. Manatee, please click here for the full article.

I'd like to proudly announce that our colleague Mina presented an amazing case on behavioral modification for Mr. Manatee yesterday at the Imata 2015 Conference in Bahama.

When Mina first met Mr. Manatee, she found that the animal exhibits some stereotypic behaviors especially that Mr. Manatee only turns to the left, and never the right. The cause of such behavior is not known and further medical investigation is currently unavailable; however, living in an environment lack of stimulation may contribute to the development of stereotypic behavior. Mina also found that the muscle mass on both side of the body are disproportioned, one side (right side) less developed than the other (left side).

Mina decided to incorporate a rehab program for Mr. Manatee including exercise that requires muscle usage (bending, turning right, rear cross, pivoting etc. ) These exercises not only increase the motor functions of the rarely used muscles on the right, they also stimulate the sensory responses for Mr. Manatee. After a year long of hard work, Mr. Manatee now has more options than turning to the left!

In many researches we have seen that through exercise it helps to increase the proliferation of neurons and the re-wiring of neural network. Neuroplasticity is believed to play an important role in rehab programs like this one. Therefore, exercise is definitly great for increasing sensory responses and motor activity. It is truly amazing that Mina has adopted some training skills from other species into training Mr. Manatee. The rear cross exercise is mainly used in training dog for agility, and Mr. Manatee was also benefited from such exercise to encourage him making a left turn. This tells us that animal training should not be limited as for specific breeds or species, in fact, the theory of animal learning is the great foundation for all kind.

Congratulations to Mina and Mr. Manatee!