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Distinguished Achievement Awards Winner 1975
By BETTY DEBNAM
, -
Nounq readers *
First the trick . . . then th* ^irlr'
Ho w to Train a Walrus
San Diego, California?
"Click, click, click."
That is the sound of Julie
Scardina's clicker at a
show at Sea World, a big
amusement park.
Julie uses it to signal a
1,500-pound walrus named
"Flo" that she is doing just
the right trick.
Julie also uses it to
signal performing sea lions
and otters.
The clicker is called a
"bridge," since it is a
bridge between the trainer
and the animal.
The tricks that Flo and
the other animals do are
part of their natural
behavior.
Such actions as rolling
over, jumping, twisting
and back flips are
Click ? Julie signals Flo to heave out of the
water as she holds a clicker in one hand. Flo is
trained to respond to the click. She also likes to
be touched.
matched to voice
commands or hand
signals. Then the clicker
says that the trick is well
done.
After the click, the
animals are often awarded
a fish or some tasty treat.
If the animals don't do
their tricks, they are given
a "time-out" or just
ignored.
They learn that the only
way to get a reward is to
perform well.
Julie went to a special
college in California to
learn to become an animal
trainer.
"I like working with
intelligent animals," she
says.
Julie, walruses, sea lions
and otters click well
together!
Click ? A sea lion flips a flipper and Julie rewards it with a
click and a treat.
Draw a
line to
these
words in
the story:
amusement
natural
pound
ignored
together
voice
command
Click ? A little river otter waves and get* a
click. Julie will alio reward the little
performer with a raunchy treat.