Adventures in training with Willie B. III

Hi everyone, my name is Sherri, and I am a member of the Gorilla Care Team! About two years ago, I wrote about Willie B. III and how excited the team was to watch him grow and learn. So today, I would like to follow up on that and give everyone a sneak peek as to what he has been up to.

Willie B. III is now 2 and a half years old and thriving. He currently weighs a whopping 46 pounds and is right on track for all his developmental milestones. A little over a year ago, he was ready to dip his teeny tiny toes into the training world. I was tasked with being his primary trainer and I couldn’t be more excited to teach him!

At Zoo Atlanta, we use positive reinforcement to train the animals. What that means is basically any time the animal does a behavior we ask for, they get a reward, or what is more commonly known as reinforcement. For gorillas, that is typically in the form of their most desired fruit (apples, grapes, etc.). Gorillas at Zoo Atlanta will start training once they are old enough to consume solid foods for reinforcement and have just enough of an attention span to actively participate.

Willie B. III started his training journey when he was about a year old. The first step was getting him used to a bridge, in this case a clicker, so he knows that when he hears that sound, reinforcement is on its way to him.  Once we mastered the bridge, we went on to begin training some husbandry behaviors. Husbandry behaviors are essentially behaviors that help the gorillas participate in their own care. Willie B. III started by learning to present both hands and feet, back, belly, both ears, both shoulders, his forehead, nose, and lower lip. He has also received a couple of voluntary injections/ vaccinations already! I was able to train him to present his shoulder, show him the syringe, and then give him the vaccination. He was aware of what was happening the whole time; he likes to watch everything that is happening and got a nice big banana as a reward. Mom Shalia was also present and allowed him to participate and gave him a reassuring grumble.

Willie B. III is incredibly smart and enjoys participating in all his training sessions. I look forward to continuing to teach him all the core behaviors that are essential to his care, and even more so, I look forward to training him in more advanced behaviors as soon as he is ready, which I think will be very soon. These behaviors will focus on things like voluntary cardiac ultrasounds, which are incredibly important for gorillas of all ages and are used as a preventative tool to keep a close eye on the gorillas’ hearts without having to anesthetize them. It is well known among my team that training is my favorite part of the day, and if you have ever seen Willie B. III, you’ll understand why.

Sherri K.
Gorilla Care Team