Sharing our expertise with our peers

A few weeks ago, I attended and presented at the Animal Behavior Management Alliance (ABMA) Conference in San Antonio, Texas. ABMA is for animal care professionals to learn and share ways to enhance animal care through training and enrichment. I was proud to be one of the individuals selected to present at this conference. I presented on our experience training a juvenile American alligator for our Amy’s Tree Theater presentation for summer 2017. Other presentations focused on training for a variety of species, from marine mammals to ambassador animals who make off-grounds appearances. With nearly 200 animal care specialists in attendance, it was an amazing experience to be able to present and share my team’s training accomplishments, and I look forward to being able to attend in the future and share more of Zoo Atlanta’s successes.
Deidre Ousterhout
Keeper II, Ambassador Animals