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Presents... 3 Check It Out! 4 Mammoth Musicians 6 Roaches to the Rescue 8 10 Tricky Facts 10 Training Butterflies 12 Puzzles 14 How to Train a Porcupine 15 Max & Gracie 16 Training Horses that Heal Kids 18 A Bird on Your Hand 19 Elephant Artists 20 It’s a Dog’s Life 22 Ticklers & Teasers 23 The Art of Falconry 24 Training a Cat 25 Zak Attack! 26 Beavers in the House 28 Training a Hero 29 Kids Corner 30 Puzzle Solutions 2
If you have ever played with a pet, perhaps you tried to train it or teach it a trick. Are you aware that lots of different animals can be trained? The walrus in the photo learns through the Animal Enrichment Program at the New York Aquarium. You may have seen elephants do tricks in a circus, but have you ever seen elephants play musical instruments? Learn about teaching cats to do some of the tricks you might teach your dog. You’ll also read about how to train butterflies. From training horses to sea lions, cockroaches to a red-tailed hawk, there are interesting stories for everyone. Settle in, get comfy, and explore the world of animal training. And when you are all done, go to our Facebook page and look and listen to videos of some amazing animals playing musical instruments. You will be amazed!
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by Jacqueline Adams • photos by Richard Lair What’s gray, weighs 30,000 pounds, has 9 trunks, and plays music? The Thai Elephant Orchestra! Does the idea of elephants playing musical instruments sound strange to you? It didn’t sound strange to elephant expert Richard Lair. He’d already seen talented elephants pick up brushes and learn to paint abstract art. When he met musician Dave Soldier, the two of them decided to create the world’s first elephant orchestra. Like any group of musicians, this orchestra spends time learning how to play together. It’s like going to a music school for very large students. The musicians in this unusual orchestra live in Thailand at the Thai Elephant Conservation Center. At first, two male and four female elephants made up the orchestra. Was it hard to teach them to play? “It was easy,” says Richard, “perhaps because they are used to painting and because they like the sound.”
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Elephants can play some human instruments, such as harmonicas, but most instruments for humans aren’t the right size and shape for a huge animal that uses a trunk instead of hands. Richard, Dave, and three of their coworkers designed most of the elephants’ instruments, including a xylophone of large metal pipes, a ten-foot keyboard, and a gong made from a logging saw. The orchestra rehearsed outside, in the shade of teak trees. Dave wanted to hear what the elephants would decide to play, so he didn’t teach them songs. He signaled when it was time to start and stop playing, but the elephants chose their own notes. Do elephants enjoy making music? “To some, it’s just a job,” says Richard, “but others, such as Princess and Tadpole, simply love it.” Princess, a female, likes her xylophone so much, that she sometimes refuses to stop playing! Tadpole, a male, performs on several instruments. He taught himself how to play the diddley bow, which is a drum with a wire that makes it sound like an electric bass. “Music puts Tadpole in a good mood,” explains Richard. It took the Thai Elephant Orchestra only 11 days to record their first CD. The money raised by selling the CD’s bought milk formula for orphaned baby elephants and will help run a school for elephant trainers. More elephants have joined the orchestra. One is Look Aet, who is a very talented musician. Tadpole has a new drum kit, and the other elephants are learning new instruments. They will keep playing music that entertains humans and helps elephants. You can hear a sample of elephant music or order a CD at www.mulatta.org. Be sure to have a parent visit the site with you.
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by Brett Howard • illustrations by Rebecca Spohn The earthquake hits in the middle of the night. Like a bucking bronco, your bed tosses you onto the floor. You try to stand, but the floor is rolling like ocean waves. Your bookcase starts to sway, and you throw your hands over your head, waiting for it to fall on you. But the bookcase falls across your bed instead, creating a tent-like space just big enough for your shaking body. The walls and ceiling begin to crumble in a roar of noise and a cloud of dust. Soon you are trapped with no way out. Aftershocks come through the night, until there is only darkness and silence. Finally, out of the gloom, a tiny red light appears. It moves this way and that, as though looking for something. The light comes close to you and stops. Another light clicks on, blinking brightly in the cramped space. Before long, you hear scraping and digging noises and then voices. A chunk of wall is pulled away. A voice says, “Are you there? Are you OK?” How did they find me? you wonder. Relief washes over you. As flashlights brighten up the cramped space, you look over to where the lights were. What is that big brown thing? you think to yourself. It looks like a huge bug! I was trapped in here with that? Wait a minute . . . what’s on its back? It looks like a tiny electronic backpack! Is that how they found me? Does this sound like a disaster movie? Believe it or not, this could soon be science fact! Researchers at North Carolina State University have already created a way to steer Madagascar hissing cockroaches like mini remote-control cars.
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Dr. Alper Bozkurt and his team have attached tiny guidance systems to the roaches. They send small electrical charges to the roach’s antennae and cerci (sensory organs on the roach’s abdomen). This way, the scientists are able to direct the insects, like using reins on a horse. They hope that in the near future, mini-cameras and sensors will be attached to the roaches, helping rescuers find people after disasters such as earthquakes or fires. Why don’t the scientists just build robots to do the work? Dr. Bozkurt says, “Building smallscale robots that can perform in such . . . conditions is enormously difficult. They (roaches) come with a self-powered locomotion system. They will run away when they sense danger, which makes them hard to trap or squash.” So why use Madagascar hissing cockroaches? This species of roach is two to three inches long. Unlike many cockroaches, they have no wings. This makes it easier to attach equipment to their backs. The team likes using female roaches because they are used to carrying extra weight around. Females carry their egg case inside or outside their bodies for about two months until live babies hatch. So, these tough bugs make great little pack mules! Imagine being rescued by a roach! These unique insects, which most people would rather step on than spare, may soon be saving lives. If Dr. Bozkurt and his team are successful, first responders to disaster scenes may include firefighters, search and rescue dogs, and Madagascar hissing cockroaches.
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