BARKS from the Guild November 2017

Page 50

BEHAVIOR

A Language for All Species

Beth Napolitano relates the tale of what she learned from “talking” to a flying squirrel

© Can Stock Photo/EEI_Tony

ogs communicate with us in many nonverbal ways, as we all know. Some examples of this include using their body posture (are their tails wagging happily or tucked between their legs?) and eye contact (are they looking at you or turning their head away from you?). By reading our dogs’ body language we can determine, for instance, if they are feeling stressed, happy, relaxed, fearful, anxious, playful and much more. Understanding what our dogs are telling us can deepen our bond with them and result in a happy, more confident best friend. Learning to “speak dog” is easy once we know what to look for, and once we understand canine body language we can use it to determine consent. For example, ask your dog if he wants to have his nails clipped, and if he turns his head away from the visual presentation of the nail trimmer, that is a definite “no.” Recently, I found a baby southern flying squirrel that had fallen out of her nest. Sadly, her mom did not show up to reclaim her. That meant I would be standing in and taking on the role of surrogate mother. I was very surprised to learn that, where I am based in Central Florida, we are surrounded by secretive, nocturnal flying squirrels (think cute rodent secret society). Flying squirrels do not spend much time on the ground so human contact is rare. My particular baby flyer’s eyes were not open yet so I guessed her age to be about 3-4 weeks. I soon learned that her eyes would open in about a week or so. Based on my experience with dogs, I decided to use what I know about nonverbal communication on this helpless little squirrel. Initially, and not surprisingly, she spent a great deal of time sniffing my The baby flyer responded well to play but was able to hands, both of communicate to Napolitano them and every when she had had enough inch of them. While feeding her, I noticed she would tap her mouth with her right front foot if I wasn’t going fast enough. I needed time to refill the syringe and this baby was hungry! I found it fascinating that her signal is similar to the American Sign Language gesture for hunger. When she slowed down, I would continue 50

BARKS from the Guild/November 2017

Author Beth Napolitano’s baby southern flying squirrel responded to consent testing

© Can Stock Photo/EEI_Tony

D

through the implementation of consent testing during husbandry

to offer the syringe and sometimes she would turn her head away. That was a definite “no.” Again, I found it fascinating that humans also use a head shake to indicate no. Could it be that these human nonverbal signs originated in mammals prior to primates using them? Other times she would just back away, her sign for “I am full.” After the baby’s eyes opened, she offered great direct eye contact. However, if someone she didn’t know entered the room, she would freeze and stare straight ahead, avoiding eye contact with the approaching stranger. Freezing is a clear sign of stress, especially for a flight animal. I continued to implement more consent testing. When I put my hand in her cage I offered her the option to hop up and climb on instead of just picking her up. Every time I offered my hand she readily climbed on, after a stretch and a yawn. Once on my hand she would again stretch out, spread-eagled, with one little foot dangling off the side of my hand. I thought of this as her relaxation pose. She was letting me know she was comfortable with my handling techniques. Another consent test, a resounding “yes!” I continued to observe my new baby’s behavior during several daily play sessions to make sure she was feeling amenable and having fun. We took turns mock chasing each other, sometimes with my hand and other times with her personal small stuffed toy. If she hunched up her back and intermittently hopped around or chased my hand, I knew she was enjoying it. Usually play lasted a few minutes and I let her tell me when it was over. If


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