33: The Evolution of Enrichment with Clarie Santiago & Hunter Peck, Natural Encounters, Inc.

This episode continues the learning of Behavior Month 2023 with special guests Clarie Santiago and Hunter Peck from Natural Encounters, Inc. who discuss this week's theme for Behavior Month 2023: The Evolution of Enrichment. This is also an exciting episode for the fact that this was a live, in-person recording at the NEI Ranch because NEI graciously hosted The ABMA's 2023 midyear meeting! In this episode our guests discuss the evolution of enrichment, both on a holistic level and within a specific team or facility. Clarie and Hunter also contemplate the shift of enrichment towards behavior-based and how training, enrichment, and behavior are not mutually exclusive, but in fact all related. Stayed tuned for two "Training Tales" this episode! Clarie talks about a daring flight from a black kite and Hunter explains how a pigeon named Blade learned to fly. For questions or suggestions about the podcast email [email protected] and to reach Clarie and Hunter you can message them on Facebook.  Let's talk some training! 8:15 Introduction to Clarie Santiago and Hunter Peck  14:15 The evolution of enrichment  16:20 The evolution of enrichment on a team/in a facility  21:50 Behavior, enrichment, and training - Not mutually exclusive topics  29:10 Shifting the focus towards behavior and away from interactions  31:25 Enrichment as a tool to decrease “undesirable” behaviors  38:05 Can something that the animal “doesn’t like” still be considered successful enrichment?  41:50 Focusing on enrichment for a species as a whole and at an individual level 45:30 Hunter and Clarie’s enrichment opportunities that they are excited to implement in the future  47:15 “Training Tales”