Polar Bear
Ursus maritimus

In the hallway behind the polar-bear exhibit, Kovler Lion House/Bearline lead keeper Carrie Weitz pulls a lever that slides a gate open, which enables Lee—all 850 pounds of him—to lumber up to a barred window where Weitz crouches down beside a bucket of trout.

“Hi Lee!” she greets the massive white bear. But this isn’t a social visit, it’s a training session. And the pupil can’t wait to get started. For the next 10 minutes the keeper offers prompts and Lee, to varying degrees, performs the actions and gobbles the fishy rewards.
“Touch,” says Weitz, pointing to the upper corner of the window, and Lee directs his huge snout to the point she’s indicated. The keeper sounds a whistle (a “bridge” between the correct behavior and the reward) then tosses a trout into the bear’s open mouth.  “Head,” she prompts, and Lee cranes his powerful neck downward. Whistle. Fish.
“They love these sessions,” says Weitz of Lee, his sister Anana and the four other bears that receive training. (Apple juice delivered via spray bottle replaces fish for the Andean and sun bears.) “They love the food, obviously, but it’s also the attention they get, and the exercise and the mental stimulation.”

From the zoo’s perspective the greatest benefit of animal training, which is conducted with species from gorillas to giraffes, is that it eases husbandry. Zoo veterinarians like Dr. Claude Lacasse request keepers to train animals on certain behaviors, which facilitate medical procedures. Should an animal require an ultrasound, as sun bear Bandau once did, keepers can train her to place her stomach against a mesh barrier, enabling a stress-free exam. “The more we can do without anesthetizing an animal the better,” explains Weitz. Lacasse joins keepers for training once a week. The bears become accustomed to her during these enjoyable sessions, and, as a result, are not on alert when the vet arrives for something less pleasant, like a shot.

Barring scheduling conflicts, training is performed daily. Keepers work from training itineraries that detail the behaviors each animal already knows and those that should be instructed.

The “Open Mouth” prompt is old hat for Lee. When prompted to “Spin,” however, he merely moves his front feet a few steps to the right, then returns for his reward. Good enough, deems Weitz. “Spin” is a new prompt, a few steps is an improvement since last time, and there's always future training sessions to go full circle.