How Dubai Safari Park trained Dahlia the giraffe to have her foot X-rayed

The fast-learning 22 year old was given food treats during voluntary sessions over a three-month period

The 22-year-old giraffe called Dahlia lives at Dubai Safari Park. All photos: Dubai Safari Park

Dahlia was trained to put her foot on a wooden block so that an X-ray could be taken

Over three months Dahlia received regular training sessions so staff could work out what the problem was with her foot

Once a diagnosis had been established, Dahlia was cured within weeks

Taking an X-ray of a person is a simple and routine medical procedure that typically requires the patient to do little more than keep still.

But imagine having to X-ray the limb of a large animal such as a giraffe.

One approach, anaesthetising the creature, is fraught with risks, while a request to remain stationary is unlikely to make much sense when the patient is a zoo animal.

However, through patience and treats, staff at Dubai Safari Park have trained a female giraffe called Dahlia to place her foot obediently on a wooden block so that a radiograph could be taken.

Over a three-month period they held regular training sessions with Dahlia, 22, who had shown signs of lameness, until she would happily keep her foot in place for 30 seconds.

Well-being of the animal

Demi Booth, an animal welfare specialist at the safari park, said training the "gorgeous girl" was better than exposing her to the "potentially stressful and scary situation" of anaesthesia.

"Some people don’t consider the giraffe to be a particularly intelligent species, however, in my experience, they are quite smart," Ms Booth said.

"Dahlia learnt the behaviours very quickly and often moved on to the next step of the training plan before the trainers were expecting. It sometimes seemed that Dahlia was training us rather than us training her."

Dahlia, one of 10 giraffes at the safari park at the time of the training early last year, learnt to lift her foot on to the block and worked out that she would be rewarded with treats each time, causing her to use the block "like a food button".

In a recent scientific paper in the Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens, Ms Booth and four colleagues described how Dahlia’s favourite treats included stems and inner blanched lettuce leaves.

Sessions, lasting 15 to 20 minutes, took place four to five times a week and after three months Dahlia was fully trained.

They took place only if Dahlia’s body language suggested she was in the right mood — staff could tell when she was showing interest and with her ears and nostrils she could indicate she was relaxed.

When Dahlia did not feel like taking part, she was not forced to, but there were only two occasions when she failed to participate.

If it was particularly hot or humid, Dahlia, a reticulated giraffe, a species or subspecies native to the Horn of Africa, tended to be less interested.

Rehearsals to calm the nerves

Staff went to great lengths to ensure that she was well prepared for when radiograph equipment was used, such as by gradually introducing a specially made mock-up of the equipment.

"This mock cassette and unit were used by trainers during the initial stages of their daily training procedures, allowing the giraffe to become comfortable with the trainer holding the radiograph cassette close to the foot at various heights and angles to obtain different views," the researchers wrote.

"During this stage, the giraffe was reinforced for staying in a stationary position and holding the foot on the block while the trainer manipulated the object."

The staff hung up the lead jackets they would wear during the X-ray procedure, again so that Dahlia would become used to them. They subsequently wore them during training.

Later, when the radiographs allowed Dahlia’s lameness to be understood, she was cured in only three weeks thanks to joint supplements and soft bedding.

Giraffe mortality during anaesthesia for X-rays or hoof trims can be 10 per cent, their large necks making them vulnerable to problems with their vertebrae and creating a "large respiratory dead space" that may lead to potential problems.

Ms Booth said that darting an animal, as well as being stressful and potentially dangerous, could also weaken the trust between it and the staff.

Another benefit of positive reinforcement — encouraging certain behaviour by offering a reward when it is carried out — is that it provides the animal with choice and control, as training goes at its pace.

It is also regarded as enriching, making the animal’s life more interesting by offering the chance to learn and to expand the behavioural repertoire.

"Given the choice between working for food during a training session and receiving the identical food item from public feedings, most giraffe chose to train," Ms Booth said.

"This preference to work for food ... is an indicator that the giraffe enjoys the training sessions."

She added that many modern zoos and safari parks used similar training methods for animals as diverse as elephants, lions and bearded dragons.

"These programmes help keep the animals minds and bodies active, help build positive relationships between the animals and their caretakers and also allows us to monitor their health without having to resort to invasive procedures such as anaesthesia," she said. "All animals are capable of learning and training is teaching."