Department of Severe Behavior, Marcus Autism Center and Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, USA.
Department of Health Professions, Rollins College, Winter Park, United States.
J Appl Anim Welf Sci. 2022 Oct-Dec;25(4):362-367. doi: 10.1080/10888705.2020.1857253. Epub 2020 Dec 11.
Vultures play an important role in our ecosystem by filtering out bacteria and viruses harmful to humans (e.g., rabies, botulism). However, many vultures remain in human care due to skill deficits and behavioral excesses, which can be treated using behavior-management practices that rely on effective (often edible) reinforcers. The current study replicated the forced-choice or paired-stimulus preference assessment with five birds of prey. Across all vultures, participants displayed a preference for animal (e.g., meat) over nonanimal stimuli (e.g., fruit), and mice meat was the most preferred edible for 4 of the 5 vultures. The application of this methodology to birds of prey might allow rehabilitators, conservationists, and other caretakers to make greater gains in training vultures to both acquire new skills and decrease problem behavior using highly preferred edible items.
秃鹫在我们的生态系统中起着重要的作用，它们可以过滤掉对人类有害的细菌和病毒（例如狂犬病、肉毒杆菌中毒）。然而，由于技能缺陷和行为过度，许多秃鹫仍留在人类的照顾下，这些问题可以通过行为管理实践来治疗，这些实践依赖于有效的（通常是可食用的）强化物。本研究在 5 只猛禽中复制了强制选择或配对刺激偏好评估。在所有的秃鹫中，参与者都表现出对动物（如肉）的偏好，而不是非动物刺激（如水果），并且在 5 只秃鹫中有 4 只最偏爱老鼠肉作为可食用的食物。这种方法在猛禽中的应用可能使饲养员、自然资源保护主义者和其他照顾者在训练秃鹫获得新技能和减少问题行为方面取得更大的进展，他们可以使用非常受欢迎的可食用物品。
