More of Tom's Job Stuff

[sibi]

Tom, were the bears declawed? How do you work bears?

 

[GotTort]

Tom, how did you get into this interesting line of work?

 

[Tom]

Tom, were the bears declawed? How do you work bears?

Nobody declaws bears. I don't know how to explain how to work a bear in a few sentences. Basically, behavior modification is the same, regardless of species. If a behavior is followed by positive consequences, it is likely to occur again. If a behavior is followed by negative consequences, it is likely to not occur again. Applying these two principals in the real world is where the genius comes in, or I guess sometimes it doesn't come in in some cases. My friend raised these two bears from cubs. He was already a very experienced bear and big cat trainer when he started, so he knew what to do. Some people just have a knack for it and some people just don't no matter how hard they try. The analogy I use is basketball. I could practice every day for 10 hours and I would never be as good as Michael Jordan was. My buddy is the Michael Jordan of bears.

Most of working with non-domesticated animals is creating and maintaining the right relationship. I can't just walk up to somebody else's chimp, lion or bear and start telling it what to do. Its a long and continuous process. The actual training part is relatively quick and easy. Putting yourself in the position to be that trainer is a long and delicate process. I am not a "bear trainer" by any stretch. My friend who raised them is the trainer. I know how to behave when around them and I get to occasionally bait them with a cookie or something, but my interaction with them is fairly limited, and under the direct supervision of their owner/trainer.

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Tom, how did you get into this interesting line of work?

I've been drawn to animals since I was knee high. I have no idea why. Its just my thing. I went to an animal training school in the mid 90's and that is where I was introduced to the concept of training animals for movies. Prior to that, this career never even occurred to me. Free gourmet food made to order every day, excellent benefits package, decent pay, relatively easy work most of the time, get to travel the world and get paid to do it, and play with animals all day every day... Hmmm... Didn't take much thought for me to choose what I wanted to do with my life.

 

[GotTort]

Sounds great!

 

[AnnV]

Re: RE: More of Tom's Job Stuff

Tom, were the bears declawed? How do you work bears?

Nobody declaws bears. I don't know how to explain how to work a bear in a few sentences. Basically, behavior modification is the same, regardless of species. If a behavior is followed by positive consequences, it is likely to occur again. If a behavior is followed by negative consequences, it is likely to not occur again. Applying these two principals in the real world is where the genius comes in, or I guess sometimes it doesn't come in in some cases. My friend raised these two bears from cubs. He was already a very experienced bear and big cat trainer when he started, so he knew what to do. Some people just have a knack for it and some people just don't no matter how hard they try. The analogy I use is basketball. I could practice every day for 10 hours and I would never be as good as Michael Jordan was. My buddy is the Michael Jordan of bears.

Most of working with non-domesticated animals is creating and maintaining the right relationship. I can't just walk up to somebody else's chimp, lion or bear and start telling it what to do. Its a long and continuous process. The actual training part is relatively quick and easy. Putting yourself in the position to be that trainer is a long and delicate process. I am not a "bear trainer" by any stretch. My friend who raised them is the trainer. I know how to behave when around them and I get to occasionally bait them with a cookie or something, but my interaction with them is fairly limited, and under the direct supervision of their owner/trainer.

---

Tom, how did you get into this interesting line of work?

I've been drawn to animals since I was knee high. I have no idea why. Its just my thing. I went to an animal training school in the mid 90's and that is where I was introduced to the concept of training animals for movies. Prior to that, this career never even occurred to me. Free gourmet food made to order every day, excellent benefits package, decent pay, relatively easy work most of the time, get to travel the world and get paid to do it, and play with animals all day every day... Hmmm... Didn't take much thought for me to choose what I wanted to do with my life.

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LIKE!

I wanna see Tom's bear commercial!!! :-/

 

[Tom]

Found it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFxyXlvhlRk

That is Ben at the counter and in the fridge and Cody walking right to left through frame. Such good bears!

 

[lisa127]

Hey, I finally just saw Tom's Pro Plan commercial on TV just now.