Turtle Bay Exploration Park’s Animal Care staff has been awarded with Behavior of the Year Awards in two categories from the International Association of Avian Trainers and Educators (IAATE). The international, professional bird trainer organization awarded Turtle Bay the Overall Show Behavior of the Year and Interpretive Behavior of the Year awards.
The Overall Show Behavior of the Year award recognized Turtle Bay’s work with Curie, the raven. Curie executes a water displacement behavior where she must put rocks in one tube to raise the water level in another tube in order to reach an item. It is an educational demonstration of the incredible intelligence of the species.
The Interpretive Behavior of the Year award is given for the effective use of a behavior to interpret a concept for an audience. For this, Turtle Bay’s crested caracara, Suerte, demonstrates how birds see in color. She was trained by Turtle Bay staff to distinguish the color purple from a group of colors. On stage, a child is called down from the audience to help exhibit this behavior with Suerte.
