Building Skillsets for Giraffes and Their Caretakers
Event Location: Zoom Webinar
Building Skillsets for Giraffe and Their Caretakers, Presented by Diana Miller, Giraffe Specialist, and Amy Schilz, Director, of the International Center for the Care and Conservation of Giraffe.
The mission of the International Center for the Care and Conservation of Giraffe is to relentlessly pursue the lives of giraffe worldwide. Achieving that mission requires more than treating health challenges as they arise; it means identifying the risks giraffe face and developing proactive programs that help prevent them. By building the skills of both giraffe and the people who care for them, we can improve welfare, strengthen human-animal partnerships, and support longer, healthier lives.
This presentation will explore the parallel development of skillsets for both giraffe and their caretakers. For giraffe, foundational behaviors such as voluntarily eating from caregivers, targeting body parts, backing up, following foot cues & movement, stepping onto platforms, and accepting novel tactile sensations provide the basis for safer husbandry, hoof care, and veterinary procedures. Equally important is building the skills of the people who work with them. Care teams are trained to recognize safety risks, apply positive reinforcement training techniques, identify and communicate hoof health concerns, and safely guide giraffe through stressful or emergency situations.
By investing in the education of both species, we can create more effective partnerships that improve welfare, enhance safety, and support proactive healthcare. Attendees will leave with practical strategies for developing these complementary skillsets within their own institutions, ultimately contributing to healthier giraffe and more confident, capable care teams.
This webinar will not be RACE approved.