Tundra is an 8-year-old reindeer that was born at the San Diego Zoo’s Polar Bear Plunge. She was hand-raised in the Children’s Zoo nursery because her mother, being a new mother, wasn’t confident in rearing this youngster. When she was older, Tundra moved to the Zoo’s Hunte Amphitheater to become a part of our shows.

Our fascination with Tundra was immediate. She has big brown eyes that follow your every move. Her large square nose is covered by hair, which gives her a gentle look. Soon, Tundra and her trainers were working as a team. She rides the elevator to get to the Zoo’s Albert’s Restaurant when she makes appearances at nighttime parties. She walks by Spanky the brown bear, hyenas, and very large deer when taking her daily walks and she even sleeps next door to a wolf, her natural predator in the wild. She shows no signs of fear; on the contrary, she is relaxed and aware of her trainer’s directions at all times.

If you have ever watched the “California Cows” take a shower in a lawn sprinkler for a TV commercial, then you can appreciate a talking, singing reindeer. Usually, a trainer accompanies Tundra during her part of the Hunte animal show to share the natural history of reindeer. Now, Tundra will occasionally take the stage by herself, appearing before a microphone for the listening pleasure of the audience. She “introduces” the show and sometimes even “sings” a little tune!

Training Tundra to leave her trainer, stand at a microphone, and then return to a recall sound was extraordinarily easy. Tundra is an intelligent and curious animal; offering her new experiences is enjoyable for her. The microphone was designed to look like an old-fashioned microphone used in the 1920s so we could hide a cup behind the metal prop holding the food reinforcement. This food reward happens to be leaf eater biscuits, a favorite of Tundra’s! She is sent out to the microphone, stands in front of the microphone while eating her reinforcement, and then returns to a recall sound which is three consecutive taps on a plastic food pouch. Once she returns to her trainer, she is reinforced with her normal diet of low-fiber herbivore pellets. We planned the recall food reinforcement to be a little less desirable so that she would stay out on stage longer.

Those California Cows need to watch out, because now there is a new exotic cow on the block and she is happy, too!

Maureen O. Duryee is an animal trainer at the San Diego Zoo’s Hunte Amphitheater.

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