| Bob Jeffries,
Wendy's future husband, delivered a
performing bird show to another park in
San Juan, Puerto Rico. He was
checking out the competition when they
met. Wendy still remembers the
surprised look on his face when he, a PHD
in Behavioral Psychology, realized she
had never heard of Operant
Conditioning. He asked, "But
how did you train all those
animals?" She replied,
"I blow the whistle and throw the
fish. You mean there is more?" She
was soon to learn there was a scientific
body of knowledge that could teach
her (and YOU) to be a better
trainer.
Wendy's next move was to
California...
Bob Jeffries convinced Wendy
to move to California to train birds
instead of marine mammals. She actually
got to stay dry! Lila came along
and helped hand-feed and look after baby
macaws and cockatoos.
Lila, the boxer,
looks on with interest at a baby
parrot. Her special job was
cleaning-up the messy baby food
mash following the baby's
dinner!
(Click photo to
see larger image.)
|
|
1980:
Parrot Mountain
| The
Jeffries built Parrot Mountain,
Inc. in the mountains of San
Diego county. There they
raised a variety of birds.
Many performers picked a mate and
started a new career producing
offspring. When the company
had multiple shows going,
occasionally Wendy had to
take a breeder out for a road
trip. They were incredibly
aggressive in their breeding
aviaries, but as soon as they
were away from their nest boxes
they eagerly performed trained
behaviors they hadn't practiced
in years. Birds don't
forget! |
|
When
she began to train birds with her
husband, Wendy's ability and success in
the training of all animals was
apparent. The Jeffries team at
Parrot Mountain supplied many performing
birds to various theme parks and zoos in
this country and abroad.
| Wendy applied her
training skills to teaching birds
who performed in shows around the
world. Pictured right is
Sonya, a Greater Sulphur-Crested
Cockatoo, who became a
bike-riding pro. |
|
...
|
One of
Wendy's jobs was coaching Gary
Burghoff, best known as Radar in
the M.A.S.H. TV series. He
needed to learn how to deal with
the macaw who was his partner in
a series of TV commercials.
Gary was a little concerned about
that BIG beak and didn't believe
the birds were
potty-trained. |
...
|
