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HOW TO TRAIN AN ANIMAL
Your Proofness: Sarah Munir Master Storyteller: Nudrat Kamal Creativity Analysts: Jamal Khurshid, Essa Malik, Talha Ahmed Khan, Omer Asim and Umar Waqas
THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, JANUARY 4, 2015
Hi light
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HOW TO TRAIN AN ANIMAL Have you ever seen a movie about a lion or a whale and wondered how exactly the filmmakers were able to get the animal to do exactly what they wanted in every scene? Films about animals often show them interacting with humans, doing spectacular tricks and generally behaving like the human characters want them to. This level of cooperation from animals can only be achieved through training. Animal training has been around in one form or another ever since humans have had to interact with animals. But animal training as we know it today was developed in the 1930s, when scientists began applying psychological techniques in coming up with animal training methods. Today, there are dogs trained for guiding blind people, birds that are trained for hunting and lions that are trained for performing in circuses.
How to train an animal Suppose you want to train your cat to sit when you command it to. In the 1930s, a psychologist called B F Skinner came up with four ways in which you can do this. The first is to give the cat a treat every time it sits when commanded — this is called positive reinforcement. The second is to put the cat in a situation that it doesn’t like (putting it near a vacuum cleaner, if it is scared of one), and then once it sits when commanded, taking the unpleasant situation away. This is called negative reinforcement (and yes, this is quite mean and should probably be avoided). Both these methods will make the animal realise that if it does what you ask, it will be rewarded. The third way is to yell at the cat or punish it in some other way if it doesn’t listen to you. This is called positive punishment (an yes, these are not very kind ways and should be avoided). The fourth way is to take away something the cat likes if it doesn’t listen to you — this is negative punishment. These two ways will make the animal realise that not doing what you ask will result in punishment. Once you apply this method enough times, the animal will become conditioned to do that trick — that is, it will automatically do the trick when you tell it to without you having to reward or punish it.
Animals that star in movies There are individuals and companies that train animals that go on to star in films or television shows. Training an animal for an onscreen appearance can take up to six months or even longer. The first step is to bring the animal to the set so that it can get familiarised with the noise and bustle that goes on during shooting. Then they are trained in the basics — sitting, staying, running to a specific point. After that they are trained according to what the film demands. For example, if the scene requires the dog to jump through a glass window, the trainer will start by getting the dog to jump through an empty window frame, then add cling film, then add something more solid and then finally add glass (the glass is sugar glass, which isn’t as sharp or dangerous, so the animal won’t get hurt). You have to build up to the final task, and do it gradually so that the animal is able to learn. Any animal can be trained for the movies — from lions to owls to insects (insects can be trained to either be active by keeping them warm or be asleep by cooling them down or making it seem like it is night-time).
THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, JANUARY 4, 2015
Hi light
Animals that provide services
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Service animals (these include dogs, monkeys, birds and horses) are those that have been trained to make use of their skills in order to bond with a human and help that person in different ways. One type of service animal is the guide animal. These — usually dogs — help blind people move around. They essentially become blind people’s ‘seeing eye’. Other service animals provide different kinds of support to a person with a disability or disease. For example, dogs can be trained to tell when a diabetic person’s blood sugar is getting low, so it can inform the person in a timely manner. Dogs can also alert a person if he or she is about to have a seizure. Dogs are especially good at signalling such physiological changes in their human companions because they have a heightened sense of smell, and these changes always result in how the a person smells. They alert the person by gently nudging them or pawing at them. Today there are service animals for psychological disorders as well, such as anxiety or depression.
How to become a professional animal trainer - Take classes in subjects that are related to animals. These subjects include biology, zoology, animal behaviour studies, psychology, veterinarian sciences and marine biology. - Get some experience by working at a zoo or a marine animal centre. Be around people who handle animals, and learn from them. - Develop empathy for animals. Having a good relationship with the animal you want to train is crucial. Trainers who work with whales, dolphins, lions or any other animals all agree that the relationship they form with the animals is the best part of their jobs.
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Things to keep in mind while training animals - The animal’s wellbeing should be the number one priority. While training animals, you have to make sure that they are not being harmed physically or emotionally. You have to make them comfortable and ensure that they are not getting stressed out. - While training animals, you have to take into account the nature of the animal species — their attention span, their moods and motivations and the way they live. Forcing animals to do things which are not in their nature is mean and should be avoided. - Animals, like humans, have certain things they are good at and certain things they’re not. Animal trainers have to understand the specific animal’s talents and then train them in a way that those talents are used.
THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, JANUARY 4, 2015
4 Fun facts about comic books What do you call a line of rabbits walking backwards? A receding hareline.
What type of horse can jump higher than a house? All of them. Houses can’t jump.
When comic books were first created, only comics in which the hero won at the end were allowed to be sold at news-stands. It was also forbidden for judges and law-enforcement agents to be depicted negatively in comic books. There was a superhero in the 1940s called the Green Lama who was a practicing Buddhist. One of his powers was reincarnation. Michael Jackson wanted to play Spider-Man in a movie, so he tried to buy Marvel comics in the ’90s.
Why didn’t the mummy have any friends? Because he was too wrapped up in himself.
Wayne Enterprises, which is controlled by Batman’s alter ego, Bruce Wayne, owns The Daily Planet, the newspaper that Superman’s alter ego, Clark Kent, works for. The word ‘brainiac’ comes from the Superman villain of the same name.
What do you call a monkey with a banana in each ear? Anything you want, it can’t hear you!
Batman actually has eight different Batcaves. One is located directly under Arkham Asylum. Currently DC’s most popular character Batman was nearly killed off in the 1960s due to low sales.
Why didn’t the sun go to college? Because it already had a million degrees.
Adolph Hitler is alive and well in the Marvel universe. His consciousness has been transferred into a clone, and he now goes by the name Hate-Monger.
Did you know? One of the most successful pharaohs was a woman Pharaohs were the rulers of the ancient Egyptian empire and, for the most part, they were men. But once in a while, women also got the chance to rule and one of the most successful pharaohs — whose reign brought great prosperity and glory to ancient Egypt — was Hatshepsut, the sixth pharaoh of the 18th dynasty. The surprising thing is that for a long time, we knew nothing about her, even though evidence about other pharaohs had been coming to light for centuries. The reason being that her successor King Thutmose III erased all evidence of her reign, smashing her statues and destroying her monuments — essentially erasing her from history. Early historians thought that he did this because Hatshepsut was an evil and conniving ruler who took the throne wrongfully and he wanted to take revenge. But as we get more evidence, the story becomes more interesting and complicated. Hatshepsut was the queen when her husband, the king, died. According to tradition, the next ruler had to be a male descendant but at that time, the male descendant (Thumtose III) was just an infant, so Hatshepsut had to step up and rule. Hatshepsut’s reign lasted for twenty years, and it was a time of peace and prosperity. She commissioned the creation of great works of art as well as many ambitious buildings. More interestingly, she refused to be seen as the queen (queens at that time did nothing more than stand dutifully beside the king) and instead declared herself king. Her statues depict her as a full-blown, flail-and-crook-wielding king. She was a leader in the true sense, and that may be why her successor tried to erase her name and memory from history. Egyptologists say that it wasn’t out of revenge that Thumtose III destroyed her memory — it was because her unconventional reign was so successful that he was afraid future kings wouldn’t be able to live up to her standards.
THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, JANUARY 4, 2015
Get your weekly dose of the unusual and funny news from across the globe!
Eating tarantulas Most of us, when faced with a huge, hairy spider would run in the other direction. But that is not the case in Cambodia, where people have hunted spiders for food and traditional medicine for generations. Eating spiders became widespread in the country in the mid-1970s when Cambodia went through a period of starvation. Today, spiders in Cambodia are considered to be a delicacy and are sold in markets and restaurants across the country. In addition to being rich in protein, folic acid and zinc, they are believed to have medicinal properties. However, heavy deforestation throughout the country may put an end to this practice and tarantulas themselves. Due to this deforestation, scores of tarantulas are dying and it is possible that soon there won’t be any that remain to be hunted and eaten. ALJAZEERA.COM
Alien art Lloyd Canning had his first visit from the other world when 10 years ago he was abducted in 2005. A resident of Evesham, Worcestershire, Canning is a father of two, a former scaffolder. He says that he saw a UFO hovering over his newly purchased secondhand van in 2005, after which, he was abducted. Ever since the abduction, he had had images compelled into his brain, images of beautifully surrealistic subjects that he felt compelled to paint as soon as they swept across his brain. He said, “Ever since that first sighting I have had these crazy visions that just come over me. When they happen it’s like I don’t have a choice -- I just have to paint them.” Until 2012, he kept his paintings secret in fear of ridicule, but now he chooses to be more open with whatever he does. He had his first art exhibition in 2013. He also regularly attends conventions for discussions on ETs and multi-dimensional beings. Lloyd says that he has been visited by six alien spaceships on different occasions till now. He is now preparing for his first international exhibition. HUFFINGTONPOST.COM
World wide weird
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Welcome to the world, baby giraffe!
A baby giraffe, belonging to an endangered species, was born in Chester Zoo, England, last week. The giraffe, named Zahra — which means ‘flower’ in Swahili — was born to parents Aiofe and Meru, and is their second baby. Curator of mammals at the zoo, Chester Rowlands said, “We’re happy to report that our new, not-so-little youngster is doing well and is already confident on her long legs. Everyone at the zoo is thrilled with Zahra and she has really added to our Christmas and New Year celebrations.” The zoo now has a herd of eight Rothschild’s giraffes, which are classed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Current population estimates suggest there are less than 1,100 remaining in the wild. Rowlands added, “Whilst it’s great that we have a nice herd here, in the wild this species really is under threat. Numbers are declining at a worrying rate due to a massive upsurge in poaching for their meat.” It is heartbreaking that giraffes as adorable as baby Zahra are being wiped from the planet and it is hoped that the species can be conserved. DAILYMAIL.CO.UK
Thrill seekers Riding a unicycle is one thing. Riding a unicycle down a mountain is quite another. A unicycle is a cycle with only one wheel, and riding it requires great skill. The activity that has, for a long time, rarely been seen outside of the multicoloured canvas walls of the circus has found a new and loyal following in the form of adrenaline junkies and extreme sport enthusiasts. And a new video from Bear Grylls’ Adventure channel shows a group of unicyclists taking on a route than even experienced mountain bikers would think twice about. “While mountain unicycling takes place on similar terrain to mountain biking, having only one wheel means the rider has to control their descent much more carefully,” says the narrator of the video. The clip, taken in Utah, USA, follows the cyclists as they test their skills on the challenging rocky terrain. METRO.CO.UK
THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, JANUARY 4, 2015
Reading corner
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Materials:
Make a suncatcher A suncatcher or a light catcher is small decorative piece that is hung near a window to catch the sunlight and make colourful patterns. Here’s how to make a suncatcher of your own.
• Paper plates (the thin cheap kind) • Scissors • Transparent contact paper • Flowers and leaves • Markers • Hole punch • Yarn
Instructions: 1. Cut the frames out of paper plates by removing their centres and then cut circles from the transparent paper to fit over the opening (overlapping the paper plate by about half an inch). 2. Arrange flower petals, petal pieces, and leaves in outwardly concentric designs on the contact paper. 3. Add another circle of contact paper over the top to protect and hold the leaves and petals. 4. Decorate the circular frames with colourful markers. If you can, ask an adult to seal it with acrylic spray for it to remain clean & neat. ARTFULPARENT.COM
Books and movies about young spies Globe-trotting missions, super cool gadgets and the constant threat of danger and excitement — what’s not to love about the spy life? Spies are even better than detectives. They have to be sneakier while they are gathering intel because the stakes are so high. And who says only grown-ups can be spies? Here are some great books and films about kids who make awesome spies: Spy Kids Carmen and her younger brother Juni are just like any other siblings; they bicker and fight, and then make up. They think they are normal in every way, until one day they find out that their parents were world-class spies who retired when Carmen was born. Now they have been forced out of retirement and given a dangerous mission to take down an evil techno-wizard. But when their parents disappear, it’s up to Carmen and Juni to go on their own spy mission to rescue them. Watch Spy Kids (and its three subsequent instalments) and join Carmen and Juni on their exciting spy adventures. The Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter 16-year-old Cammie Morgan is a student at the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, which claims to be a school for geniuses but is really a school for spies. Students at the Academy are taught advanced martial arts in PE and the latest in chemical warfare in science, and students receive extra credit for breaking CIA codes in computer class. But while Cammie is an elite spy-in-training, she’s not yet an expert on how to hide her true identity from everyone around her. Can Cammie succeed in her missions while also having a normal life? To find out, read I’d Tell You But Then I’d Have to Kill You, the first part of the Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter.
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh Harriet M Welsch is a spy. In her notebook, she writes down everything she knows about everyone, even her classmates and her best friends. She is excellent at ferreting out information that people would rather not reveal. Then Harriet loses track of her notebook, and it ends up in the wrong hands. Before she can stop them, her friends have read the always truthful, sometimes awful things she’s written about each of them. Will Harriet find a way to put her life and her friendships back together? Read Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh to find out.
Agent Cody Banks Cody is a typical teenager who loves to skateboard and hates maths. But his life changes when the government recruits him as a young spy and trains him to go on covert missions. But Cody’s training is put to the test when he’s sent to pose as a prep school student and befriend fellow teen Natalie Connors in order to gain access to her father — a scientist unknowingly developing a fleet of deadly pairs of twisted villains called the nanobots for the evil organization ERIS, which can destroy the world’s defence systems. Cody must use all the spy skills at his disposal to complete the mission. Watch Agent Cody Banks and join Cody on his mission.
The Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz 14-year-old Alex Rider is unexpectedly thrust into the spy world when his uncle is killed in an accident. But when Alex finds his uncle’s windshield riddled with bullet holes, he knows it was no accident. His uncle was killed while on a top-secret mission. Finding himself in the middle of terrorists, Alex must outsmart the people who want him dead. The government has given him the technology, but only he can provide the courage to go on dangerous missions and bring down the bad guys. Dive into the adrenaline-filled world of the Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz by reading the first instalment, Stormbreaker.
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THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, JANUARY 4, 2015
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Artwork
Zainab Jaffer
Moin
Emad Abrar Winner
Abdul Sami
Uniba Khan Winner
Anusha Shakeel
Samiyah Khan Winner
Ayesha Fawad
Hassan Muddasir
Notable Entries for the Liberty Books Cards
Competition
Tuba Khan
Labiba Muddasir
Rumaisa Muddasir
THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, JANUARY 4, 2015
Chocolate-Banana Sundae
Blast off with a bottle rocket You will need: • An empty plastic bottle • Cardboard made into a cone and 4 fins • A cork • An air pump • Water
What to do:
You will need: Bananas Vanilla ice cream Chocolate sauce Sweetened shredded coconut
4 small 1 pint 1/4 cup 1/4 cup
• Push the hose of the pump through the cork. It needs to go all the way through so you might have to trim the cork a little bit. • Decorate the bottle with the cone and fins. • Fill the bottle one quarter full of water and push the cork in tightly. • Take the bottle outside and connect the pump to the hose. Rest it on a table or make the fins strong enough to support the bottle by themselves. • Pump air into the bottle, making sure all spectators stand back, the bottle will lift off with force after a few seconds. Warning: Please make sure an adult is around as the rocket takes off very suddenly and forcefully. Do not approach the rocket once you have started pumping even if it looks like nothing is happening.
What is happening: 1. Peel and slice the bananas. 2. Scoop the ice cream into 4 bowls. 3. Top the ice cream with the bananas, chocolate sauce, and coconut. 4. Enjoy!
REALSIMPLE.COM
As we pump air through the water, the pressure inside the bottle builds up until the force of the air pushing on the water is enough to push the cork out of the end of the bottle. The water rushes out of the bottle in one direction whilst the bottle pushes back in the other. This results in the bottle shooting upwards. Space rockets work in a similar way to the bottle, but instead of squirting water they burn fuel to make a powerful jet of hot gas. The force of the gas downwards pushes the rocket upwards. Isaac Newton worked out the three laws of motion which describe how all objects move. The third law says: “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” This is demonstrated by the bottle rocket. SCIENCE-SPARKS.COM
Remember kids, always get permission from your parents before you start. It’s always a good idea to have a helper nearby.
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