00:00Meet Santiago.
00:01He's a Patagonian Mara.
00:03Although he looks like a cross between a rabbit and a deer, he's actually a rodent.
00:08He's related to other rodents, including the capybara and the guinea pig.
00:14So Santiago is pretty special.
00:16Because he was hand raised by people, he is very sociable.
00:19He will readily approach us and is very motivated by yummy treats and attention, which makes
00:24him a pro at training.
00:25Lucky for us, Santi will eat pretty much any fruit or vegetable, well, except for broccoli.
00:32When he eats that, he spits it right out.
00:36Today, we have some things you probably recognize, like sweet potatoes, peanuts, grapes, and cereal.
00:43So through his training, Santi gets to be one of the ambassador animals here at Binder Park
00:48Zoo, showing off his behaviors to our camps and classes and ensuring that the students
00:52that come here get to learn about what a great animal he is.
00:56And everything we do is Santi's choice.
00:58If he decides he doesn't want to participate in training one day, that's perfectly fine.
01:02We make training as fun and positive as we can, and that encourages him to want to do
01:07it more.
01:08So not only do Santi's behaviors help to keep him mentally and physically active and to
01:13educate our guests here at the zoo, they also help us with his care.
01:17For example, when we need to bring him somewhere, like to the doctor, he can choose to go into
01:23the crate or help us put a harness on.
01:25If we need to give him a little checkup, we can ask him to sit, which will allow us to
01:29get a closer look.
