SeaWorld San Diego is home to 11 killer whales (Orcinus orca), the largest group of killer whales managed in human care. The socialization of the animals presents a dynamic and challenging task for trainers to maintain a cooperative group including four adult males, four adult females, one post-reproductive female, a calf and one sub-adult.
Dolphin Adventure began a Cognition Training Program in 2009 to provide increased mental stimulation and enrichment during routine husbandry and guest interaction sessions. These behaviors include repeat, combine, sequence, copy, and you choose, and they were termed concept behaviors because they utilize a generalized-conditioned stimulus to cue an animal to produce responses according to the type of concept.