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For the movie Hoot, trainer Jennifer Henderson had her hands full with Wil, Jimmy, and Carl — not director Wil Shriner, actor Jimmy Buffett, or author Carl Hiaasen — but three burrowing owls named for them. She taught the birds to walk on cue over the course of two months by tempting them with crickets and then sounding a buzzer to reinforce the behavior. ''It's classic Pavlov,'' she says.


Posted May 05, 2006 | Published in issue #876 May 12, 2006 | Order Article Reprints