SMART Animals Ahead

The zoo is closed until further notice due to health problems.

On With The Show
written and © copyright 2003

Richard Ford, along with a handful of trainers runs the show and creates the props at Zoo With I.Q., and quite a show is produced too. They are the star performers. The props that were created, what they say and how they say it magnifies and enhances the acts performed by the animals. The show is so good that Roadside America ranked it as America's number 1 roadside attraction in 1999.

One of the things that makes the performance so wonderful is the way Richard Ford involves members of the audience in the acts. SomeONE picks a number for the raccoon. SomeONE puts in the quarter for the hen. SomeONE claps their hands for the chicken. SomeONE pets the parrot after it hangs by one foot. The resulting glow on a child's face is bright enough to light up the whole audience.

Under the spell of their explanations, it isn't just a chicken plucking a string. No, sir! When you put your quarter in the slot it is Chicky Mantle that rushes from the dug out to slug a homerun in the Field of Dreams.

It's a line drive slammed right by the short stop and just like a famous baseball star who shall remain nameless, the chicken runs all the bases before returning triumphantly to the dug out for her plug of batting mash.

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Zoo With IQ is found at 201 Central Avenue

In historic downtown Hot Springs, AR 71901

Phone (501) 623-9695

I paused for a long moment to savor the significance of what I had just witnessed. Human actors often practice for days, I realized, just to get a few lines right, then more time to say them on cue, then more practice to add gestures and work with the props, then even more practice yet to integrate their part into the whole.

Then I compared the chicken's performance and marveled at how many connected activities she had executed with flawless skill. Count up the steps and you find that she has followed a six-step sequence given in a non-stop performance, on time, and on cue.

Even after I had it explained how the play had been orchestrated, I marveled. First off, if (every time) the chicken bats a home run, a tiny light (we didn't even notice until it was pointed out to us) flashes on at first base. She runs there and another light flashes at second base, then third, and finally home. From there the corn is calling the chicken home. She has earned her money and off she flutters.

Okay, so there's a light that shows her where to go, but she STILL had to be trained to go where the light was, and to keep going when the next light comes on. As Richard Ford was showing us how the triggers worked he flicked on the light at first base. and the chicken looked back FIRST at home plate to make sure THAT light was out. Only then did she run to first base. That means the chicken must respond to TWO triggers for each base. That also means that she can stop at any base until she is batted in home! I know some kids in Middle School that have not learned this much yet.

Please note:
Click on almost any picture here and see a larger version,

Unlike most other animals in the kingdom, chickens can distinguish basic colors. Out in the open spaces when there are chickens around, the first little chigger that moves -- is history, rammed down the gullet of oblivion. Chickens are smart, incredibly fast, and their eyes don't miss much. Richard Ford showed us an example by bringing Dixie Chick out to watch him hide a ping pong ball under one of three cups. Then, faster than my eyes could trace, Richard switched the cups rapidly back and forth for a few seconds. I had lost all track of the ball's location, but Dixie challenged him immediately.

"You're sure it is under this cup?" Richard asked, giving Dixie a chance to change her mind. Dixie had kept her eye on the ball though; she was sure. Richard lifted the cup straight up, and there was the ping pong ball. Just to reassure us there was no trickery, Richard lifted the other cups up too. They were empty.

Dixie also has her own band. It plays right outside the Pizza Hen on special occasions. The constant play on words (Pizza Hen, the HenterNet, etc.) is what keeps the grownups interested throughout this show. For example, in this picture where Dixie is playing her piano for us, the theater matinee on the left announces that Aust Hen Powers is now playing in the movie GOLDFEATHERS.

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Dixie seems to be the most talented actress on the show. After Richard bragged to high heaven on how smart she was he told us that Dixie could even jump through hoops. He brought the hoop out and invited her to jump through it. Dixie moved not. "Is it too high for you?" Richard asked. He lowered the hoop, and Dixie considered it for a moment, then put her head under her wing and stood stock still.

"Sometimes the animals get tired and they can't jump as high as they usually do," Richard made an excuse for her. He put the hoop all the way down so she could walk through it. Dixie walked not. Richard thought for a moment and a light bulb glowed over his head. "Sometimes a little change works. I'll put her on the other side here so that her nose is pointing towards home."

Dixie was plucked up and placed on the left hand side of the hoop then it was raised to its first height. "Jump through the hoop," Richard commanded.

She didn't even hop in that direction.

Richard coaxed her again, then he even pushed her a little. Dixie resisted every suggestion he made. Richard was ready to give up. He glanced my way. "Lin, do you like fried chicken?"

Dixie was galvanized into action by the question. She did not wait for my response. She jumped right through the hoop so fast that I missed the shot, and she scurried for home like her tail feathers were on fire.

The rest of the show is even better.


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