From a sea lion's wave to an elephant's squats, talent is always on display at the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance. And while it often appears to be pure entertainment, there's a deeper, more critical purpose: ensuring the health and well-being of each and every animal. What visitors view as a show is, in fact, a program that allows for an animal's voluntary participation in their own health care.

While it may look like they're showing off, these behaviors, whether fancy footwork or perfect catches, are meticulously trained exercises that allow animal care specialists to monitor and maintain the health of nearly 3,000 animals across 450 species.

Take Maverick, a rescued sea lion and one of the zoo's brightest stars.

"We can ask him to roll over so we can make sure his belly is nice and

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