LisaAnnOKane
Tampa, FL
Female, 32
During my zookeeping and environmental education career, I have interacted and worked with a variety of animals, including brown bears, wolverines, red foxes, moose, camels, mountain goats, dolphins, sea lions, raccoons, porcupines, snakes, raptors and ravens. I am also a young adult author, and my debut novel ESSENCE was released in June 2014 by Strange Chemistry Books. Ask me anything!
Hi Lynnski, and thanks so much for your question. Zookeeping is a very rewarding and unique career, but be forewarned that it also involves very long hours and relatively low pay. The good news is that the vast majority of people who become zookeepers do so for the right reason--because they love it and can't see themselves doing anything else. However, the compensation and long hours do require a lifestyle sacrifice, so make sure you weigh this cost when deciding if this career is right for you.
Your animals don't care if it's day or night, raining or snowing, a weekend or a holiday. They still need to eat, and they still need medical attention. Sometimes this means you have to miss holiday dinners, stay overnight, stand in freezing pools for hours, or run right into a disaster like an earthquake or a hurricane while everyone else is running out.
The upside: you get to build a bond with an animal most people only dream of ever seeing in real life. And some of your animals begin looking forward to seeing you almost as much as you look forward to seeing them. That kind of compensation can't really be quantified. ;)
As far as your question about starting your career, I would recommend looking at this article from the American Association of Zookeepers: "So, You Want to Be a Zoo Keeper, Trainer, or an Aquarist?" (http://aazk.org/wp-content/uploads/keeper_information.pdf).
If zookeeping still feels like a good fit for you, I would encourage you to check out the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' Job Listing page: http://www.aza.org/joblistings/
Best of luck!
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Excellent question, Jade, and so sorry for the delay in answering!
Fairy penguins primarily eat fish, squid and krill in the wild, so this diet can be replicated fairly easy in a zoo environment. An adult penguin generally consumes between 5.5 and 8.5 ounces of food per day, and zoos often rotate through a variety of low-fat fish and high-fat fish, as well as squid and krill when available. Multi-vitamins are also often provided, as well as vitamin E and thiamin supplements.
Hand-feeding is generally recommended with these animals, as individuals tend to compete for diets, and it is very difficult to monitor consumption otherwise. Feeding time is also a great opportunity for training and enrichment!
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Hi DJ, this is such a broad question that I would recommend actually researching this elsewhere. I wouldn't even know where to start--except to say we should always think about the big picture when we make decisions that affect the entire planet. Best of luck to you!
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Hi Kelsie! Repetitive behaviors like pacing are easy ones to watch for in penguins. Changes in appetite are usually fairly prevalent as well, and many penguins will actually pluck their own feathers (usually from their bellies) when they are stressed.
Hope this is helpful!
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Swim Instructor
Do parents ever get angry at you personally if their kid isn't learning fast enough?
Nightclub Promoter
How do you decide who gets into your club?
Lifeguard
Are most public pools just gross lakes of bodily fluids?
Awe, thank you so much for sharing this clip! I had never seen it before, and it was wonderful. I particular loved it when the apes hugged when they finally ventured out into the yard. So emotional!
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Hi Lydia, and so sorry for the delay in my response. With any animal, zookeepers are responsible for providing a safe and secure environment, mental and physical stimulation, a healthy diet, proper veterinary care, and opportunities for the animal to engage in natural behaviors like digging, swimming, nesting, etc. For pandas, this would include providing a habitat similar to their natural habitat, environmental enrichment specifically designed to solicit problem solving and natural responses, and a well-balanced diet that replicates the nutritional needs the animal would receive in the wild.
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Dogs definitely have a great sense of smell, but you're right. There are many other members of the animal kingdom whose senses of smell is just as good, if not better. Therefore, trainability is certainly a huge factor in our decision to use dogs as service animals.
Some other powerful sniffers are horses, cows, mice, rats and opossums (just to name a few). And the reputed best sniffer in the world is the African elephant. Definitely don't want those tramping down the airport security lines!
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