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 Callie! Zookeepers have many duties besides cleaning and feeding--although these duties definitely take up a lot of their time!
Almost all keepers are trainers as well, and they often participate in formal training sessions, animal observations, environmental enrichment (research, design and implementation), guest interactions, formal and informal presentations, and medical procedures. Many also participate in research, and they prepare presentations for conferences and networking events with their colleagues.
As for your second question, yes, many animals do tend to bond with their keepers. This has always been my favorite part of the job: the moment when you realize some of your animals seem to have preferences and look forward to seeing you as much as you look forward to seeing them. An absolutely unbelievable experience that makes all that hard work worthwhile!
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You are so welcome, Chelsea. Thanks so much for stopping by, and please let me know if you have any other questions!
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I have worked with two bearded dragons, and they were both so docile and easy-going that I would highly recommend them as pets. They love heat, and they are opportunistic omnivores, meaning they will eat almost anything you give them: leafy greens, crickets, mealworms, apples, bananas, figs, etc. They are generally easy to handle, and they are known for being great "starter" reptiles, so even kids are usually capable of caring for them. (Just don't give them to a child who will get bored easily, because they can easily live for 7-10 years.)
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Hi Chelsea! Generally, the chain of command is that the zookeeper will report the escape to his/her immediate supervisor, and that supervisor will report it to the Curator of Animals. The Curator will inform the Executive Director, and the Curator is also the one who will typically report the escape to outside authorities / emergency responders. In the event the Curator is unavailable, the immediate supervisor will usually be the one who takes on emergency response responsibilities.
Zoos already have emergency plans in place for each possible animal escape, so the zookeepers will typically jump to action as soon as they have reported the escape to their supervisors. This way, the situation can be addressed quickly while still ensuring the proper authorities receive the alert.
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Bar Mitzvah DJ
Why are DJ's so unwilling to accommodate song requests?
School Bus Driver
If your bus is in an accident that was ruled your fault, would you lose your job?
Day Care Provider
Do the kids ever reveal embarrassing things about their parents?
Oh, totally! This happens all the time, and it never gets less embarassing. I volunteered as a tour guide at my local zoo in high school, and I always stammered through an awkward explanation, like the tigers were "wrestling" or "playing" or whatever. Nowadays, I tend to be a little more honest, though I usually try to minimize and move on as quickly as possible. (Ironically, the parents usually laugh harder than the kids, but we DO share inside jokes on occasion!)
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Hi Madison, and thanks for the question! The great thing about zoology is that there are many other career paths you can pursue if you decide working in a zoo isn't for you. You could become a wildlife biologist, a forester, an ecologist, a geneticist, an animal lab technician, a fishery or marine biologist, a veterinarian, a public health specialist... The list goes on and on and on. Most universities have Career Services departments, and these help educate students about all the options available within their chosen majors. Many universities even publish this information online, so it may be helpful for you to do an internet search and see what pops up. I think you will be surprised to learn all the opportunities available to zoology majors. Best of luck to you!
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Hi Matty. This guy is amazing, isn't he? He's an anomaly: an animal trainer with just the right combination of everything he needs to be able to succeed in this particular environment. His consistency, his skill, his technical precision, his presence, his history with these lions, and the characteristics and upbringings of all the lions in this specific pride have all combined to create this one-in-a-million situation. What you see in this clip is the result of countless hours of hard work, phenomenal luck and unwavering dedication. Is this guy crazy? Perhaps. He even says himself in this clip that there's a chance he may be killed by one of these lions someday. So he certainly understands the inherent risks and still chooses to dedicate his life to this. It could also be argued that this guy is brilliant, or reckless, or suicidal, or mind-bogglingly gifted. Or maybe he's just the luckiest bastard in the entire world. Regardless, it's certainly appropriate to be awed by him. It is also critically important to view his interactions for what they are: an amazing and incredible and probably unrepeatable feat. Even he probably couldn't replicate this with another lion pride, so the rest of us should certainly NEVER try this at home.
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