Why did you become a zookeeper?
I’ve always been interested in animals, and have always
been interested in the complexities of exhibit design – especially
what goes into creating an exhibit for a particular animal.
All animals fascinate me and I enjoy the challenge of taking
care of lots of different species. Animals are all so different,
even individuals within a particular species. I love the
variety of working with lots of different animals.
When
you were in school, what classes or training prepared
you to work as a zookeeper?
(Laughter) Well, I DO have a strong science background – I
took many life science and wildlife biology courses in
college, as well as voice. But my actual degree was in
speech and
hearing science. (It should be noted at this point that
Diane is a gifted singer, trained in the classics. In addition
to working 40-plus hours a week as a zookeeper, she frequently
performs as a supernumerary in The Seattle Opera.)
What
is
it like to be a zookeeper?
Every day is different. There’s always the routine
cleaning and feeding, of course, but when you walk in
the door, you just never know what else the day is going
bring.
And that’s what I like. I like the interaction
with the animals – the kind of progress you can
make with them regarding their care. One thing that’s
especially challenging, and people always want to know
about, is how
do you get medicine into a sick animal? It’s difficult
enough to treat a sick cat or dog – how do you
treat a sick monkey or penguin? That’s where being
creative comes into play. You really, really need to
think outside
the box; you need to think like the animal you’re
caring for. When you’re training a tiny prey animal
like a duiker to enter a crate, for example, you can’t
just make her do what you want to do. You have to think,
okay,
how can I help her [enter the crate] so that I’m
not forcing the issue. It’s all about being patient
and flexible, observing an animal’s behavior then
applying what you’ve learned to work with the animal,
on its terms, but still meeting your objectives for its
care.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to animal care.
Besides
feeding and cleaning up after the animals, what else
do you do to provide for their care?
Training is a big part of animal husbandry these days.
Training can mean teaching an animal to enter a crate
or step on a
scale to be weighed. Animals are also trained to accept
injections with ease. It’s very important for keepers
to keep their cool when injecting animals. Then the animal
will stay
calm, too.
Environmental
enrichment is important too. In the wild, as animals
spend their days looking for food, each
day is different.
In zoo exhibits we try to elicit that same kind
of natural behavior by placing browse or interesting/unexpected
food treats in different places within the exhibit
each
day.
This kind of enrichment gives animals an occupation.
Enrichment can also become a diversionary tactic.
When the DeBrazza’s
monkeys were squabbling among themselves we put
pine cones filled with peanut butter and bird seed
in
the exhibit.
The monkeys became more interested in the pine
cones than each
other.
Is
there anything gross about your job?
Oftentimes it’s the things that I’m now used
to that (when I started out as a keeper) were
probably gross. Well, you have to pick up poop a lot and
sometimes you have
to go through poop to see what an animal has
eaten. Sometimes we have to mark the poop in such a way that
we can tell one
animal from another. This is particularly important
if we need to do a fecal examine for a research project or
diagnose
a problem. I can’t think of anything else.
I guess I’m just used to what a lot of
people think of as gross. We always say that
zookeepers would be great contestants
on “Fear Factor.”
Is
there anything about your job that might surprise people?
Few people realize how much study and learning
is involved to be a zookeeper. In fact, every
day is
a hands-on
learning experience. When I start working with
an animal I find
out as much as I can about them – not just
from scientific papers, but from my interactions
with them every day. I communicate
with other keepers around the world to compare
notes. It’s
hard to believe, but some people believe zookeepers
are like “farm
hands” that basically feed and clean
up after animals. There’s a lot more
to zoo keeping than that.
What
would you tell someone who wants to become a zookeeper?
Stay in school and get a bachelor of science
degree, like in biology. Get as much experience
with animals
as you
can by volunteering at an animal shelter, veterinarian
office or zoo. Volunteering at a zoo may
increase your chances
of
being hired to work there later on. It’s
important to find out what a zookeeper’s
typical day is really like. Some people think
being a zookeeper means you get to
hug and play with the animals – that’s
not the way it is. Zookeeping involves lots
of hard, physical
work
and you may work outdoors much of the time,
in all kinds of weather. As demanding as
the work can be,
my job is
very rewarding.
What
other conservation work do you do, either inside or outside
the zoo?
I’m a member of the Nature Conservancy and
supporter of Audubon, the International
Snow Leopard Trust, Virgin
Islands National Park and National Wildlife
Federation. I also participate in Project Feeder Watch with
the
Cornell Lab of Ornithology. I enjoy birding
locally, and maintain
bird feeders, which attracts lots of native
songbirds and hummingbirds to my backyard year round.
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By Carol Raitt |
