Name of Keeper: Nick Sutton

Title or Position: Zookeeper, Bug World

Animal(s) Keeper Works With: Snakes, arthropods (insects, spiders, etc.) and great gray owls.

Years as a Zookeeper: 4

Years at Woodland Park Zoo: 8

Why did you become a zookeeper?
I’ve always been fascinated by wildlife. As a kid, I used to go outside all the time to look for animals. I also enjoy seeing people get excited about wildlife and conservation.One day, while I was working in construction, I drove by the zoo and the thought came to me: “That’s where I should be working!” So I drove in and asked for an application. I worked wherever I could – the Education Department, Visitor’s Assistance, the Commissary. I even volunteered at the Raptor Center.

When you were in school, what classes or training prepared you to work as a zookeeper?
I have a bachelor’s degree in Biblical Studies from the Seattle Bible College, so I didn’t study wildlife in school. What prepared me for the job was being a student of wildlife for my entire life. I’m an avid bird watcher and I really like reptiles and amphibians. I learned identification and observation skills. My travels to China, Bangladesh and the Amazon rain forest opened my mind to the great diversity of wildlife in the world. The rest of my training was on the job.

What is it like to be a zookeeper?
It’s actually my dream job. I get to work with animals from around the globe—giraffes, zebras, invertebrates, snakes and fish. I’ve got all of these amazing animals right at my fingertips and I never stop learning. I love to learn. The day I stop learning I don’t want to be here anymore. It’s an enviable position. It’s unbelievable.

Besides feeding and cleaning up after the animals, what else do you do to provide for their care?
I do some animal training, most recently at the Raptor Center, working with flying the birds. We try to make sure that animals used for education talks, like tarantulas, have been handled a lot, so they’re used to people and don’t freak out and run up someone’s arm.

I really like exhibit design. Say there’s a tank that’s going to hold Peruvian walking sticks. I research what Peruvian walking sticks do in the wild, what their microhabitat preferences are—do they like living in a tree? Under a log?—and I try to duplicate that in their tank. I want a visitor looking at that tank to think “Wow – that looks just like outside!”

I participate in education, too. I might take one of the tarantulas and do a little talk about tarantulas in the wild. Or I put an insect in the African orb weaver exhibit and the spider runs down and grabs it; not only does the spider get a meal, people also see what the feeding behavior of an African spider might be like in nature.

Is there anything gross about your job?
Yeah. Picking up animal feces and cleaning up after the animals is gross. Sometimes seeing the results of feeding the owl—a mouse with its head bitten off or its guts in the trees. I’m not really fazed by it now, but I was before. You get used to it. That’s just how they eat.

Is there anything about your job that might surprise people?
People might think we’re in the animal exhibits all the time, but there is a lot of office work. It’s one of the more mundane parts of the job. I write reports, go to meetings, answer email.

What would you tell someone who wants to become a zookeeper?
I get asked this a lot. Before I talk about school and getting an education, I say to get involved right now in learning how to observe and identify local wildlife. Read lots of books about wildlife. Go outside and experience nature for yourself. If you like birds, start bird watching. Hook up with other people who have more knowledge than you and learn from them. I like snakes a lot, so when kids say “oh, how can I learn about snakes?” I tell them to go outside and look for them. Get a book about snakes of Washington. You have to learn how to communicate in scientific terms, so learn technical terms. Know what you’re talking about. And then network with other people in the wildlife community. The zoo is a good place to network because there are so many people with varying wildlife interests. Join Bug Club, take zoo classes, ask questions.

What other conservation work do you do, either inside or outside the zoo?
I started a business called “The Snake Experience.” I have my own personal collection of snakes that I take to libraries, Boys and Girls Clubs and community centers to teach people about the importance of snakes in the ecosystem and to try to dispel some myths about them. I really try to target inner-city kids of color, especially African-American kids, who are underrepresented in the wildlife professions. My heart goes out to this entire generation of kids and I don’t want to see them left out.

I do a lot of walks in Eastern Washington in the spring and summer. I keep a tab on what species of snakes I see there and report my findings to Fish and Wildlife. It’s not an official project—it’s my own thing that I’ve been doing for about 7 years. Lately I’ve been talking to the Fish and Wildlife people to find out other ways I can help them.

I’m also trying to get involved with helping to save the Jamaican boa, which is endemic to Jamaica and critically endangered. There is a lot of misunderstanding about snakes in Jamaica, as everywhere, so people will kill a snake on sight. I want to go and educate people, especially farmers, about the good stuff that snakes do, like eating the rats that eat crops.

--- By Jackie Kiser