Keeper Assistant: Weeks 1 & 2

Okay, so I started volunteering at the Phoenix Zoo back in January, working every Saturday at Monkey Village. The job basically required me and other volunteers to help the employees by making sure visitors were behaving themselves within the exhibit, as well as answering basic questions about the 17 Squirrel Monkeys on display there. About four months (120 volunteer hours) into the job, an opportunity arose for a keeper's assistant position! This is what I had initially applied for so I was really excited to get started. My first day as a keeper assistant was last Sunday, June 10.

Keeper's Assistant - day 1


Sunday morning - arriving at the Zoo at 6a.m. will definitely take some getting used to. For now anyway, I'll rely on my enthusiasm and a strong cup of coffee to get me there - on time and ready to work. Keeping focused on my goal of working with dolphins is really all it takes to keep me going though. I was assigned to assist the lead primate keeper, Denise, in her duties the first day, which began with a trip (for her...) to Siamang island. I waited on the dock while she made her way across the pond to feed these apes.

Siamangs are one of 12 species of lesser apes - or Gibbons. Similar to the great apes in some ways, lesser apes are restricted to deciduous monsoon and evergreen rainforests of Southeast Asia. Similar to the great apes, the Gibbons lack a tail and have the same dental formula. They differ in that they are much smaller in size, have a more slender form, longer arms, longer canine teeth, and the presence of those funny-looking butt-pads. In most species, males and females are about the same size but differ in coloration. To learn more, please go to: http://www.conservation.org/English/Pages/Default.aspx?USC=True

Keeper in training - day 2


Yesterday started out with carnivores . I assisted in the a.m. feeding and medicating of the Zoo's two spectacled bears, Rio and Will. Rio is a young female who they believe is pregnant and Will is a twenty something male (I forget his exact age) which apparently is pretty old for a bear. He takes medicine for his stiff joints. Spectacled bears are generally solitary animals and Rio does a good job at keeping Will away from her most of the time. They do have quite a nice, large exhibit at the Phoenix Zoo, so there is plenty of room to co-exist without too much aggression from Rio.

Before the bears were let out on exhibit, the keeper and I went out on a mission, shovel and bucket in hand. Its all part of the job. The clean-up actually didn't turn out to be so bad and the next item on the agenda was Behavioral Enrichment or, BE. After portioning out parts of their food, we wrap it in several paper bags and place them throughout the exhibit. This gives the animals an opportunity to sort of forage for their food, more like they would do in the wild, rather than simply having it handed to them. This along with many other enrichment techniques, referred to as BE, greatly improves the quality of life for captive animals by providing them with mental stimulation and something to do.


When we finished with Rio and Will, it was off to medicate and feed Vishna and Mr. Mestopheles, the white-faced saki monkeys. We placed their food (banannas, watermelon etc.) in several paper cups which we then wedged between branches throughout the exhibit. Vishna and Mr. Mestopheles (or Meesto) are an old couple who have bred many times but are no longer able to. They now hang out happily together in the forest of Uco on exhibit.



Next on the agenda was to feed Missy - the Jaguar. She is quite an amazing and intimidating animal. To watch her devour her raw meat breakfast from about a foot away was incredible. She wasn't pleased at all with me observing however, and quickly let me know by growling - to which I emmediately responded by backing up. The keeper laughed and said not to be affraid, at all times there has to be 3 doors locked between us and the Jaguar. Missy is quite and old lady at 18 years, and has always shown particularly aggressive characteristics.



By about 8am we went on to feed the male coati who's name escapes me at the moment. He is nothing like Zippy though - my favorite coati of all time. This guy has a stump where his tail used to be, I'm supposing he lost it in a fight. Quite a fiesty little fellow. Enought with him, so it was back in the cart and off to the Mexican grey wolf exhibit to feed Sonora and Mirella their morning ball of raw meat and prepare the rest of their carnivore diet for later. We have to be careful with them since they are part of a Game and Fish Department re-introduction program. We can't let them get used to human contact since they may someday be re-released into their natural habitat. Mirella, being the bolder of the two, reluctantly came over to us and the keeper threw in the meat. I helped change the water and scoup up poop. They are impressive animals to see but right now their coats are looking a bit withered since they tend to shed them in the summer months when it just gets too dang hot for all that fur. I took note that you can tell Sonora and Mirella apart simply by their faces - Mirella has kind of a mean look - like she would attack if given the chance, while Sonora looks much more friendly and docile.

It had been quite the eventful morning so far...and my day had only just begun. I was passed over to another keeper who carted me over to the otter exhibit. I love the otters - they are so cute. The PhxZoo has a small family of spotted necked otters (Lutra maculicollis). We have Biko (dad), Kima (mom), and baby Hasani who is about a year old and was recently re-united with Biko since he's been a little more independent.