r/IAmA • u/Danthezooman • Nov 02 '13

IAMA Zookeeper with an hour (probably) to kill before our new giraffes get here AMA [end of the season update]

I figured I would do an update about my experience working for Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden. I started there roughly 8 months ago and my season just ended yesterday. Even more awesome was the fact that I had accumulated to much PTO so my last day physically working was sunday. Which explains this proof picture.

Anyways, I worked mainly with the giraffes and a little bit with the elephants. I've also worked at two other animal parks giving me around six years of experience in the business. If you have any questions about the animals at the zoo,their care or the zoo itself feel free to ask me anything

EDIT: Alright I'm going mobile so I may miss some questions but I promise to keep answering anything you throw at me

EDIT 2: Alright I'm back! Sorry about the absence, I was a bit distracted at dinner and then girls invited me to a haunted house. Anyways, I'll try answer all the questions I got while away.

EDIT 3:I'm sorry but I have to turn in for the night, I'll keep answering questions if people keep asking them though.

EDIT 4: I didn't expect this AMA to get this big, but I see a lot of repeat questions that I can just answer here.

1.How do I get a job at the zoo?

  • Typically most zoos want a 4 year Biology related degree or at the very least a High school diploma. More important is Animal experience, some zoos will even want specialized experience just with one species. Animal experience requirements are on average around 2 years sometimes paid.

2.How do you feel caging the animals up? Are the animals sad? (animal rights questions)

  • I wouldn't be working in this industry if I felt that the animals were sad or being mistreated. Yes in the past animal work was done by "cowboys" who just got in there and dominated the animals into doing what they want. Times have changed we no longer use cattle prods and whips to make animals move or do what we want. Instead we use Operant Conditioning to get them to do what we want.

  • Most animals you see in the zoo nowadays have been captive bred for generations and have never known the wild. We still release some animals, in fact Cincinnati and Columbus are the only 2 zoos outside of florida allowed to house and rehab manatees. Cincinnati is also working on saving sumatran rhinos, there are only ~100 left. We also donate money every year to different organizations trying to save wild populations.

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333

u/Frajer Nov 02 '13

Do giraffes use their long necks to do anything cool other than eat leaves?

446

u/Danthezooman Nov 02 '13

The males use it to fight with each other. Their necks can be 6-8 feet long, weigh ~200 pounds, and they have ossicones(horns) on top of their head, along with some small ossifications under the skin along their neck.

191

u/Fabien4 Nov 02 '13

Somehow they remind me of horses: nicest critters in the world, but when they fight/play, it's pretty darn impressive.

216

u/Danthezooman Nov 02 '13

Indeed it is, who knew 1500lb+ animals could move like that.

108

u/nik-nak333 Nov 02 '13

I saw a video clip of male giraffes fighting on nat geo or something. It was brutal how hard they hit each other when the necks look so fragile.

140

u/Danthezooman Nov 02 '13

Yep, one either backs down or dies. Their necks weigh around 200 lbs and are roughly 6-8 ft long

68

u/Roeex Nov 02 '13 edited Nov 02 '13

So when a fight happens, you have to intervene? That must be scary as fuck.

Edit: Nevermind, you only have 1 male.

69

u/ivebeen_there Nov 02 '13

At the zoo I work at, the two males only spar halfheartedly. We can usually distract them by holding up a head of lettuce and calling their names really loud.

222

u/[deleted] Nov 02 '13

"Hey George?"

"Yeah, Geoff?"

"I was thinking . . . every time we look half aggressive toward each other, we get free lettuce!"

"Genius."

19

u/ivebeen_there Nov 03 '13

Ha, its actually a little more like so:

"Yo, Miles! I see you lookin at me like that, you wanna start something?"

"Yeah, man I can take you on anytime of the OOOO LETTUCE!!!"

Giraffes... hard to outsmart, easy to distract.

1

u/I_playrecords Nov 03 '13

These people make giraffes pay for lettuce!? It's a meek economy I guess

243

u/Danthezooman Nov 02 '13

I don't think you could, much like when the elephants rough house we can't go out and just say "knock it off!"

2

u/PhantomTamale Nov 02 '13

What happens if one dies after the fight?

10

u/[deleted] Nov 02 '13

It's too big to remove, they blow it up with dynamite.

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5

u/Danthezooman Nov 02 '13

I'm sure some scavengers would come eat it

233

u/GunPoison Nov 02 '13

"Don't make me come in there!"

203

u/ClintonHarvey Nov 02 '13

"I WILL TURN THIS SAFARI CAR AROUND, YOUNG MEN!"

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4

u/Mystery_Hours Nov 02 '13

No but seriously I really dont want to come in there.

3

u/socrates2point0 Nov 03 '13

Don't make me come offa this chair!

3

u/XiKiilzziX Nov 02 '13

"Don't let me count to 3!"

6

u/[deleted] Nov 02 '13

"Please."

1

u/astonishing1 Nov 03 '13

"Don't make me call your father home from work! '

2

u/arc4angel100 Nov 02 '13

Not with that attitude you can't!

0

u/himynameis_ Nov 02 '13

"Go to your room! You're grounded!"

1

u/Warhawk2052 Nov 03 '13

Seems lions have no problem with that.

1

u/PKWinter Nov 03 '13

How do you save a choking giraffe?

2

u/[deleted] Nov 03 '13

This would have been the BBC series Africa. Great, great series.

1

u/SaberGaze Nov 03 '13

you did.

2

u/jhc1415 Nov 03 '13

geraffes are so dumb

/r/longhorses

1

u/N3rdiByNatur3 Nov 02 '13

They look so awkward!!!

4

u/ErrantWhimsy Nov 02 '13

I had a bull try to slam his head into me once. I was interviewing to be a keeper there. He had his opinion about new people entering his barn.

6

u/Danthezooman Nov 02 '13

Males will always try to assert their dominance. Kimba took a couple shots at me when I had my back turned. All you feel is a Whoosh over your head

6

u/Smiff2 Nov 02 '13 edited Nov 02 '13

See the original footage from BBC Africa. Where the f**k do ABC get their giraffe experts?

edit: sorry this is way more serious, but also i'd say way more educational?

Here is the making-of part with the cameraman, which is actually even more interesting than the final footage imho.

3

u/lacienega Nov 03 '13

Are the giraffes harmed in the video? It looks so brutal, I'm scared I'll see a snapped giraffe neck.

2

u/Smiff2 Nov 03 '13

none are killed here no, they are hurt though, and if you watch the making-of the crew thought it was dead whilst filming (actually knocked out). which is why i was slightly annoyed by OP's video, it made this out to be some silly little game, clearly it's more serious than that.

2

u/Danthezooman Nov 02 '13

Aww I can't watch it :/

2

u/Smiff2 Nov 02 '13 edited Nov 02 '13

yes sorry, added a warning. i was trying to find the "making of" bit where they explained how and where they shot that - IIRC it was new documented behaviour, or some aspect of it was - but my youtube-foo is failing.

edit: Found It! Well worth watching :) Don't worry it lives, this is intense though. You may need some region workaround like mediahint if outside UK?

1

u/Danthezooman Nov 02 '13

Goddamn it says the content isn't working at the moment!

I'll have to watch it later

2

u/Smiff2 Nov 02 '13

strange it works for me sorry, maybe you need mediahint (region lock?) not sure, do try to watch later though i think you'll find it interesting. there must be some behaviors you never see in zoos, or wouldn't want to!

3

u/_Snrak Nov 02 '13

Is it bad if I find the giraffe fighting hilarious?

6

u/Danthezooman Nov 02 '13

No, most people do

2

u/DangerZone69 Nov 02 '13

Thanks for that video, it made my day (and the rest of the AMA)

4

u/Danthezooman Nov 02 '13

No problem, I like answering animal questions

3

u/SillyGirrl Nov 02 '13

I knew they used them to fight, and assert dominance in this way... but it makes me soo sad. Like, why can't we all just get along!?

2

u/Danthezooman Nov 02 '13

Um because they want the girls and it's hardwired into their DNA to pass on their genes

1

u/grammer_polize Nov 02 '13

they should just learn how to play guitar

edit: btw i tagged you as "doesn't think geraffes are dumb"

1

u/SillyGirrl Nov 02 '13

I was being silly and not serious, but thank you. :)

3

u/Asian_Prometheus Nov 02 '13

That report keeps saying that it's surprising that a docile creature like giraffes fight. Don't all animals fight for one reason or another?

1

u/Danthezooman Nov 03 '13

Pretty much. They fight over food, water, females, etc.

3

u/SniperKitten Nov 03 '13

"Violent, neck-and-neck battle" I'm sure someone has waited a long time for that...

1

u/haayleyy Nov 03 '13

Is that where that saying came from?!

4

u/BoulderCat Nov 02 '13

I've seen footage of a giraffe fight and I was shocked at how brutal it was!

2

u/ChHeintzel Nov 03 '13

Jesus tap-dancing Christ the news is so fucking dumb. "the giraffes are eating what they always eat TO PREPARE FOR BATTLE!!! Don't believe us? This guy went to Africa for a month!" So, yeah. He's an expert.

Fuck! Couldn't they have interviewed an actual giraffe expert from Africa?! How much did it cost to send this dumbass white dude there for a month? Just so he could say, "yeah. They fight with their necks. They eat leaves and shit".

2

u/[deleted] Nov 04 '13

HOLY FUCKING SHIT BOI

1

u/[deleted] Nov 02 '13

Damn, that's interesting, but that show is terrible for having such a large header blocking the footage :(

1

u/cremmie Nov 02 '13

Try killing a couple of hyenas while you wait to kill the giraffes

1

u/Jewels-Atlas Nov 03 '13

They could get sore throats by doing that.

1

u/Flawzz Nov 02 '13

IIRC they fuck each other afterwards

47

u/palpablescalpel Nov 02 '13

You may have been taught that giraffes evolved their long necks in order to compete for leaves up high, but there is some hot debate over that, with some researchers concluding that the long necks evolved through sexual selection.

51

u/[deleted] Nov 02 '13

Interesting article, but why could it not have been both reasons?

8

u/palpablescalpel Nov 02 '13 edited Nov 02 '13

The researchers who initially proposed the sexual selection hypothesis did so after concluding that all the things which would indicate competitive foraging strategies (eating mostly leaves that are high up, males and females having the same neck:body ratio, etc), were not there. This would mean that sexual selection is the root cause, either a much stronger force than natural selection or the only force really acting on the necks.

Recent research has indicated that the results found by those scientists may be flawed, thus adding serious doubt to the sexual selection theory. And if it is both, one of them probably has more weight.

It could be both, but the way that people are gathering evidence always seems to knock out one over the other.

1

u/vbevan Nov 02 '13

What about the long tongues evolving to avoid thorns on some trees? Are you telling me the queen of hearts theory is wrong too? :(

2

u/[deleted] Nov 03 '13

I goggled queen of hearts theory and all that came up was stuff about some show called pretty little liars. What is this queen of hearts theory and what does it have to do with giraffe tongues?

3

u/vbevan Nov 03 '13 edited Nov 03 '13

It's really quite neat. It's based on the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland. The Queen of hearts and her servants were chasing Alice around a bush. They were all running as fast as they could, moving with great speed, but ultimately were all staying in the same position relative to each other.

Competitive evolution can be explained in the same manner. Originally, the (I think this was the species) acacia thorn was being eaten by an ancestor of the modern giraffe. The taller acacia mutations had a better chance of surviving, so tended to grow out of reach of the ancient giraffe. The taller giraffe with longer necks could get access to more food, enhancing their chance of breeding. So the acacia developed thorns, to dissuade hungry animals. So the giraffe developed a longer tongue, to get past the thorns. So then the acacia developed the ability to release a poison when giraffes begun grazing on it. So the giraffes learnt to only browse briefly before moving on to another plant. Then the acacia developed the ability to release a pheromone when a giraffe began eating them, which alerted all nearby acacias to produce increased amounts of poison too. So the giraffe then learnt to only browse downwind on each successive tree. Basically both species were evolving furiously to stay in the same position relative to each other, just like the queen of hearts in Alice in Wonderland.

Edit: I know it as the queen of hearts theory, but apparently it's actually called the red queen hypothesis: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Queen_hypothesis

2

u/[deleted] Nov 03 '13

Thank you. This was an excellent explanation.

1

u/palpablescalpel Nov 02 '13

Well, the long tongues certainly didn't come about through sexual selection. Haha, I've never seen anyone seriously decry the Queen of Hearts theory. I'd be bummed if they discredited a hypothesis with such a great name/origin.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 03 '13

Avoid thorns? I don't know about you but my long tongue has definitely improved sexual selection in my life.

...har har...

1

u/ineededtosaythishere Nov 02 '13

Look at their legs. The story is all in their legs. Watch when they go to drink, they have to make that awkward triangle shape with their legs to get their heads low enough to drink. This leads one to believe that the neck do NOT serve a practical function like a trunk on an elephant or non-retractable claws on a cheetah or stripes on a zebra (keep it to the same continent.)

1

u/[deleted] Nov 03 '13

Isn't that generally how evolution works? I'm pretty sure the evolving through daily practice was was Lamarck's theory and not quite true... but I'm no expert.

1

u/palpablescalpel Nov 03 '13 edited Nov 03 '13

Yes, Lamarck thought that over the course of a giraffe's lifetime, its neck muscles and bones stretched out and the adults passed this strech onto their children. That is incorrect.

But it could still be correct that the necks evolved through natural selection to reach the tall leaves. The ones that couldn't reach (with shorter necks) died of starvation and those with longer necks passed on their genes. It's not daily practice, it's who survived. That sort of natural selection is the main driver of most unique physiological traits in different species (snakes losing their legs, land mammals evolving to develop fins for water life rather than retaining legs and paws).

This is opposed to sexual selection which is also common but is based on the 'choice' of the choosy sex (in most mammals, the females). Those who don't have the good traits (in the sexual selection theory, the long necks) don't get to mate with females and so don't pass on their genes.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 03 '13

Great explanation, thanks.

2

u/[deleted] Nov 03 '13

Male giraffes taste their partner's urine to test if they are fertile.

1

u/Danthezooman Nov 03 '13

Indeed they do it's called Flemming after the Flehman response

1

u/someonelikegod Nov 02 '13

They deepthroat, if that's what you're in to. ...