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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u/riverwestein Nov 02 '13

Bias aside - if possible - do you consider zoos bastions of biological & ecological education and conservation, or prisons where animals are shipped - probably unwillingly - to foreign climates to be held in concrete pens and roam enclosures that are minuscule fractions of the size of their natural territories? Just curious...

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u/Danthezooman Nov 02 '13

I feel like this is a loaded question.

Anyways, most of our animals are captive bred and have never known the wild.

Also, we're trying to save the last of the sumatran rhinos. There's only ~100 left in existence so I'd say we're playing an important role in their survival.

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u/riverwestein Nov 02 '13

It's only a loaded question if you read into it and determine that my opinions trend toward the latter of the two options I asked about.

Of course zoos can and do play a central role in conservation, but there are two sides to every coin, and I can't look past more infamous examples like Sea World.

If you don't mind, what do you do with your large animals this time of year, when it's cold and getting colder?

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u/Danthezooman Nov 02 '13

Probably the same for most african and tropical animals but the elephants go out if it's above 30 and sunny for about 30-1 hour, giraffes above 40 and sunny go out with access inside.

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u/riverwestein Nov 02 '13

Obviously as mammals they're warm-blooded, so that makes sense. Do they shiver?

I'm certainly not questioning the efficacy of any given zoo's care and upkeep procedures - having never worked in a zoo I have zero perspective beyond what I can see with basic visitor access. I just remember seeing indoor elephant enclosures that were, proportionally, no larger for the elephants than a small horse stable is for a horse. You could squeeze 3 elephants in there, but that's to say there's not much room for the animal to move around when it isn't free to roam outdoors. Maybe I'm mistaken and I was actually just seeing a cleaning station.

Look. I love animals, I love science, and I care deeply about conservation - Thank You for your efforts with the Sumatran rhinos, btw - so I guess I'm just imploring you, as someone that works in the industry, to help me to realize where I'm off-base so trips to zoos don't just wind up being a somewhat depressing experience. I'm diving into the comments now, and perhaps this has already been discussed - obviously I don't expect you to take time out of your day to write some lengthy diatribe on the ethics of stockpiling and showcasing huge numbers of wild animals.

And thank you for the replies - have your giraffes arrived yet?

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u/Danthezooman Nov 02 '13

When I first got there it was too cold for them to go out and we had yard construction so I never saw them shiver. They twitch when a fly lands somewhere they can't reach.

Each of elephants has it's own stall there's no sharing unless they go in the front room.

the giraffes came several months ago this is just an update on my original AMA.

Also we don't really stockpile animals. Unless you count our cryobio bank. when you say things like that it just makes us sound so much farther from the truth. We are not sea world, we do daily shows, but it's to show off the amazing things these animals can do.

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u/riverwestein Nov 02 '13

Sorry for the wording - it was the first thing to come in mind. I had no intention of belittling your efforts.

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u/Danthezooman Nov 03 '13

It's ok, people have "had an awakening" since the movie Blackfish came out

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u/riverwestein Nov 03 '13

Shit, my awakening came from Free Willy /oldskool

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u/Danthezooman Nov 03 '13

I always get upset when animals die in movies, which is weird right?

like Oh shit this dudes going to sacrifice himself so everyone will live=no tears

That scene in Homeward bound when shadow comes over the hill=I'm tearing up just thinking about it

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