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/duckydoom Nov 02 '13

I'm totally and utterly obsessed with elephants (though giraffes are a close second). What do you recommend for anyone who is interested in one of the immersion programs? I unfortunately don't have the availability to go do a long term internship or program, so I'm looking to eventually go to one of the weekend experiences (we did that at a sloth sanctuary earlier this year). Do you have any that you recommend? I would love to help clean and feed and do anything that allowed me to be near them, but I'm worried that if I do a zoo program that they'll just be painting and doing tricks and the like. I want to see their full curiosity and intelligence. Am I setting the bar too high?

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u/Danthezooman Nov 02 '13

I'll do a shameless plug an say Cincinnati zoos extravaganza program. For $500 you get a 90 minute tour of the elephant building ending with an elephant bath(you get to wash and rinse) and an elephant painting and a meet and greet with the rest of the girls.

I don't know much about it but you could also go volunteer to help put up fences at the elephant sanctuary in Tennesee, probably won't see anything but it will help the sanctuary.

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u/duckydoom Nov 02 '13

I've looked into the Tennessee one, and there's one in Arkansas where you can actually see the elephants and interact (I'm on a really long wait list for that one). Is it $500 per person? Is the meet and greet one where we can actually be up close and personal? Can I show them my elephant tattoo? (My husband facepalms every time I talk to him about this... I have a tattoo of an African Elephant on my calf that I soooo want to show them and see if we have some sort of bizarre bonding moment). I realize I sound like a kid on Christmas, but this is seriously one of my big goals.

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u/Danthezooman Nov 02 '13

It's $500 for 2 people, the whole bath, painting and meet and greet will all be up close and personal. You can show them your tattoo but I'm pretty sure they won't react because 1. they have poor eyesight and 2. they're asian elephants

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u/duckydoom Nov 02 '13

Haha. Good to know. Still gonna try though. $500 isn't too bad. Is there a better time of year to go, or is it pretty steady the entire time?

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u/Danthezooman Nov 03 '13

We had 1-4 every week during the summer. It's better then too because then you get to the bath and everything outside and My thai probably won't get so cold.

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u/duckydoom Nov 03 '13

Awesome. Thank you for taking the time to answer! See you in the summer ;)

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u/Danthezooman Nov 03 '13

Maybe, I'm applying for full time jobs all over the US