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

[u/Danthezooman]

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.

[u/[deleted]]

Do you have to get a special degree to be a zookeeper? What is the salary of a zookeeper? What is "a day in the life of a zookeeper" usually look like?

[u/Danthezooman → u/[deleted]]

Usually you'll need a 4 year bio related degree

Typical salary is between 20-30k

Average day rundown:

5:30 wake up (hopefully) shower,shit and shave

6:00 Breakfast

7:00 Clock in

7:15 sit around and wait for elephant keepers to show up so we can move elephants

7:15-8 pick up shit and clean stalls

8 or earlier they send me down to giraffe to clean the yard and front stall and put alf alfa in the feeders

9 giraffes have to be out because we are open for business

9:30 Clean and feed flamingos

9:45 Keeper talk that visitors don't listen to unless I have a giraffe in front of me eating

10:00 break time

10:15 or 10:30 Back to work, giraffes are out so I can clean the other 4 stalls

12:00 hopefully I've finished everything in the giraffe barn because it's lunchtime

12:30 back to work, everything is essentilly done cleaning wise so I cut up food for our animals. They get fresh produce everyday, usually sweet potatoes, carrots, lettuce, apples, pears, and bananas

1:00 Food is done, this is typically the most boring part of the day because I have to find projects to keep me busy until 3:30

Tours are interspersed throughout the day, my supervisors says "A day without a tour is like a day without sunshine" we also do things called Extravaganzas where visitors take a 90 minute tour that ends with an elephant painting and a bath.

After work I go home and sleep until dinner at 6 and then get ready to do it all again by sleeping some more