Zookeepers might also help in the designing, building, and repairing of enclosures or cages. They might also care for the plants in and around the exhibits.
Zookeepers sometimes assist in research studies. Depending upon the species, the zookeepers may also train the animals. An example is the elephant keeper who teaches the pachyderm to hold up its foot so that the veterinarian may examine the sole.
In addition, zookeepers may put on shows and give lectures to the public.
Zookeepers who work in aquariums usually are called aquarists.
FIRSTHAND ACCOUNTS
Elizabeth Johnson, Senior Zookeeper
Elizabeth Johnson is a senior zookeeper at the Detroit Zoological Institute in Royal Oak, Michigan. She earned her B.S. in biology in 1988 from Saginaw Valley State University in Saginaw, Michigan, and her M.S. in biology in 1995 from Wayne State University Graduate School in Detroit. Elizabeth has been working in the field since 1988.
GETTING STARTED
"Actually zoo keeping never occurred to me as a career. I was going to school for a career in research involving animals. After graduating from Saginaw Valley State University in May 1988,1 was hired by the Belle Isle Nature Center. I was responsible for performing naturalist duties, such as caring for the animals in their shelter, giving talks, and doing rehabilitation work with injured wildlife.
"In March of 1989, while still employed with the nature center, I was picking up an application for another job when I found out that the city had just opened the position for zookeeper and was accepting applications. I decided to turn in an application; I was hired by the Detroit Zoo three months later."
WHAT THE JOB IS LIKE
"I have been employed at the Detroit Zoological Institute for almost eight years now. Zoo keeping is a very interesting career. It seems as though there are never two days alike. You learn some-thing new every day. When I first started, I could not believe I was actually getting paid for doing what I was doing.
"I have been taking care of elephants and rhinos for seven and a half years now. Recently, our elephant unit has picked up the care of the giraffe, too. There are five Zookeepers in the elephant unit. We have three female Asian elephants (ages 32, 39, and 46), one black rhino (age 45), and three giraffes (two males ages 5 and 15, and one female age 11). A typical day for me begins with all the Zookeepers meeting in the administration basement so that the head Zookeepers can pass out daily duties or advise us on any changes that have taken place. The Zookeepers then all go to the exhibit they are assigned to for that day. For me, I start either at the elephant house or the giraffe house (taking turns among the Zookeepers in our unit).
'The first order of business is to check all the animals under your care that day to make sure all are well. Then the fun part begins-all the cleaning of the exhibits! The cleaning usually takes a couple of hours. Then every day at 10:30 we bathe our elephants for the public to see. The bath usually lasts for about an hour. During the bath we hose them off, scrub their skin to remove any stains, and perform foot care on them. Since elephants in captivity are restricted to the area in their exhibit, foot care is very important. We file and sand their nails to prevent them from growing too long. If their nails are too long, they can become cracked and lead to further problems. We also trim their cuticles regularly, and most important, we trim the bottom of their feet. The bottom of an elephant's foot is like a hard callous that can get many cracks and grooves. If these cracks and grooves are not cleaned out and trimmed, they can lead to infection. We do a little foot care on each elephant daily. We keep the sessions short and pleasant. The elephants don't seem to mind at all, they are used to their routine foot care. During the bath we scrub their skin so as not to get a build up of dead skin. After the bath, if it is during the summer, we will lead them into the pool in their yard. After coming out of their pool they will head directly to their sandbox and start dusting themselves to protect their skin from the sun and insects. If it is too cold, they will get sawdust for dusting.
"Usually by now it is lunchtime. After lunch, at 1:00, we perform a demonstration with the elephants for the public. We will tail them up and walk them around the pool and then work them individually with each picking up logs, pushing logs, and lying down. After the demonstration we give each elephant a treat bucket of hay and then answer any questions from the public.
"During the winter we have the elephants do laps inside for exercise. After this we usually go "browse hunting" for our animals. We venture out for grapevine, mulberry, elm, maple, sorghum, and bamboo. Of course, browse hunting is limited in the winter here in Michigan, but the elephants still eat trees with no leaves. Occasionally, they will also get palm that has been trimmed back from the birdhouse.
"The few hours left in the day we spend providing behavioral enrichment for our animals and doing extra cleaning of our exhibits and extra duty handed out from the head Zookeepers. This can include unloading hay-truck pellets, moving other animals to different exhibits, cutting grass, whacking weeds, cleaning exhibit pools, performing overall maintenance of our buildings (painting, dusting), and just helping out other Zookeepers on their exhibits doing jobs too labor intensive for one person.
At this point in the day it is time to start closing up the exhibits. The animals' food is put down and the animals are brought inside and secured for the evening. A little more cleaning and the day is over.
'The job can be either busy or relaxed. It just depends on the day. Overall, I feel by keeping busy during the day, you go home feeling as if you have accomplished quite a bit. You feel more rewarded."
