Visible Zoo Staff

[JVM]

Are there certain zoos where you see more or less staff around? How do public-facing staff affect the zoo visit for you and how do you think they affect other visitors? Docents count for the question.

This is a very open-ranging question, but I was comparing and contrasting two of my recent visits to Lincoln Park, where I stumbled upon demonstrations by happy accident and where staff were quite visible and happy to engage, to some of my former visits to Brookfield, where many spaces that were designed for staff and/or ambassador interaction with guests have been unused across many more visits.

It made me curious about others' experiences at other zoos, if some perhaps have more staff in more places or less, and how zoochatters felt about these interactions.

(If a mod has a better name for this thread, have at it, I had trouble naming it.)

 

[TinoPup]

Are there certain zoos where you see more or less staff around? How do public-facing staff affect the zoo visit for you and how do you think they affect other visitors? Docents count for the question.

This is a very open-ranging question, but I was comparing and contrasting two of my recent visits to Lincoln Park, where I stumbled upon demonstrations by happy accident and where staff were quite visible and happy to engage, to some of my former visits to Brookfield, where many spaces that were designed for staff and/or ambassador interaction with guests have been unused across many more visits.

It made me curious about others' experiences at other zoos, if some perhaps have more staff in more places or less, and how zoochatters felt about these interactions.

(If a mod has a better name for this thread, have at it, I had trouble naming it.)

It varies a LOT, even within AZA zoos sometimes. There's been a couple of times where I've literally seen no employees other than the ticket person, and in one case it was a free zoo, so I didn't even see that. Zoo staff being visible is really important, IMO especially for safety. Employees being around makes it less likely that someone will hop a fence, use flash on a nocturnal exhibit, or do other things that could/would harm the animals. It obviously reduces the chance of theft, as well. Additionally, it gives you someone to go to if something is wrong with an animal, which I've had to do several times now.

For the general public, they can answer questions about animals, which helps create engagement and memories. It also helps the overall feel of a place. One zoo I've been to twice, I've seen a couple of keepers and some maintenance, and they have always been rude; on one visit a keeper was in a building yelling at staff. That created a very unfavorable impression and has made me reluctant to visit again.

I've also had so many wonderful conversations with keepers, docents, etc! If you're nice and don't ask questions they can't/aren't allowed to answer, many like to talk about their animals Especially when it's not the same couple of questions they usually get.

 

[cloudedleopard611]

Most of the time I see keepers at the Saint Louis Zoo they seem busy so I do not interrupt. That being said I have had some good conversations with some of the docents and staff. On my most recent visit I got lucky and I got to talk to a zoo educator in the Herpetarium, specifically about eastern diamondback rattlesnakes. I learned a lot about the species and about pit vipers in general. I also had a great conversation with a security worker in Big Cat Country.
At the San Diego I had a brief conversation with a bird keeper where we talked about wattled jacanas and that they were one of the species I was most excited to see.
Generally I can take or leave this element of visiting zoos, as I tend to be socially withdrawn and I don't generally interact with people unless it's necessary. I think I have come to appreciate it more as of late as I have started to love zoos as what they are and not just as locations for photography. However, it is nice to have conversations about things I am passionate about with likeminded and insightful people.

 

[Arizona Docent]

When @snowleopard and I visited Fresno Chaffee Zoo a few summers ago, we had lunch with the then director (now retired). He had made this a priority and actually required each department to have one keeper in the public area at all times to answer questions. He would ask a department (eg elephants), how many keepers do you need? If they said eight, he would say okay hire nine so you can rotate one keeper into the public area.

 

[TinoPup]

I forgot to mention - in the USA, you are legally required to have someone present in any area with visitor/animal interaction. I see this ignored a LOT outside of the AZA.

 

[Lafone]

As others mentioned - it depends.

Size and season can be a factor on whether you see zoo education teams. Yesterday at Whipsnade for example there was a special ticket event running (throughout March) that’s making the weekends more like a school holiday in terms of attendance. So the talks were full on and scheduled throughout the day. Off season you wouldn’t see them or they do the stand out animals only / if at all.

Other places have their education talks only at weekends etc.

That all makes sense to me as that’s when there is some possibility of an audience.

In other staff / keeper terms I see them around in most places I visit but you can go for a visit and not see anyone (as they’d be somewhere else in the zoo) particularly in the bad weather.

I’ve spoken to volunteers at places that have them as they often strike up / start a conversation if you’re standing about at an enclosure for ages with a camera. And that’s often interesting. I visit on my own a lot and I find people talk to me / ask me questions.

If I had a question though I’ve never had a zoo trip where someone wasn’t happy to answer it or talk about an animal if I found someone to ask. Obviously they are at work so I wouldn’t go up to every keeper. The job is clearly a passion for people and they seem to like sharing that (based only on my experience).

I’m not bothered by not seeing anyone though except where I’d like to draw attention to a visitor doing something where I don’t feel it would be a good idea / safe to say something directly.

 

[15399]

I forgot to mention - in the USA, you are legally required to have someone present in any area with visitor/animal interaction. I see this ignored a LOT outside of the AZA.

I know that this is a rule, but I'm curious to see if it's ever enforced. Even in the AZA it seems as though half the goat contact areas/farmyards I've seen don't have staff present.

 

[birdsandbats]

I forgot to mention - in the USA, you are legally required to have someone present in any area with visitor/animal interaction. I see this ignored a LOT outside of the AZA.

Even many AZA zoos seemed to ignore this until a couple of years ago. NEW for example was violating this for many years until about 2 years ago. Did the AZA start enforcing this on their members around then?

I've noticed at free zoos without ticket booths or concessions there often aren't any staff visible in the entire zoo. At a few zoos like this, I've visited on days where I saw no other people (staff or visitors) for the entire time I visited! That sort of thing didn't used to bother me, but now that I've visited zoos like Jack Facente Serpentarium where staff (and often the owner) are always around to answer questions I've come to be of the opinion that all zoos should at least have to staff around to do so.

 

[TinoPup]

Even many AZA zoos seemed to ignore this until a couple of years ago. NEW for example was violating this for many years until about 2 years ago. Did the AZA start enforcing this on their members around then?

I've noticed at free zoos without ticket booths or concessions there often aren't any staff visible in the entire zoo. At a few zoos like this, I've visited on days where I saw no other people (staff or visitors) for the entire time I visited! That sort of thing didn't used to bother me, but now that I've visited zoos like Jack Facente Serpentarium where staff (and often the owner) are always around to answer questions I've come to be of the opinion that all zoos should at least have to staff around to do so.

Not sure about AZA but I believe USDA has started really enforcing it, based on citations I've seen, and AZA of course doesn't want its members getting cited.

Being alone can definitely be nice but yeah, I really think there should at least be someone at the entrance to answer questions and be made aware of problems, and to be a friendly face. I know getting staff and volunteers can be hard post-covid but it makes such a big difference.

 

[TinoPup]

I know that this is a rule, but I'm curious to see if it's ever enforced. Even in the AZA it seems as though half the goat contact areas/farmyards I've seen don't have staff present.

Saw bnb's tag before yours, sorry! USDA has been citing for it the last couple of years, something I didn't really come across pre-covid. AZA definitely should be enforcing it. My assumption, which may be wrong, is that places don't have the staff for full day coverage in a barn area so after all the chores are done, staff goes elsewhere. Contact areas should be closed in that case, which I do see a lot of in AZA, but sometimes they are still left open/unlocked for visitors.

 

[Jurek7]

I sometimes ask zoo staff about unusual animals, but the reply is varied. Some staff are enthusiasts and like talking - e.g. one young man at Dallas World Aquarium told me a lot about their bird collection, including several unsigned birds which I otherwise would have missed! I think we chatted over half an hour. At other times, staff are busy, and sometimes don't know much about their animals other than how to clean and feed them.

I never managed to talk any keeper to show me any animal off-show, unfortunately.

About the general public: I notice that for general people, a keeper working in an exhibit is very interesting, not less than the animal itself. This corresponds to a recent paper in Zoo Biology, that education plates in zoos are much more viewed by the public if... they show a human in addition to the animal.

I find special keeper talks to be often boring. They are often too basic and the conservation message often pushy. I think many other visitors feel the same - one does not need to be an amateur zoologist to know e.g. that tigers live in South-East Asia and have sharp canines to hunt ungulates.

 

[snowleopard]

I forgot to mention - in the USA, you are legally required to have someone present in any area with visitor/animal interaction. I see this ignored a LOT outside of the AZA.

This is an interesting point as the situation is completely different in Europe. On my two big Euro treks (2019 and 2022) I saw dozens of zoos with walk-through exhibits and in some cases I was literally the only person inside the enclosure. Givskud Zoo (Denmark) has a big walk-through with Barbary Macaques and there were monkeys everywhere with no attendant in sight...and that was a common occurrence for me. There's very much a laissez faire attitude there, with primates jumping on or approaching visitors in dozens of zoos and there's rarely any kind of monitoring of the situation. However, the liability laws are totally different from America, where someone will sue a zoo if they stub their big toe. If a visitor is bitten by a primate in Europe, they slap on a band-aid and continue walking around the zoo.

 

[TinoPup]

This is an interesting point as the situation is completely different in Europe. On my two big Euro treks (2019 and 2022) I saw dozens of zoos with walk-through exhibits and in some cases I was literally the only person inside the enclosure. Givskud Zoo (Denmark) has a big walk-through with Barbary Macaques and there were monkeys everywhere with no attendant in sight...and that was a common occurrence for me. There's very much a laissez faire attitude there, with primates jumping on or approaching visitors in dozens of zoos and there's rarely any kind of monitoring of the situation. However, the liability laws are totally different from America, where someone will sue a zoo if they stub their big toe. If a visitor is bitten by a primate in Europe, they slap on a band-aid and continue walking around the zoo.

Exactly what I was going to say, the liability laws are very different, and I think people in Europe and elsewhere don't have the same attitude many Americans do, where it's their right to touch whatever they want.

 

[joe99]

As someone studying and working in a zoo now, i find this is often really depends, some days you are super busy and not really in a mood to chat with people, some days its less busy and you are able to chat with guests, which i do quite enjoy. it also depends on the keeper, some are just less able to small talk than others. keepers are people too and all have their quirks and jobs for the day, just be aware and don't hold any short cut conversation against them.

 

[PossumRoach]

I know in Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo the walkthrough aviary is closed to visitors if they do not have a keeper in there to supervise the guests. This is a good practice because it not only ensures animal safety and prevents guests from keeoing both doors in the double door area, but also gives guests a chance to ask keepers questions. I do not know if walkthrough aviaries are count as animal interactions per the USDA, but walkthrough aviaries definitely need a supervising keeper.

 

[15399]

I know in Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo the walkthrough aviary is closed to visitors if they do not have a keeper in there to supervise the guests. This is a good practice because it not only ensures animal safety and prevents guests from keeoing both doors in the double door area, but also gives guests a chance to ask keepers questions. I do not know if walkthrough aviaries are count as animal interactions per the USDA, but walkthrough aviaries definitely need a supervising keeper.

Until this year, the USDA didn't even consider birds animals, so I think that kind of answers the question. I don't know if they will become "animal interactions" now, though.

 

[PossumRoach]

Until this year, the USDA didn't even consider birds animals, so I think that kind of answers the question. I don't know if they will become "animal interactions" now, though.

The keeper requirements in the aviary at SF was a thing since the aviary was made in 2018 ling before birds were considered as animals per USDA.

 

[Great Argus]

I know in Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo the walkthrough aviary is closed to visitors if they do not have a keeper in there to supervise the guests. This is a good practice because it not only ensures animal safety and prevents guests from keeoing both doors in the double door area, but also gives guests a chance to ask keepers questions. I do not know if walkthrough aviaries are count as animal interactions per the USDA, but walkthrough aviaries definitely need a supervising keeper.

Well unless the aviary directly allows feeding of the birds, most walk-through aviaries are typically low on bird-human interactions. I've never seen a keeper just on duty in an aviary unless it's a lorikeet or budgie feeding aviary. I've not witnessed any rude behavior from guests towards birds in an aviary personally, but I know it does occasionally happen and I think especially for larger walk-throughs it's really not a bad idea to have someone keeping an eye on things.

 

[TinoPup]

I've seen more people on hand in walk-through aviaries than in barnyard areas. Usually volunteers if it's a non-feeding area. I've only seen one budgie aviary without someone in it, and that was just last month.

 

[birdsandbats]

Well unless the aviary directly allows feeding of the birds, most walk-through aviaries are typically low on bird-human interactions. I've never seen a keeper just on duty in an aviary unless it's a lorikeet or budgie feeding aviary. I've not witnessed any rude behavior from guests towards birds in an aviary personally, but I know it does occasionally happen and I think especially for larger walk-throughs it's really not a bad idea to have someone keeping an eye on things.

Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary had a Wood Duck in a free-flight aviary die because visitors kept pulling out its feathers.