any pregnant zookeepers?

L

Laney

Member
Hi there, I know this isn't a healthboard, but I wanted to check with any zookeepers out there that may be able to give me advice. I did post this on a healthboard, and to the Yahoo zookeeper groups, and await reply there too.
Anyway, I work at a seasonal zoo, and thought about trying to get pregnant at the end of the 2005 season, but really would like to try sooner. Does anyone know if it is dangerous to a fetus to be cleaning up the feces and such daily when pregnant? I only wonder b/c of the thing everyone knows that pregnant women can't clean cat litterboxes due to toxoplasmosis risks.
Any help, or even guidance where to find info would be great.
By the way, I do plan to ask my doc, I don't see her until late April, so looking to find some info sooner!
Thanks, and sorry for asking a somewhat unrelated question!
Laney
 
hang in there , Laney !

I have asked my contact person at the Auckland Zoo to ask her fellow female colleagues if they can help you out . Will post you the response as soon as I get it .
Which is your nerarest zoo , and whats it like ?
 
Hey Nigel, thanks, haven't checked this site for a while. I only have a minute to write for now, but will wait for your reply on this pregnancy issue.

I work at a small park zoo in Wisconsin, USA. We are in the process (long process) of working on making better exhibits. And half of it has leased animals every spring/summer season. These leased animals stay in not so great exhibits. They are not horrible, but could be way better. Anyway, we have our own wolf pack of 3, and prairie dogs and some other small animals. soon we hope to have elk and bear in nice large exhibits (to own not lease).
it is my starting zoo for my carreer as a keeper, so i love it!

what is your zoo like? i haven't had much chance to read other posts lately...sorry if you have given this info to others already!
Laney
 
Wellington zoo in a nutshell

If you have a good read through the forum , you will learn more about the Wellington zoo , but in the meantime .....

It is the oldest zoo in NZ -- currently 99 years old . It is on a very hilly site -- half of it would be too steep for good usage . Until very recently it hardly got any maintainance or upgrading , but in the last 10 years the zoo staff have tried hard to rectify that issue .
Its best feature seems to be the breeding of primates , but this is becoming too much of a good thing -- as the zoo acquires more primates through its own breeding , the problem of big enough enclosures become more of an issue .

I still havent had a response re your question from Auckland Zoo , which is unusual , as my contact there is usually very speedy in getting a response .
But I guess each womans pregnancy is different , so it may be a case by case issue .

Where abouts is your zoo ? Green Bay , Appleton , Oshkosh .... ? :)
 
The zoo is in Oshkosh. Its called Menominee park zoo. Its only open seasonally and i may have mis-worded the part about lease vs own. The animals we have permenantly are the Gray wolves, P. dogs, and smaller pet-types such as European ferret, Bearded Dragon, Degus, snakes, box turtle, bull snakes. Then we have 5 old corn cribs where the leased animals come every year. I am just a seasonal keeper on my second year. had some volunteer work before that at zoos & have bachelors in biology.
anyway, its great to hear your zoo is involved in a breeding program. I wish i was working at a zoo with more than educating/entertainment as a purpose. But ya gotta start somewhere huh!? i love the experience of doing more than just husbandry, such as exhibit maintenance/repair, groundskeeping, veterinary work (vaccinations, meds, fecal analysis, etc.).
Anyway, just went off on a tangent...how long have you been in the field, and are you originally from New Zealand?
Laney
 
The history of Nigel

I am a Kiwi ( New Zealander ) and was born in NZ . I still live here , but I try to travel as much as I can .
I do not work at a zoo relared job at all ( I am a Government records officer )but I have always been keen on zoos .
When I was 7 years old our family went to the Auckland Zoo . At that time it was still an old style zoo , but I was allowed to help the zookeeper feed the hippos . These arent the pygmy hippos like at Melbourne Zoo , but the BIG ones , with huge mouths to match . The keeper told me to throw the cabbages at the hippos tonsils when they opened their huge jaws .
I did this , and the mouths closed with an almighty "CHOMP !!!! "

That was probably the thing that sparked off my interest in zoos , and I watched with interest the great transformation of Auckland Zoo going from an oversized Alma Park into a facility that matches Melbourne or Sydney Zoo . Although I know the zoo backwards , it is very hard now for people to locate the spots where old zoo photos were taken ......
My main interest is zoochitecture , as my science/biology knowledge isnt the best . But I try to keep an interest in all facets of zoo life.
 
Wow, i would have guessed you were in the zoo field. Anyway i think that's great that you have such an interest. if you are most interested in the zoo architecture, you would love our wolf exhibit. it is very large, natural, hills, waterfall, stream, large trees, etc. And there are 3 visitor viewing areas, one over a pond (no gate barrier), one through a log cabin, and one upper deck to view from above. I can't remember the measurements, but remember i said much of our zoo needs work...well, you could probably fit every other exhibit into this wolf exhibit and still have room for the visitor paths! This includes the larger farm animal (three) enclosures. Anyway, i still love our little zoo.

Don't worry about the pregnancy question, i have talked with my doc and got some replies from other keepers at yahoogroups (zookeeper forum).

I saw the post on Steve Irwin, and didn't realize you guys over there were so against him. I stopped watching his show years ago, shortly after i did a english paper about him, just got bored with it. I guess i never realized he sold out to the fame.
Anyway, we really got off topic to this post ey?
 
zoo at Oshkosh

I tried to find a website of your zoo . No luck there , but I found a newsletter from your citys Parks Dept , which had a big article about the wolves ( 2 males , and one female ) and had some photos showing the construction of the wolf exhibit . It is 0.75 acres in size , so I guess that is a reasonable size for 3 wolves . It is also good to read that they are showing more curiosity towards the visitors than if they were in the wild .
Are they still going ahead with an adjacent elk exhibit ? I come across some elk when I visited Canada -- I had never come so close to deer that were bigger than horses before ( or since )
If you can check out Jays website of Australian and NZ Zoos , and go to the Wellington zoo section , you will be able to find a good selection of photos ( taken by myself ) which gives a reasonably accurate impression of the zoo -- short of visiting it yourself ....
For more views of the Irwins , go to the thread that has been set up solely about our views of them .....
 
Our zoo is called Menominee Park Zoo, you can see our recently updated site at: http://www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us/zoo/Zoo.htm
Yes, they are hoping to have elk by next spring, but we'll see on that. Eventually they hope to add a black bear and cougar exhibits. Well, if you want more info of that sort, its all on the site.
What is JAys site URL? I may have found it, but not sure - is it an angelfire address?
 
Jays website address

http://www.angelfire.com/ab5/ozzoos
It has a good section on Wellington zoo , which includes photos and a zoo review -- by myself . Although the photos are a few years old , it still gives people a fairly accurate picture of the zoo .
I go to the zoo about once a year , unless I have friends that want to visit it . It is not the best zoo in NZ , but it has improved heaps in the last 10 years
 
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