An MD friend at the Washington DC zoo writes,
"From all my conversation with the animal keepers at NZP they are. Of course its dangerous to be “friends” with a leopard or tiger. But wolves can soon be as close to their keepers as a dog, as well as a number of others. Orangs are very human friendly. Not lots of screeching and biting. The keepers begin to read the personalities of their animals, and soon consider them to be their “children”. That’s good and that’s bad. It helps when an animal gets sick, because animals try to hide their illness (read weakness) lest a predator pick them off the edge of the herd. The keepers are keen to spot when one of their “children” is acting just a bit different, maybe not as interested in their favorite treat, or only eating 60% as much as normal. They can tip the vets off immediately – who can do DBD’s body temps, physical exam for lumps or thyroid disorders. But it takes zoo animals maybe a month to get friendly with a new keeper.
"But the downside of the friendship is that if an animal wakes up on the wrong side of the bed and bites or kicks their keeper, the keeper immediately is very reluctant to let anyone know that. Its their child, and they want to work that out privately. I have asked a few on occasion when I was seeing them in the health unit for something unrelated, “how did you get that “cut” on your hand – looks like a bite.” They immediately backpedal, and says its nothing, 'I was in a grouchy mood and my animal picked up on that. Please don’t put this in the animals personnel folder.'
Tom
"From all my conversation with the animal keepers at NZP they are. Of course its dangerous to be “friends” with a leopard or tiger. But wolves can soon be as close to their keepers as a dog, as well as a number of others. Orangs are very human friendly. Not lots of screeching and biting. The keepers begin to read the personalities of their animals, and soon consider them to be their “children”. That’s good and that’s bad. It helps when an animal gets sick, because animals try to hide their illness (read weakness) lest a predator pick them off the edge of the herd. The keepers are keen to spot when one of their “children” is acting just a bit different, maybe not as interested in their favorite treat, or only eating 60% as much as normal. They can tip the vets off immediately – who can do DBD’s body temps, physical exam for lumps or thyroid disorders. But it takes zoo animals maybe a month to get friendly with a new keeper.
"But the downside of the friendship is that if an animal wakes up on the wrong side of the bed and bites or kicks their keeper, the keeper immediately is very reluctant to let anyone know that. Its their child, and they want to work that out privately. I have asked a few on occasion when I was seeing them in the health unit for something unrelated, “how did you get that “cut” on your hand – looks like a bite.” They immediately backpedal, and says its nothing, 'I was in a grouchy mood and my animal picked up on that. Please don’t put this in the animals personnel folder.'
Tom