Toronto Zoo Keeper for a Day at the Toronto Zoo

Thank you for posting this arcticwolf. Very good to hear more detail about what goes on for the keeper for a day.
 
The lion house is divided into two sections with a path for keepers in the middle. One side has the brothers and one side has the white lions. Each section is divided into multiple smaller pens so the lions can be separated. All of the pens have a platform to rest on and most of them have toys such as hanging logs and balls for the lions to play with. Fintan has grown a lot recently. In the past month he put on 40 pounds. His mane is at least the same size if not bigger than Lyndy's. The keeper I was with told me that when I walked into the lion house, the cats were more excited than she's ever seen them. Makali was actually trying to play with me. Another thing I forgot to mention was after the lion's meal they all started roaring, which was one of the coolest experiences of my life. The lions' roar was much louder than I expected it to be.

I was a little disturbed with having to hold a dead animal to feed the hyenas, but I guess I'm used to it after dissecting a frog in science class.

In addition to Norm in the ostrich barn, there was another male warthog named Woody in the rhino and hoofstock barn.

All of the sable antelope are extremely aggressive towards everyone including the keepers. The zookeeper I was with told me that they are one of the scariest animals to work with because unlike other antelope species that will run away from you, sable antelope will try to attack. The one who tried attacking me was the male, Puffy.

I don't know if there are plans to breed the wattled cranes. The only one I saw was the female.

I got to briefly pet Twiga the giraffe while I fed her, but after the food was out of my hand she would move away.

I actually didn't mind the smell that much, but my dad was not too happy when he had to spend almost an hour in the car with me.
 
Thanks for the lion answers. Thats so cool that Makali wanted to play with you. I could just imagine the sound of their roars just vibrating through your body. Last spring when I went I heard the Southern Ground Hornbills calling to each other and I could feel there calls as much as I could hear them which was amazing so I can really picture it with 5 grown lions just feet away.

I barely made it through high school disection. I felt bad for the worm, terrible for the frog, I felt like a murderer for the rat and relieved I didnt have to do the piglet because I probably wouldn't have made it. As it was I had to con my partner into disecting the rat... reminded me too much of my pet degu for me to cut it.

Thanks for the clarification on the warthogs. Last I had heard they were together in the male zebra yard. Wondered if Woody had died.

Wow from their calm attitude in their yard I would have thought they were sort of passive creatures. That would explain why they have never been on display with another animal. It's always interesting to learn something totally new.

From your comment about a breeding dance I just assumed it was the two of them trying to impress each other. Now I'm just picturing some sad lonely crane trying to impress herself. Oh thats a pathetic image in my head but so comical.

Oh to pet a giraffe. I was thilled by just the idea of feeding one but to reach out and touch them is so much more thrilling.

Your right if the smell doesnt bring to mind wonderful memories for you I could see not wanting to be anywhere near a person who smelled like that. Lucky he loves you and didnt strap you to the roof. Lol.

Thanks again for sharing all of this. It is just so nice of you to let us share a little bit in your amazing experience.
 
That sounds like a real cool experience arcticwolf. Just awesome.

A question. In the Lion House is there room for more lions, or is this our top capacity? And about how big are each separate room for the lions?
 
The female wattled crane was actually performing a mating dance for me and the keeper I was with. She has a thing for human men for some reason.
 
There were a few empty pens in the lion house but I don't know if it would be a good idea to get more lions. There is probably enough room for babies but once they get bigger they will need to go to other zoos. Each pen is a decent size for the lions but most of the time the pens on each side are combined so the lions have lots of room. Also there are outdoor exhibits attached to the side of the lion house for the lions to go in while the keepers are cleaning.
 
arcticwolf said:
There were a few empty pens in the lion house but I don't know if it would be a good idea to get more lions. There is probably enough room for babies but once they get bigger they will need to go to other zoos. Each pen is a decent size for the lions but most of the time the pens on each side are combined so the lions have lots of room. Also there are outdoor exhibits attached to the side of the lion house for the lions to go in while the keepers are cleaning.
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Cool. I always wondered how it was in there.
 
Wow that poor confused wattled crane. Now I have and even funnier picture in my head of her trying to impress the two of you. After all of the things that didnt like you at least she really really liked you.

I never realized there was an additonal side yard for the lions. Where exactly is it located? Its good to hear there is one. I had felt bad for the lions who were kept in while the others when out into the yard. So nice to hear they can enjoy some outside time too.
 
There are small outdoor yards attached to both sides of the lion house. They look basically like larger outdoor versions of the indoor pens.
 
Thanks yet again arcticwolf. Even if the pens sound dull at least they can get out, have fresh air, sunshine and more space on days its not their turn to be out.
 
Last November, for members, we were allowed to go into the lion house and it was pretty cool. There were no lions in there at the time because Lindy and Jerroh were on display and the white lions were outside. In the lion house they have a tunnel kinda thing that the lions have to go in and they can close both sides to keep them in the tunnel. While they are in here they can give the lions shots or weigh them.
 
A few days ago, I did my second Zookeeper for a Day experience. This time I worked in the African Rainforest Pavilion, because I wanted to see what it was like to work with smaller animals.

I had to arrive at the zoo at 7:15 to get the coveralls that I had to wear. After that there was a very quick staff meeting and then I got to go to the pavilion.

The keeper I spent most of my day with hadn't arrived yet, so I went with some of the other keepers to prepare the gorillas' meals for the day. Gorillas eat a lot of food, so it took a while to get everything prepared. After that we went into the main gorilla exhibit (without the gorillas in it of course) and spread out some of the food for them. It was really interesting to actually be inside the gorilla exhibit, and I never realized how large it was.

When we finished putting out the gorilla food, the keeper I was supposed to be with had arrived so I went with her to the spotted necked otter exhibit. We actually ended up going to the otter exhibit multiple times throughout the day to feed and train them. The otters were very fun to work with because they are active and intelligent. One thing that surprised me about them was that their favourite food is zucchini. I would have thought it would be fish or some kind of meat.

After the otters, we spent a short amount of time checking to make sure that the reptiles were ok. There is a reptile room behind the python and viper exhibits in the pavilion, which also holds species such as flat tailed tortoises, skinks and a Nile monitor.

The lemurs were probably my favourite species to work with because I could get so close to them. The zoo has two groups of 6 lemurs, so the first thing we had to do was bring the group on exhibit back into the holding area and let the second group out. Next we went into the exhibit with the lemurs to do some cleaning. We also put out some food and enrichment items for them. It was really fun putting out the enrichment (jugs with fruit in them) because the lemurs would follow me around the exhibit and slowly get closer until I was only a few inches away from them. One of the highlights of my day was being able to hand feed the group of off-exhibit lemurs.

Next it was lunch time, where I got to talk to some of the other keepers in the pavilion. After lunch, I went to the gorilla day room to see the apes up close. I wasn't allowed to actually interact with them, but it was still lots of fun seeing their reactions to me. The two younger males (Sadiki and Nassir) wanted to show me how strong they were by swinging on ropes and jumping on the window next to me. The baby, Nneka, also came close to the grated metal door to see me up close. I felt bad for the silverback Charles because all he wanted to do was eat, but the other boys kept jumping on his back and bothering him. Finally he grabbed Nassir and threw him to the ground to show that he had had enough.

One of the coolest things I got to do was watch the chameleons eat their lunch. I had seen it on tv many times, but it's much more interesting to watch the chameleon's long tongues shoot out in person.

By this point in the day, there wasn't much left to do, so we walked around the pavilion to see the animals I didn't get to work with. Some of the highlights included feeding the meerkats and softshell turtle, getting a good look at the baby warthogs, seeing the behind the scenes mantella room with lots of beautiful species, and getting to see the Lake Malawi fish tank from the top, with great views over the whole pavilion.

In the end, I had an amazing day working in the African Rainforest Pavilion and would love to do it again. Hopefully next year, I will be able to do another Zookeeper for a Day experience in a different section of the zoo.
 
What a great day you had! I wouldn't have thought you would be allowed in the gorilla exhibit or to prepare their food knowing they want to keep the primates away from people. It would be pretty cool to stand in their exhibit.

I have to say I'm pretty jealous you got to feed the lemurs, meerkats and otters. They are some of my favourites at the zoo.

Did you get to spend any time with pygmy hippo Harvey or the red river hogs, Casey and Philip, or the crowned cranes?

I hope you get another chance next year to do another keeper day. It's always a joy getting to hear about it.
 
According to the keepers, the rule with working with primates is if you actually interact with them, you're not allowed to donate blood. That's why I wasn't allowed to interact with the gorillas. The one exception is the lemurs, but you have to wear gloves when working with them.

I didn't actually get to work with the pygmy hippo or the red river hogs. The keepers in the African Rainforest Pavilion divide the work into sections and they rotate every day. The keeper I was with had to work with the otters, lemurs and reptiles on the day I went. We still went to see the other hippo and hogs, but I didn't actually get to do anything with them. She said that if Harvey was in a better mood, I might have been able to feed him. The crowned cranes were in the lemur exhibit when I was in there, but I didn't actually do anything with them.

One thing I forgot to mention was I also got to go behind the scenes in the Caves and Burrows section to see the naked mole rats up close and to watch the baboon spider and scorpion get fed.

I'm glad you enjoyed my report from the day and if I do another zookeeper for a day, I'll be sure to post one again.
 
The experiences sounds awesome arcticwolf. Being get up and close with some of these animals must've been a real joy.

I've heard about that rule where people how work with apes can't donate blood. Something about fear of spreading a similar virus as HIV that's found in apes.

Question, do they have spa lot of species in the off exhibit section that we don't see on exhibit at all?
 
There were quite a few off-exhibit species that can't be seen by the general public. The ones I actually got to see were flat tailed tortoises (there's a sign for them in the spider tortoise exhibit, but there are none actually there), fire skinks, multiple kinds of mantella and a nile monitor. The monitor will eventually go on exhibit although it might be a while until it does. I also know there are some off-exhibit birds in the large aviary next to the softshell turtle that can't be seen up close. I don't know the exact species since I didn't work there, but I have seen superb starlings and white cheeked turacos on past visits to the zoo.
 
That sounds really cool arcticwolf. Is this like a paid experience thing? How much did it cost?

I've never heard about the "not giving blood after touching a primate" thing. Apparently its a response to the presence of Simian Foamy Virus (SFV) in 70-90% of captive primates, although there is no evidence that it has ever made a human sick or even been transmitted to humans (Monkey handlers can't give blood). Interesting though, I wonder if similar bans exist anywhere else.
 
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