Becoming keeper for the day would appear to be quite popular in our zoos at present. For a fee you can work with the keepers and their animals and help with their duties. I would think that this scheme is obviously aimed at the younger end of the market and I am sure it must be a most enjoyable experience for the person concerned, when I was a kid all we had was the XYZ club and yes I still have the badge. One thing however which concerns me is the price charged by the zoo to participate in this scheme, I understand it can be in the region of a three figure sum. While I am all for reputable zoos raising valuable funds I do think the fees charged for this could be rather high as it is aimed at youngsters whose families may not have the fee charged easily at their disposal. What do members think of this?, in particular the younger ones who may have participated in this scheme, did you enjoy it?, did you learn anything from it? did you think it was value for money or an over priced Jim'll Fix It.
Keeper for the day
- Thread starter TARZAN
- Start date
Maisie
Well-Known Member
I wouldn't necessarily say these days were aimed at youngsters! A full day of trekking round the zoo, cleaning, chopping food, putting food out etc is hard work!
I got my other half (who isn't a youngster anymore!) a KFAD experience a few years ago in the bird section at Chester. I can't remember the exact price, but it's currently £250 on the website which I think may have been more than it was at the time. I think it's a little more expensive than a lot of the other "experience days" on the market, but while you can go for a spa weekend, or hot air ballooning, or motor racing at a number of locations (and probably only for a couple of hours in a lot of cases), at how many places can you go and get behind the scenes at the zoo and get up close and personal with your favourite animal(s) if animals are your thing? It was definitely value for money: a full 8 hour day (from before the zoo even opened until closing time), and since there are birds all over Chester, every section of the zoo was covered, plus since birds aren't as potentially dangerous as other critters, there was a lot of hands-on (including sitting on a rhea to keep it still for medicating!). The keepers were also very welcoming to me as a guest too and didn't mind me joining in at some points.
I don't mind supporting the zoo for such a unique day. Plus I can imagine there would be substantial hidden costs to the zoo such as insurance etc that need to be covered, and you're paying for the undivided attention of at least one member of staff for a full day.
I notice Chester is now offering other "keeper experiences" on their website - a sort of "KFAD Lite" and an experience aimed at youngsters which are significantly cheaper and more manageable for those who are keen to get closer to the zoo without doing a full day's work!
I got my other half (who isn't a youngster anymore!) a KFAD experience a few years ago in the bird section at Chester. I can't remember the exact price, but it's currently £250 on the website which I think may have been more than it was at the time. I think it's a little more expensive than a lot of the other "experience days" on the market, but while you can go for a spa weekend, or hot air ballooning, or motor racing at a number of locations (and probably only for a couple of hours in a lot of cases), at how many places can you go and get behind the scenes at the zoo and get up close and personal with your favourite animal(s) if animals are your thing? It was definitely value for money: a full 8 hour day (from before the zoo even opened until closing time), and since there are birds all over Chester, every section of the zoo was covered, plus since birds aren't as potentially dangerous as other critters, there was a lot of hands-on (including sitting on a rhea to keep it still for medicating!). The keepers were also very welcoming to me as a guest too and didn't mind me joining in at some points.
I don't mind supporting the zoo for such a unique day. Plus I can imagine there would be substantial hidden costs to the zoo such as insurance etc that need to be covered, and you're paying for the undivided attention of at least one member of staff for a full day.
I notice Chester is now offering other "keeper experiences" on their website - a sort of "KFAD Lite" and an experience aimed at youngsters which are significantly cheaper and more manageable for those who are keen to get closer to the zoo without doing a full day's work!
Rothschildi
Active Member
I did one at Dudley Zoo a number of years back. At the time it was one if not the cheapest experience in the country at around £100. I thoroughly enjoyed it, got to see alot of behind the scenes bits, feed animals, talk to keepers and get alot closer than regular paying public.
Now i see London and Chester charging in excess of £200 for the experience and do think it is expensive but as Maisie said theres alot of hidden costs, i bet the insurance alone to have untrained people in enclosures is horrendously expensive. Its ones of those things that zoo's will charge what people will pay and the current price seems to be working for them.
Now i see London and Chester charging in excess of £200 for the experience and do think it is expensive but as Maisie said theres alot of hidden costs, i bet the insurance alone to have untrained people in enclosures is horrendously expensive. Its ones of those things that zoo's will charge what people will pay and the current price seems to be working for them.
adrian1963
Well-Known Member
Dudley Zoo have a under 14s and an adult over 14s Zoo Keeper for a day scene, This has been running for quite a few years now and by all reports from the feedback on other websites and what I have personally heard people say (from other zoos) it is well worth the price paid.
Prices for the keeper for the day are
£185.00 for one person over 14
£250.00 for two persons over 14
This includes lunch, souvenir gift and a day working with the zoo keepers
A guest ticket to the zoo is included with the single person zoo keeper package
£105.00 for one person 8 – 13
£170.00 for two persons 8 – 13
This includes lunch, souvenir gift and one adult admission ticket. You go behind the scenes and meet some of the animals, help feed and clean some of the animals on the farm along with the Giraffes, Tapirs and Red Panda’s.
If we put up the prices of others then we can all see which ones do the best deals for the children and maybe save ourselves some money in the summer
EDIT - Information taken from new website
Prices for the keeper for the day are
£185.00 for one person over 14
£250.00 for two persons over 14
This includes lunch, souvenir gift and a day working with the zoo keepers
A guest ticket to the zoo is included with the single person zoo keeper package
£105.00 for one person 8 – 13
£170.00 for two persons 8 – 13
This includes lunch, souvenir gift and one adult admission ticket. You go behind the scenes and meet some of the animals, help feed and clean some of the animals on the farm along with the Giraffes, Tapirs and Red Panda’s.
If we put up the prices of others then we can all see which ones do the best deals for the children and maybe save ourselves some money in the summer
EDIT - Information taken from new website
I did the primate KFAD at Chester and it was a brilliant experience. It is a very full day and you take up a lot of the keepers' time without 'helping' that much with the workload! They must have to be well staffed on that day to cope with the 'help'. They get all sorts of people doing it, the fact that it gets booked up immediately even though it runs through the year & not in school holidays suggests it's popular with non-school-aged people and that the zoos expect it to be.
It's such a thrill to get that close to the animals and learn about them and how they are looked after and a few surprises on the way.
I justify the cost the same way I justify all expenditure "Well I don't smoke"...
It's such a thrill to get that close to the animals and learn about them and how they are looked after and a few surprises on the way.
I justify the cost the same way I justify all expenditure "Well I don't smoke"...
Secret Squirrel
Well-Known Member
I know some of these KFAD schemes can be expensive. From the zoo point of view however, I know that Chester use the money from KFAD to pay for staff to go on training with some of the projects they sponsor overseas, for example elephant keepers to go over to India and work with elephants in the wild. I think this is a great idea and great use of the money (rather than it go into 'general funds'). From the point of view of the staff it can justify the time put in taking the punters round all day, helping inspire them to make the experience the best it can be for the KFAD and making it a better experience for all concerned I reckon. 