I posted a link to the article and I called it fascinating but up to now I have not put forth an opinion on the news from Oregon Zoo. I've never worked in a zoo but from my experience of talking to countless employees at innumerable zoos over the years I've consistently gotten the message that there is very little turnover at major zoos. I can recall the Calgary Zoo putting out a statement on their website about 3-4 years ago stating how some people had to spend 15 years at the zoo before they were guaranteed full-time, 40-hour work weeks as no one ever left.
A quick Google search provided me links to zoos in Columbus and Pittsburgh that explicitly state on their employment pages that there is little turnover in the zoo business. Even in the couple of hundred zoo history books that I own I would have to say that my general impression is that once a keeper latches on to a full-time job in a zoo then they occasionally transfer to another zoo but they remain in the business until they retire in their twilight years. That is why traditionally keepers are paid such poor wages and struggle to earn a living, as they do it for the love of their job and there are many others waiting in the wings if there is any kind of change. A Woodland Park employee told me that usually volunteers spend a few summers at the zoo before perhaps getting menial jobs with few hours, and even individuals with university degrees (excepted practice at the big American zoos) have to literally wait for someone to retire or die to have any opportunity of obtaining a job.
The turnover rate at Oregon Zoo is surely not the norm, with 41 out of 157 people leaving within 2.5 years, and 16 of those folks being fired. Yikes, what a public-relations disaster to reveal that morale is low at such an enormously popular zoo. (Although I doubt that the 1.6 million annual visitors will truly care in the long run). I fully agree that stepping into a shared space with chimpanzees is a massive safety breach and the man with 38 years on the job can have no complaints about being let go. I wonder if there were other glaring errors from keepers? One thing that I do agree with is that at all the top zoos there seems to always be a period of turmoil at some point in time and perhaps this is just that era for Oregon. A new leader has their own expectations and I see it all the time in the public school system in Canada as new Principals arrive at schools with a different mindset than the previous leader. All of the teachers have to get on board with what is being planned, and those that do not like it usually retire or transfer elsewhere.
