taun
Well-Known Member
Definitely not the latter, prob as your first quess. You see it quite alot when visiting most zoos.
Chester Zoo Stories from the zoo
- Thread starter LeeMac13
- Start date
Definitely not the latter, prob as your first quess. You see it quite alot when visiting most zoos.
Keeper for the day is only done on Wednesdays and I've done it three times as a junior member
taun
Well-Known Member
Going off topic slightly but which sections did you work?
elephant, primate and rhino
Lee, I'm guessing the adult keeper for a day scheme differs from the junior member one, but it involved me shadowing the keepers around during the day.
So basically, cleaning out, observing, feeding and then a tiny bit of actual interaction depending on the animal (as well as seeing behind-the-scenes).
LeeMac13
Well-Known Member
oh right ok, do you choose what section to work on or does the zoo choose
Well junior members are given one day a year for the keeper for the day (usually in July I think) and you have to ring up 2 weeks prior and try to book yourself on that date. If I recall, you are asked if you have a preference for a particular section whilst making the booking.
Maisie
Well-Known Member
The other half did the bird section last year. Lots of chopping food, cleaning enclosures and feeding. LOTS of walking because the birds are everywhere! But also plenty of close-up encounters with the birds, being one of the less dangerous sections. Chris particularly enjoyed Jackson the red bird of paradise perching on his shoulder to quality control his cleaning efforts 
The bird section is probably one of the least-subscribed KFOD sections. I was able to book Chris's day a few months in advance, but I see from the zoo website that some sections are already fully booked for 2009!
The bird section is probably one of the least-subscribed KFOD sections. I was able to book Chris's day a few months in advance, but I see from the zoo website that some sections are already fully booked for 2009!
Asian Lion temperament.
You are probably also unaware that Asian lions have a genetic disposition toward being almost totally harmless to people- at least in the Wild. In the Gir Forest where they live, some of the Lions are semi-tame, yet non-aggressive and so can be approached very closely on foot without fear of attack. You could NOT do this with wild lions in Africa....
Captive Asian Lions may be rather a different matter as I have seen aggressive responses to their keepers (on film) from the males at both Paignton and Bristol.
You are probably also unaware that Asian lions have a genetic disposition toward being almost totally harmless to people- at least in the Wild. In the Gir Forest where they live, some of the Lions are semi-tame, yet non-aggressive and so can be approached very closely on foot without fear of attack. You could NOT do this with wild lions in Africa....
Captive Asian Lions may be rather a different matter as I have seen aggressive responses to their keepers (on film) from the males at both Paignton and Bristol.
I found a report of the escape and subsequent shooting of Asian Elephant Nobby on 24th October 1975.
A small bull elephant pen was constructed in the enclosure in the autumn of 1975.
On 24th October attempts were made to move Nobby into this pen as had been done successfully on the previous day. After two hours of non co-operation Nobby escaped from the indoor elephant enclosure by climbing into and out of the concrete moat.
Every effort was made to recapture the elpehant who charged through several enclosures in west zoo and into an adjacent field (I assume this to be south of the existing zoo beyond the zebras and oryx).
He soon outran his pursuers who were on foot, the soft ground prevented the use of a vehicle.
Nobby reached a point 3/4 of a mile from the elephant house and then changed direction back towards the zoo grounds. He had travelled a furthur 1/2 mile when an attempt was made to tranquilise him. A dart containing 7.35mg Etorphine hydrochloride and 30.0 mg Acepromazine was fired into his right shoulder.
Before the drug could take effect Nobby broke through the zoo perimiter fence in a residential area and was heading for the busy A41 road. The decision was then taken by the senior staff member present, bearing in mind the danger a rouge elephant posed to the safety of the zoo's neighbours and their property, to shoot to kill. Nobby was killed by a .300 calibre bullet.
His body was buried in the grounds.
No injuries were sustained by staff or members of the public and no propery was damaged outside the zoo grounds.
Hi Leemac13 and others,
I couldn't leave your comment about Jaguars without commenting. If you actually talk to people who keep Jaguars, they are considered much less dangerous than Lions, tigers and Leopards. In fact they are very secretive in nature and I personally know of people who have been only a matter of 20 feet from a Jaguar in the wild and haven't been threatened or attacked. I would suggest that before (and I may get slapped on the wrist for saying this) you state something in such a decisive manner you first are sure of your facts. There have been many more people killed by lions, tigers and leopards!!
I couldn't leave your comment about Jaguars without commenting. If you actually talk to people who keep Jaguars, they are considered much less dangerous than Lions, tigers and Leopards. In fact they are very secretive in nature and I personally know of people who have been only a matter of 20 feet from a Jaguar in the wild and haven't been threatened or attacked. I would suggest that before (and I may get slapped on the wrist for saying this) you state something in such a decisive manner you first are sure of your facts. There have been many more people killed by lions, tigers and leopards!!
This is the first time I have heard the Jaguar's dangerous reputation- in captivity- disputed. I can believe they wouldn't attack in the wild but I know of at least two cases of people being killed by them in zoos(not in the Uk) a few years ago. Several reliable and experienced zoo people I have talked to seem to regard them as pretty lethal...
I think the one that escaped in Dartmoor would have done more damge had he got further than the Tiger enclosure. Even there, I think he went to attack the Tigress.
And you say about them seeming docile in captivity, so do chimps when you see them in their indoor quaters. Once they're in a wide open space with adrenaline pumping though I wouldn't want to be the one stopping them...
And you say about them seeming docile in captivity, so do chimps when you see them in their indoor quaters. Once they're in a wide open space with adrenaline pumping though I wouldn't want to be the one stopping them...
Peafowl, As the subject was on captive animals, it could also be the number of animals that are kept in captivity that could have a bearing on the number of fatalities in zoos. The are certainly less jaguars in zoos than lions and tigers. The experts in this article seems to disagree with your facts, other people were only offering there opinion.
from the dever post:
The zookeeper who was fatally attacked by a 140-pound jaguar at the Denver Zoo on Saturday was a 27-year-old woman from New Mexico.
Ashlee Pfaff, who was described as an experienced handler, died from injuries to her neck, spinal column and spinal cord, according to the Denver medical examiner's office.
"She was grabbed or bitten around the neck," said Amy Martin, a forensic pathologist. "She had very severe, really unsurvivable injuries."
Pfaff, who specialized in carnivores, was attacked by the male cat Saturday in the Feline Building. Other Denver Zoo staff attempted to help during the attack, even trying to use a fire extinguisher to stave off the animal, according to a press statement from zoo officials.
When the jaguar approached, it was shot and killed, the statement said. Pfaff was pronounced dead at about 1 p.m. Saturday at Denver Health Medical CenterHer family, reached at their home in a suburb of Albuquerque, said Sunday they are making arrangements and would release a statement later.
Meanwhile, Denver police continued to investigate why the keeper was in the same enclosure as the cat because that is against zoo policy and training.
David Nickolaus, a former Denver Zoo zookeeper, said he briefly met Pfaff just before leaving his job in August 2005 for safety reasons. While there, he said, he was among several zookeepers who raised concerns that their heavy workloads compromised safety.
"They just have keepers running back and forth," he said. "They're not able to be as careful because they're just under so much pressure."
Denver Zoo did not return a call for comment on safety concerns.
"Dangerous exotic animals"
Ed Hansen, executive director of the Kansas-based American Association of Zoo keepers, offered condolences to Denver Zoo employees and Pfaff's family, calling the tragedy "one too many."
He said that among zookeepers, safety is the "No. 1 priority because you're working with very, very dangerous animals."
"There is this perception in the public's eyes ... that the animals (in a zoo) are tame," Hansen said. "These are very wild, dangerous exotic animals."
The accident is likely shaking up those who work in zoos, said Hansen.
"Zookeeping is a job of routines," he said. "They have a tendency to do the same thing over and over again, day in and day out. There is a little bit of complacency involved sometimes."
Such accidents are a reminder to make sure cages are locked properly, he said.
Nick Sculac, owner of Big Cats of Serenity Springs, an animal sanctuary in Calhan, said jaguars are unpredictable, and it's becoming hard to find people willing to train them.
"They are just too dangerous," he said. "They are high-strung, and they have no facial expressions, so you cannot tell when they are going to bite you."
Sculac said he can't imagine why the keeper went into the jaguar's enclosure unless the door lock between the employee and the cat malfunctioned.
He also has questioned why other zoo employees went into the enclosure to save their co-worker without first placing the animal in a holding area.
"I guess they just tried to go in and get the zookeeper," he said.
Zoo officials said employees followed protocol when they went into the cat's enclosure with weapons. They wouldn't comment further on the investigation.
Sculac described jaguars and leopards as the "pit bulls of cats" because of their strong jaws and unpredictable nature.
"They will take a gazelle up into the trees with them," Sculac said. "That is how powerful they are."
Ana Bowie, spokeswoman for the Denver Zoo, said the feline building remained closed Sunday while other parts of the zoo were open.
Denver police are investigating the zookeeper's death, but it's possible that the U.S. Department of Agriculture - charged with licensing zoos and conducting animal inspections - could send investigators to the zoo, Bowie said.
There is no doupt at all that Jaguars are deadly, along with any big cats, but it also depends on the personality of the animals. Like pertinax said about the aggressiveness of asiatic lions at Paignton and Bristol. Years ago when Bristol had jaguars, a keeper was cleaning the windows in the enclosure when a member of the public asked "do you always go in with your animals?" thinking she was joking he carried on working, it wasnt until he got out of the enclosure he realised that the jaguar was indeed in the enclosure with him asleep on a platform!
Works both ways i suppose??
Works both ways i suppose??
That's pretty worrying! (I think I did actually make the face lol)It was mentioned on here that if any other big cats were to escape then they'd normally run off and hide, whereas Jags (and possibly Leopards?) would kill anything that got in their way. Is it just because they're normally more aggressive or what?