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Now that she’s got her first summer season with us under her belt I asked  Vicky Jennings, our new head animal keeper about her work. She always knew she wanted to work with animals and told her parents at the age of three that she would be a zoo keeper one day. Discover how she got her dream job and why it really is as amazing as it sounds…

Tell us about your job as a head animal keeper…

What’s a typical day for you like?

With over 100 animals, there’s always something going on with one of them. I get here early and walk around the exhibits to make sure the animals look good.  I work an eight-hour day,  typical tasks include preparing food and feeding animals, providing fresh bedding and water, ordering feed and bedding, cleaning out pens and enclosures, checking for sign s of distress, disease or injury in animals, helping to care for sick animals under the direction of a vet, checking enclosures, cages and barriers for signs of wear or damage, answering visitors’ questions and giving talks and encounters, monitoring accommodation conditions, such as temperature and humidity, keeping daily healthcare records, but things can (and often do) crop up which means my hours can change and I sometimes have to cancel plans and rearrange my social life! The kind of stuff that might crop up includes stuff or animals falling ill, veterinary procedures like the time when our male Serval Jabari had to be caught and gently restrained so that our vet Andrew could administer a contraceptive implant, as well as my favourite; births – you always need to expect the unexpected! 

What are the best bits about your job?

“EVERYTHING!! What’s not to love? I feed monkeys, zebra and gibbons for a living! No matter what mood I wake up in, the animals always manage to put a smile on my face – but the best thing about my job is the ‘enrichment’ I make for the animals. ‘Enrichment’ is about improving the animals’ quality of life – so this could be building new structures, ponds and feeding poles, or hiding food in cardboard boxes, puzzle feeders and hessian sacks. There’s nothing better than watching the animals enjoy themselves as they investigate – and sometimes rip apart whatever is new in their environment.  I also love training – gone are the days when zoo creatures were trained for cheap tricks.  Everything the animals are taught is for their own well being, allowing veterinary checks to be less invasive and reduce the risks involved.  We use positive reinforcement to teach them how to do things. Harley the dominant male within the group of Mandrills is learning how to touch a particular target, for which he is rewarded with food. Every time he does this correctly, we have a clicker. That becomes a noise that he recognises, so he knows he’s got it right.     He is one of our cheekiest Mandrills as he likes to throw a tantrum if he doesn’t get his way but he always cheers up with a bit of apple as a treat!  By teaching him to stand still, we are able to carry out an all-over body check. We have a look at his skin, we look in his eyes and ears.

What advice would you give someone who wants to do your job?

People often have the image of a keeper only holding and cuddling an adorable baby, such as a koala or cheetah. But there is much more to the job—animals are not just cute, cuddly things. Working with animals can be dangerous, and there is injury potential to keepers and animals. You need to keep up with the latest safety precautions and training on zoonotic disease prevention. The work can be hard, dirty, and tedious. You should have a realistic view of the job before making animal keeping your career objective.  If you really do want to be a zoo keeper, two things;

Education – While you’re in school, learn as much as you can in your science classes. In college, choose a degree program in animal-relate d fields like biology, zoology, botany, ecology, conservation science, or animal behaviour. Take as many different courses in those areas as you can, and graduate with a bachelor’s degree in your chosen field. (Here’s a BIG hint: the competition for jobs caring for animals is so strong that you really HAVE to have a college degree these days to be considered.)

Hands--on Experience – Find opportunities to undertake voluntary work with animals.  Some places to look for volunteer jobs might be: local vets, Animal training classes (does your dog need obedience training?), Wildlife rehabilitation centres, Animal shelters, Farms or Horse stables and boarding facilities

Of all the animals you’ve ever worked with, which one did you bond with most?

Difficult, I made many close bonds over the years.  If I have to choose, then the male polar bear called Arktos at HWP.  Highland Wildlife Park devotes a huge amount of space to polar bears and the successful work of the Park in enclosure design and development is being mirrored elsewhere.  However as his keeper I got as close up as is safe and once, Arktos felt poorly; he had a sore foot, and he stuck out his bottom lip out to me, he wanted me to hold it through the mesh – to offer comfort like cuddling a small child.  He only displayed this behaviour towards me. 

Here at the Lake District wildlife park, I’ve got a real soft spot for Brian the Gibbon.

Have you ever had a reunion with an animal you haven’t seen in a long time…

Yes!  My dear Dominica, an Amur tiger – about a year after I left the HWP, I returned to visit old friends and Dominica threw herself towards me, head rubbing against the barrier and chuffing – Chuffing is a non-threatening vocalisation . It is often used between two cats who are greeting each other, during courting, or simply by a mother comforting her cubs, exchanging chuffs with their keepers in a way to express a greeting or excitement. In order to vocalise a chuff, Dominica’s mouth is closed and she blows through her nostrils, producing a breathy snort…

Which animal at LDWP are visitors usually most excited to see?

Goodness, a tough question!  I think people enjoy the antics of the lively animals like the otters, gibbons and lemurs, but also the gentle behaviour of the tapirs as well as old favourites like the parrot.  And then of course we have adorable babies from tiny micro-pigs to lemurs and zebra.