It’s no secret that when you go to a zoo, you’re there to see the animals. They’re the stars, and at the best zoos, the animals shine. But behind the scenes (or sometimes out in the open) there are zookeepers and zoo docents that make your visit more enjoyable.
Some people view zookeepers like they view their insurance agent – you don’t really need to see them, just need to know they’re available in case you need something. But of our many zoo travels, we’ve been assisted by some pretty incredible zookeepers and zoo docents, and often times they’re the ones that make a trip memorable.
I immediately think of the keepers at the Chehaw Park Zoo in Albany, Georgia. This zoo was directly impacted recently by a hurricane, and their Facebook page has been chronicling their journey to rebuild the zoo, and every step of the way they’re giving credit to their keepers. We saw first-hand in 2015 the passion that those keepers have for the zoo and their animals. Even during simple encounters like a rhino feeding or camel feeding, the keepers would take the time to interact with you, teach you, and try to engage you to interact more personally with the animal. We remember Sam the rhino and Bogart the camel primarily because of those keepers.
While keepers traditionally have gone to school to study animal behaviors, zoo docents, on the other hand, are volunteers that assist in the visitor experience. You’ll frequently notice the difference between them as keepers are typically in the exhibit, and docents are outside of it (there are exceptions of course). The Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley, Minnesota stands out to me in regards to zoo docents. This zoo has very long loops, so there are points where you don’t have a quick return path in case of emergency. For this case, they have many zoo docents walking the paths. We were fortunate enough to be alongside one while walking on the Minnesota trail – they gave us insight as to how active the animals usually are, which ones just had babies, and other insider tips we wouldn’t have otherwise gotten to hear.
You may or may not have heard about the close call recently at the Jacksonville Zoo in Florida – according to the zoo’s Facebook page, a keeper went into the lion exhibit before the zoo opened that day to clean up. A nearby keeper noticed that the door from where the lion was to the exhibit where the keeper was had not been properly secured. The nearby zookeeper quickly notified the keeper in the exhibit of the situation, and they escaped by swimming through the mote that surrounded the exhibit. This is one of several “close calls” that have occurred in zoos across the country this year. But what was evident in that case (as in others) is that the zookeepers continually do their job in order to provide the best care possible for the animals. That is (and should be) the mission that zoos strive for…not solely for the purpose of the visitors.
So next time you’re at the zoo, take a few moments to interact with a docent – and be mindful and aware of the hard work that the zookeepers put in to care for the animals.
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