Lory Park Zoo
Working in a Zoo
Frances Bell studied wildlife management with ACS DIstance Education. Learn more about her experiences working in a zoo.
What do students do after a Wildlife Course?
The following text is an extract from a newsletter written by:
Frances Bell
Wildlife Student
ACS Distance Education
Please note any opinions expressed in the document are solely those of the author and are therefore independent from ACS Distance Education, its employees or affiliates.
“Working at Lory Park has definitely been a different experience from Boskoppie. I’ve worked mainly with the birds here, though my section also includes primates and reptiles. After a 3 week stint flying under the radar, I was dropped into the hot seat as Section Head of Birds, Primates and Reptiles – despite telling the absolute truth about having no experience with zoos, birds of prey or breeding programmes. All this, when all I expected was to be feeding and mucking out animal enclosures!
My accommodation here has been in an old farm house, lots of room to spread out but there are quirks – like the handle on the toilet that sticks, the floors that seem to move like tectonic plates, the dodgy curtain rail that falls out at the least expected moments, and the general “ice-box” feel of the place no matter how high the outside temperature. Transport was non-existent for the first couple of months until I was able to get my international drivers license through – what a long drawn-out affair that was! I now have use of the work bakkie when I’m working, but am still as stuck as ever on my off days. Until a couple of months ago I had the house to myself, but in July I was told I was getting a housemate – yes, told, not asked. Fortunately, we get on reasonably well and the whole experience hasn’t been too bad. The landlord’s dogs, South African mastiffs called Boerboels, have taken a shine to me which has been jaw-dropping for the landlord’s wife…. On the rare occasions when I’ve been outside and seen the dogs, all 3 came trotting up to say hello. The female, Aster walks alongside me so closely that I can’t actually go anywhere, and the males Rollo and Otto are almost as bad.
…
So due to the lack of an afterhours vehicle, I’ve been nowhere and done virtually nothing until the last couple of weeks. I’ve made friends with a couple of the volunteers who come in to work with the parrots once a week, and one of them 
has taken me away from here on a couple of occasions recently. I went to a Spring Party where I met a lot of lovely people who showed me what true South African hospitality is all about. I’ve also been to Montecasino which yes, is a casino, but they have an awesome little bird park there as well. Last weekend I went up to Hartbeespoort Dam with my housemate. We visited Bushbabies Monkey Sanctuary and I was mightily impressed with the work they do there. They take in monkeys who mostly come from the pet trade, rehabilitate them and then, since release to the wild is not feasible, release them into a 7 hectare sanctuary to become un-habituated to people and form their own 
family groups. Conditions for them are excellent and I love the fact that even though they’re out in the open, they still have plenty of enrichment. We had a one hour walking tour and the highlight of that was the little Capuchin named Apie who is still undoing all his emotional ties with people – he decided that I was “it” and spent most of the tour cadging a lift, either on my head or snuggled into my fleece.
Other than that the social life is non-existent. Seems I rather foolishly assumed that once I was home I would have time to do my own thing. No such luck. Until very recently I spent at least one full day of my days off catching up on paperwork that I haven’t had time to do at the zoo.
One of the annoying things when I first arrived was the length of time it took to get an internet connection. The lodge where I’m staying has a connection but it doesn’t reach down to my end of the compound. Long story short, after a very frustrating 3 weeks I was able to get a dongle and don’t need to rely on anyone else for internet and email access. The good thing is that it will go with me so I shouldn’t run into that problem again. I also got a DSTV account (SA equivalent of Foxtel) so can veg out in front of the telly late at night.
There has been a lamentable lack of hands on at the zoo and I’m craving more interaction with animals. My first hand-rearing job was to raise a couple of baby barn owls – my first owls, very cute little babies who I named Darth and Vader on account of the hissing noise they made whenever anyone went near. They’ve long since gone to a local vet who gives them a nice big aviary and prepares them for release.
In my first week at the zoo I was also introduced – well, dropped in it, really – to the Southern Ground Hornbill recovery program. LP has two Southern Ground Hornbills which are part of a national breeding programme. We’re also supposed to get harvested chicks from Kruger to hand-raise, but since I’m now leaving someone else will be doing that.
Have had my share of lorikeet babies but only one has survived. He’s out in the “off-exhibit” section now, but he still recognises me and I go and give him a bit of a pat when I can. It was very hard to let him go out into the big outdoors when he used to sit on shoulder and whisper sweet nothings in my ear – and nibble it as well, as often as not.
All the training I was told I was going to get – on ZIMS, the zoo information management system; on hand-rearing; on doing faecal samples, on handling raptors; and on keeping studbooks - has failed to materialise so I’m a bit disillusioned about that. I’ve also tried to do a bit of rehab but I’m hamstrung in that department – the zoo has no dedicated facilities for wildlife so I can’t put them into properly heated environments, I also don’t have proper hand-rearing food for anything other than parrots and lorikeets, and I get shouted at if I spend too long fussing after animals. Just one of the disappointments of being here and one of the contributing factors to my going.
I’ve done my share of treatments on sick birds whilst I’ve been here. We had some lorikeets die and I had to give antibiotic injections to the remaining birds – 
roughly 100 injections in 3 days so I think I could say I’m on the way to mastering that skill. I’ve also done my share of subcuts with birds that come in way too weak to try to hydrate any other way. Have also been up to Jo’burg with a few sick animals and the vet there has kindly allowed me to sit in on all the consults, with the result that I’ve learned about dealing with different conditions in birds and reptiles. I also attended a Vet Day held at Jo’burg zoo in July, with lectures on anaesthesia and fluid replacement. I know – sounds very dry and boring but I enjoyed it – in the light of me wanting to go on and do my vet nursing qualification when I leave SA it was very valuable.
I had to medicate a sick White-backed Vulture as well which was kind of cool! He got so used to me that I was able to hand feed him, even when he was back in his enclosure with his mate. That all stopped some time ago now and with it being breeding season, I’m not game to go into the enclosures unless I absolutely have to. Besides that we’ve had the odd tortoise with rhinitis or with fungal shell infections; one of our ruffed black and white lemurs also had an eye injury so that meant 5 days of putting drops into his eye twice a day – he was really thrilled about that. Also had all our birds dewormed in May so spent the whole day catching up birds and recording what medication they had. Got to see what it’s like inside a living bird as well – our southern ground hornbills had to be scoped so we could see whether they’re going to be suitable as breeding birds and it was quite fascinating to see the testes in the male - as well as all the black carbon deposits right through the birds’ tissues from all the pollution around Jo’burg.
I set myself the task of hand-feeding our Bald Eagle with the aim of getting her into a footbath. It’s only recently that she reliably takes the fish when I offer it to her, so the footbath part hasn’t happened yet. I’ve also had the job of training two Spotted Eagle Owls which we use in our education programme. They were already part-trained before I got there but needed someone who was really interested in doing anything with them. They took to me pretty much straight away and I’ve got them flying really well. Next step is to get the more reliable of them, Spot, to free fly outside.
We have an adorable little ground squirrel called Cyril who is a fairly recent addition. He used to be someone’s pet so I try to spend a few minutes with him every day, just generally hanging out and giving him a tummy tickle. He’s very sweet, especially when I get the right spot and he just goes limp on my hand with a blissful expression on his little face.
Of my reptiles, the scariest is not Ruby the red-tailed boa, nor the huge albino Burmese python we’ve only just acquired – it’s Pepe, the green iguana! He was sick earlier in the winter and I had to orally medicate him – hmm, try getting a syringe into an iguana’s mouth while trying to manage teeth, claws and powerful tail, wearing a very unwieldy shoulder length glove AND do it left-handed to boot…. I also have to weigh all the reptiles on a weekly basis. That can be quite time consuming, not least because the big scales have to be lugged more than halfway across the zoo to weigh the leopard tortoises – our largest weighs around 22 kilos.
Have had my share of injuries while I’ve been here – anyone who thinks working with big cats is risky ought to try working with birds! I’ve been attacked a couple of times by spotted eagle owls and white-faced owls. I’ve learned that their talons are nasty affairs and that when you get a head wound, it bleeds spectacularly even if the wounds are not that deep! Was also attacked by a jackal buzzard last week – oh joy, as if I didn’t already have enough holes in my head! I’ve been bitten by parrots of all descriptions, had a foot in the eye from our Schalow’s turaco, and been scratched by the white-throated monitors and Pepe. Oh, and Skyrus the White-backed vulture has had a nip at me as well. I’m going to need tattoos to cover up all these scars.
It didn’t take long for some of the birds to become attached to me – within a week or so Pooh, one of the Umbrella Cockatoos, who is a complete ratbag with everyone else, took a shine to me. While he races across the floor to get to others so he can bite, he races across the floor to get to me so he can climb up my leg and we can have a cuddle. Cuddles not been happening so much lately – apparently spending time with the parrots is not what I’m supposed to be doing as part of my job, which makes me sad. I’ve had my share of bites from him as well, but there’s always a reason - sometimes it’s because I’m in a hurry which he hates, and sometimes it’s because there are other birds or people around and he gets jealous. And birds, when they’re jealous, bite whoever’s closest which was – yep, me! Not sure what Pooh’s history is but he has a prolapsed cloaca so I have to make sure he doesn’t get over-excited and pop it out.
Aside from Pooh, little Freddie has become very attached and thinks I’m his 
girlfriend. Freddie is a gorgeous African Grey and he loves to sit on my hand and regurgitate all over my fingers – a sign of true birdie love!! He also talks 
softly to me and sometimes gives me little kisses. Then there’s Chilli who’s a female eclectus, she’s a sweet little thing and once she’s on you she just doesn’t want to get off. She’ll also give kisses. There are two blue and gold macaws – a young male named Pepper who is very cheeky and is still seeing what he can get away with. Most of the time he’s good with me now and loves to have a head 
scratch. The other macaw, Zazu, is a female and she was the first bird to bond with me. Most of the time she’ll let me scratch her head as well and if she’s really smoochy she’ll sit on my arm and nuzzle her head against me. Macaws blush when they like you (also when they’re feeling aggressive), so cool that both Pepper and Zazu blush when they see me and it’s not based on wanting to bite! It’s breeding season now so 
quite a few of the birds get jealous, and I can’t go near the outdoor aviary without half a dozen of them trying to get to me and fighting with each other along the way.
We have a little Ducorps cockatoo, Frasier, who took a long time to get used to me - however, I started playing peek-a-bird with him and that seems to have worked a treat. He comes running now when he sees me and is always up for a scratch. There are two other Umbrella cockatoos - both males, one called Gabby who took a while to warm up to me but is now good, and the other one is Basil.
Basil is very young (5 years old) and very cheeky, and it’s also taken him a while to decide that I’m OK. He’ll step up onto my hand now but I have to be wary with him cos he’s just as likely to try to bite – however I’ve been trying to teach him to shake hands and that seems to have helped. He’ll even give me little kisses – I make sure I do that through the bars of his cage though cos I’m not altogether sure I’d trust him if he had full access to my face! We have to make sure Basil is locked away from people on busy weekends – he was tormented by children in his former home and hates them with a passion! He’ll sometimes sing Happy Birthday – he doesn’t always get all the way through it but it’s very cute to hear. Then there are Rex and Sam – both Moluccan cockatoos, bothmale and both totally different. Rex is a real people bird and he’ll have a head scratch from anyone. He also tries very hard to get some of Sam’s porridge in the mornings by saying “hello” in the sweetest voice he can muster – I’ve been trying to teach him to say “may I please have some breakfast” by way of a change, but I don’t know if he’ll latch on before I leave. We usually take Rex as a contact animal if we have schools in, because he’s the most relaxed and reliable around people. Sam has a sad history, he landed on the side of a leopard cage in the distant past and had one leg ripped off by way of a hello… must have been awful, but he manages remarkably well for what the comedian Peter Cook once referred to as a “unidexter”. The only thing we have to watch out for is that he doesn’t get pressure sores on his foot so it’s a case of constant monitoring, and sometimes I bandage his foot to give him a bit more padding. He likes to swing upside down on a rope and I’m sure it must feel nice to have that foot in a different position sometimes. Sam also has kidney disease so he’s on a restricted diet. It’s a constant battle to keep his weight up as well but despite these problems, most of the time he’s quite a happy bird.
The rest of the birds have not got quite so close to me – there’s another African Grey, a female called Harriet; two Indian ringnecks, a male and female named Bluey and Lucky. Bluey will sit on my shoulder and I’ve managed to teach him to whistle “how much is that doggy in the window” (my standard – my spies tell me the African Grey’s at the funny farm still whistle that one!) but Lucky gets really snappy with me, especially if she thinks I’m invading her space in her cage. Then there are Mango and Peach, male and female Jenday conures. These two are terrorists and sometimes work in tandem to get up on your shoulders and bite. Mango always wants to be where I am when I go near the aviary but it’s not for a cuddle – he wants to bite! At least I can get these two to step up when it’s time to go in or out though – unlike Zulu and Oliver, our two blue-fronted Amazon males. They do an awesome double act and I wish I could record Zulu’s call to use as a ring tone. They also always want to bite – I’m not sure what that’s about, but I can tell you from first-hand experience that being bitten by an Amazon is not something you want to repeat if you can possibly help it. They’ll sometimes get off their perch to come for me across the aviary and though I usually try to stand my ground with them, there have been times when I’ve decided enough’s enough, and they end up getting back to their night-room by chasing me all the way there!
Sorry, I rave, but I do love my parrots…. All but two of them have come from homes where the people have either moved overseas, or not been able to look after them for one reason or another. Poor little Frasier has had about 5 different homes, I think he was the one who bonded so strongly with his female 
owner that he bit right through the husband’s Achilles tendon and hence was given up. Poor boy – he’s been so stressed by the changes in his little life that he’s feather plucked quite badly, and I don’t think there’s much chance that the feathers will grow in properly ever again. I can’t fathom how people can just not see how awesome these birds are, and I wish more people understood how much love and attention these critters need before they go buying one. They’re like 3 year olds in terms of both emotional and intellectual development, they need more attention than a dog does and quite a lot of them live the equivalent of a human life-time. I’m honoured to have had the time with them, and attention from them that I’ve had, but I can’t help thinking they would have been much better off if they’d been born free to do what birds are supposed to do rather than being bred for sale, and to bond with other birds instead of people. I absolutely love them to bits but I don’t think I would ever have a bird as a pet – it’s not fair and it’s not right. And in any case – who would I give custody to in my will? I don’t know of anyone younger than me who’d be prepared to take on a long-lived bird.
While we’re on the subject of parrots, I’ve learned how to do nail and wing clipping. Well – I say I’ve learned how to do wing clipping but I’ve learned the owners’ way, which I’ve since found out is a very lazy way of doing it. If nothing else, I think I’ve at least mastered the art of restraining a parrot!
The Schalow’s turaco, called (predictably) Schalowi, likes to land on my head whenever I go into the aviary – which is cool if she’s in a good mood cos I just wear her like a living hat, and not so cool if she’s in a bad mood because then she just wants to peck my head. I can usually get her to sit on my hand if she’s in a bit of a mood and if I can give her a bit of food as well, that usually settles her.
Haven’t had much to do with the cats here, which is a bit of a bummer. I’ve helped out with petting a few times, with the leopard cubs, the lion cubs, the cheetah cubs, and the serval and ocelot cubs. I had been told I was going to get proper training on hand-rearing cubs but that hasn’t materialised either – despite us having new cubs in the last month or so. I did get to bring a cheetah cub, Tarka, home with me for about two weeks – he got slashed by another cheetahs dewclaw whilst playing, and had stitches so had to be monitored 24/7 for a while. He slept on the bed with me one night… but that came to an abrupt halt because he also left me a couple of less than welcome messages! He also used to 
sit on the lounge with me and watch TV – and if he couldn’t get comfortable, he’d kick me off the couch! Sadly, little Tarka is not in a good way – they’ve recently found lesions on his spinal cord and we’re still waiting for the vet to tell us what options he has.
I’ve also been in charge of “feeder” animals – which no-one who knows me will be surprised to learn that it goes right against the grain. I know that the animals we have in captivity need to be fed, but I’m really not a fan of having to raise critters knowing that they’re going to be used as food. Those of my rehab buddies who had the same shifts as me well know how averse I was to touching mealworms – remember how obsessive I was about using the sieve? I am now the Mealworm Queen and care of these wrigglies is up to me. I’ve fed and sifted and sorted, and the other day – before I even realised what I was doing, really – I found myself picking out mealworms by hand. A process which, a year ago, would have given me the heebie-jeebies! I’m also in charge of looking after crickets, and of making sure our mice and rats are properly looked after. This is the saddest part of all and I admit that I elect to be elsewhere when we’re told we have to euthanase some of them. They’re not pets but some of them are very used to people and I have days where I almost wind up in tears thinking about what future is in store for them. On the subject of feeder animals, I rescued a couple of little chicks that came out of the bags we get from the local hatchery – somehow they survived being gassed so I took them home to raise them. Unfortunately they didn’t make it beyond the age of a couple of weeks – I’m guessing the gas did some damage to their respiratory systems, but at least I tried to give them a few more days of life away from the horrible factory farming system.
…
I’ve been on a roster which includes having two weekends off and one on - but on my weekend on, I have to act as Duty Manager for the entire zoo. Oh joy…. There’s also a fair amount of paperwork involved which I don’t mind doing, except that I often don’t get time to do it so have ended up either staying late or bringing it home. Work hours are long – I’m at work at 7 and not finished till 4.30. Officially I have a tea break and a lunch break but it’s only recently that I’ve actually started taking those. …
…
…
…
I’ve also been roped in on more than one occasion to do contact animals with school tours, and on one of my days off I had to take Spot to a couple of scout groups for presentations. Considering that I don’t really like doing it, it didn’t go too badly – would have been better of course, if I hadn’t had to give up one of my off days to do it. At least I got a day in lieu though, so I ended up having a three day weekend the next time I was off. What I didn’t get time in lieu for was the night I had to spend at the zoo monitoring one of our serval, Evee, who degloved herself and ended up having to have a full amputation; …
… On the plus side, I’ve been published…. I was asked to write an article on vivisection for the local magazine and that came out in the September issue. ...
In spite of all that I don’t regret the time I’ve spent here. I helped those poor little critters as much as I could given the limitations I had. I’ve met a few lovely people … and I’ll be keeping in touch with them once I’m gone. I’ve also had a couple of visits from friends I made at the funny farm, which has helped to keep me sane. I’ve gained a lot of experience with different animals and a lot of experience giving treatments. I’ve tried a number of working situations with animals now, and I can categorically say that lion and tiger mills, and zoos, aren’t for me.
I’ve spent a lot of mornings thinking “I wish I was home” rather than thinking “oh cool, I work in a zoo, can’t wait to get there” – and that’s kind of soul destroying. So – due to all those things, and to not getting enough hands on with the animals, I’ve decided that it’s time to go. A lady always knows when to leave, right??
My next move – provided my application is accepted – is down to a rehab shelter in Durban, where I’ll be regaining my confidence before coming back to Jo’burg to catch up with a mate from the UK. I’m finally going up to Kruger with her – yay! – and generally hanging out for a couple of weeks, then I’m off to Capetown where I’ve been accepted into a couple of internships at SANCCOB, the penguin and seabird rescue place. Still making plans for what comes after that – but I’ve got plenty of them. The thing with South Africa is that there’s so much choice when it comes to working with animals.
On with the adventure!"
Would you like to work in a zoo? Why not have a look at our Zookeeper courses.
Zookeeper - 100 hour course
Zookeeping and Herpetology - 500 hour course
Primatology and Zookeeping - 500 hour course
[17/04/2024 06:22:03]
More from ACS
Short courses, certificates and diplomas -lots of home study options.