Keeper Work Experience: Day 1.

So an exciting first day of my work experience week as a Zoo Keeper. As soon as I arrived I was assigned to presentations. I was a little put off with the idea at first, as I don't agree with making animals perform, but as I learnt more about it I came to understand it wasn't a bad thing. The animals aren't made to perform unnaturally, but instead are encouraged to perform natural behaviours, such as flying, climbing and foraging. These are then used to educate the public, so they are able to understand more about these amazing animals and encourage them to contribute to their conservation.

We headed on down to the Macaws, Parrots and Kookaburra. These birds are absolutely gorgeous. We got straight to work cleaning up their mess and changing their water. They are use to human contact so they are easy enough to handle. We also provided them with enrichment, food hidden inside different objects to encourage natural foraging. The Macaws were given a box filled with shredded paper and they immediately got to work digging out their yummy food. I also had the opportunity to help with their training. Meg took the Curly, the Amazon Parrot outside and we stood about 10 metres apart. I called his name and put my arm out and he flew across to me. He was rewarded with yummy fruit and seeds.

Blue Winged Kookaburra. Photo by: aussiegall

I also had the opportunity to help out with some of the mammals used in the presentations. They have a female Binturong named Ezzy. Meg encouraged me to smell her fur, at first I was a little puzzled by the idea, but when I gave her a sniff I realised why, she smelt of popcorn! Her scent glands emit a pleasant odour, unlike most of the animal kingdom! We also gave her a box filled with shredded paper for foraging and she quickly stuck her nose inside to search out the tasty treats.

Binturong. Photo by: greenchartreuse

We then started on the Coatis, these little animals have the most curious noses. They stick up in the air and can rotate 60 degrees! I was given the opportunity to come up with a unique enrichment for these little guys. I came up with the idea of creating little material pouches of food tied with string and then hung up. We set them up in their enclosure and let them in. They went straight for the pouches and immediately began exploring them. It took them at least 5 minutes to work out how to get in and then they started ripping at them with their sharp claws. Meg was thrilled, normally they take 2 seconds ripping into a box, but this had given them a challenge!