I am frequently asked: What has been your favorite animal to work with?
This is a tough question. Each animal I have worked with has come with its own complex personality and challenges. Each have offered me unique experiences and have taught me invaluable lessons.
I will share the following which describe common traits and behaviors I have experienced and how I have adapted when working with these groups of animals:
Large cats (e.g. lion, tiger, leopard):
- They have a tendency to be very playful once a positive relationship has been established. The length of time it takes to create a positive relationship depends entirely on the individual animal.
- With any large cat it is important to remember that direct eye contact is considered a challenge.
- Direct eye contact is not a right; it is earned through trust and respect.
- These are also general characteristics that I have applied to working with most small and medium sized cats.
*Special note: Mountain Lions (Puma concolor) are not classified as large cats despite their size. The reason for this you ask? They lack the physical apparatus to roar. They also purr, which large cats cannot. It is a fantastic thing to experience a mountain lion purring.
Hoofstock (e.g. zebra, deer, nilgai):
- Walk softly, speak softly, and be aware of blind spots. They tend to be timid because they are prey animals. However, aggressive behavior will be exhibited when males are in rut or from females when they have young nearby.
Ratites: (e.g. ostrich, emu, cassowary)
- These are the large flightless birds and I am sorry to say that in my experience, not so bright. I am sure there are exceptions and perhaps I have just worked with “special” individuals.
- I walk at a normal pace around them and yet keep my voice low.
They do have aggressive tendencies, again depending on the individual. I place cassowaries and ostriches in my category of “animals most dangerous to work with”. They can be very unpredictable.
Primates (e.g. lesser apes and monkeys)
- Tricky, tricky, tricky. These guys are always looking for trouble. As infants, they are sweet, cute, and very endearing. Like human children, they soon turn into cranky teens and would more than happily remove one of your digits or perhaps an ear if they decide they don’t like you.
- I cannot emphasize this point enough: They are much stronger than they look.
- It is important to spend a lot of time with primates to form a positive relationship with them. They are extremely curious and like to pick things apart.
- I always make sure my keys are out of reach and speak with a softer, slower tone of voice. I have also found that like with most everything, they especially hate to be startled.
Birds (e.g. parrots, macaws)
- The best way to describe birds is “particular”. I mean, particular about everything. As individuals they have definite preferences for food items, people, toys or enrichment items such as music.
- I have been dive bombed by hawk-headed parrots and nuzzled by cockatoos. The birds I have worked with seem to either love you or hate you the minute they meet you.
- I always initially approach with caution until the bird has a chance to pass judgment and seal my fate as one they will work with or not.
Small mammals (e.g. raccoons, opossums, skunks)
- Individual as they come. Some have been gentle, some aggressive, all with personal preferences for people, food, etc.
Mustelids (e.g. weasels, otters)
- I think I may have gotten lucky, because the animals from this group that I have worked with have been very playful and non-aggressive. I have however heard horror stories from other keepers. Again, I stress that every animal definitely has an individual personality.
- Otters have the smelliest poop I have ever experienced. Not only does their diet primarily consist of fish, but they also have musk glands. So, when they defecate, they release musk, and do a little poopy dance to spread their delightful aroma. This is known as scent marking, to distinguish their territory.
- However delightful they have been to observe and care for, they are without a doubt the most pungent.
Reptiles & Amphibians (e.g. crocodilians, snakes, lizards, frogs)
- I will extend this and construct another post about working with these types of animals. There is a lot to working with reptiles and a couple of paragraphs will simply not suffice.
Elephants:
- I want to preface this by stating that I have only worked with female Asian elephants. I have never worked with a male or those of the African variety. I am sure there are different ways to handle males and possibly even the African species. Maybe one day I will have the chance to learn, but for now this is what I have experienced.
- There are two ways elephants are worked with in captivity: free or protected contact. Free contact means that you work physically right next to them without a barrier. Protected contact is when there is always some kind of barrier between you and the elephants.
When I worked with my girls, it was in a free contact environment. - Many zoos no longer allow free contact because it is safer for the keepers.
- To work with elephants, the keeper must be commanding, yet subservient. Witty, yet playful. Always mindful of every physical step and tone used. Because they do seem to have an uncanny knack for remembering everything.
- They will also plot… especially if you forget their treats. You don’t know when or how they will do it, but forgetting treats does not go unpunished.
- It is always import to remember that elephants function within a matriarchal society and even the keeper must show respect for the big mama in charge. Upon the initial introduction, it is important to let the matriarch have the first look-see. She will use her trunk to check you out from head to toe.
- There is no simple way to describe working with elephants, except that there is a known power struggle: the keeper needing to be in charge and the elephants knowing who is really in charge.
- Elephants are by far the most challenging animals I have ever worked with and they really like treats.
This brings me to the end of this post. Of course there is more, but I cannot give up all my trade secrets at once.
