It was interesting visiting another zoo after I had been working as a zoo keeper for a while. I saw zoos with totally different eyes. Captivity has become something totally different to me, but that aside there are other details that I noticed. A lot of people ask me the “whys” of our zoo design. Some of them even say “well at such and such a zoo it was like this,” and they wonder why we don't do the same thing. Here's some big differences I've noticed between my zoo and the zoo's I've visited.

1. Enclosure sizes versus display tactics. One thing that I noticed while visiting Seattle zoo was that their enclosures were rather small compared to mine. My animals had a lot more space than theirs. However, they had very cool ways to view their animals. A lot of their enclosures had both glass installments that allowed you, for example, to see into their bear's den. They also had decks over the enclosures so that you could look down to view the animals. This combination made it so you could almost guarantee that you would see an animal in each enclosure. It was definitely interesting to see how Seattle zoo used “smoke and mirrors” to cover for their lack of space. A complaint I often hear at my zoo that visitors can't see our animals because the enclosures are too big. I consider this a fair trade off and since my main concern is animal health and welfare, I like it this way.
   
   

   

   At least the Eurasian Boar in the South American Section like the mud.

   
   
   
   
2. Cement versus natural ground. Our zoo has cement floors in our barns but the outdoor parts of the enclosures are natural. When I visited Calgary Zoo I was surprised at how much cement their was. There were hardly any trees as you walked through the zoo and all of their enclosures were either cement or hard ground. As a keeper I can see positives and negatives to both methods. Our zoo looks more natural; provides our animals with a more organic setting; and allows the grass eaters to feast on some fresh grass, but it also means the ground is soft and that makes it hard to maintain animal feet. The wolves don't wear down their claws as much and any hoofed animal will need regular trims. The other down side is that in the winter, it's very muddy. At Calgary zoo, I can see that they are better able to clean every inch of their enclosures because they can hose them thoroughly and the hard surfaces will be better for animal feet. The down side is that it's unnatural and the hard surface may be detrimental to the animals' joints.

   

   Kaos straddling the divide between nature and cement.

   
   
3. Different stories and personalities. I love getting a chance to speak with keepers about their animals at other zoos. I've said before that many of the guests I talk to have a hard time believing that animals have different personalities, but I know they do so I like to ask the keepers about their little buddies. I met a gibbon at the Calgary zoo who looked so sad. He was adorable but very pouty. I later learned that he had lost his mate recently and the zoo tried to give him another female companion to spend time with, but he doesn't like her, so he sits there and pouts. I also learned that one of Calgary zoo's tigers enjoys spraying costumers just as much as my lion and jaguar do. The main thing that comes with different personalities is a different visitor experience. We don't have the same outreach animals as other zoo because, for example, our Maribo stork doesn't like people as much as San Deago zoo`s so we can`t use him to interact with the public because it would stress him out too much. It also the main reason that my tigers either more or less playful than other zoo`s tigers and so on. It really just depends on the collection of animals at each location.

Next time you visit a zoo, try to think about why zoos look so different from one another. No system is perfect, but we try our very best to give visitors a good experience while also ensuring the animals are happy. Make sure you ask a keeper about their animals, trust me we love to talk about them. I grantee you'll learn something new.

For those of you who have been to a zoo before, you may have noticed that the animals behave a bit differently when their keepers are around versus when we're not. Animals recognize our vehicles, our voices and the way we look. Some times they take changes in our appearance very seriously. A co-worker told me that she wore contacts instead of glasses one day and the marmosets she took care of threw a fit. They chirped at her and ran away, frightened by this new, no-glasses person that had entered their habitat.

For Halloween, I painted my face black, white and orange to look like a tiger and the baboons were scared of me all day. I have to lock them inside to be able to get into the outdoor part of their enclosure for cleaning and feeding in the afternoon. The first day I wore the make-up one of the girls, Babs, wouldn't come in so I couldn't clean up outside. Babs chirped and alarm called every time she saw me and the two oldest males charged the fence. I wore the make-up the next day as well. I managed to get Babs to come in but when she looked down at me and I looked up at her, she screamed bloody murder. Stevie was the last to come inside that day, and he's usually the first or second one in.

This was the face paint that sent the baboons running

When I visit my animals outside of work time, OJ, my black jaguar, instantly recognizes me. He ran along the fence as I walked to meet him. I tried to see my little monkey, Tuzzi, but I knew he would be acting shy. He didn't come out for a long time and when he finally sat facing me by the fence he refused to make eye contact. He eventually looked me in the eye and then started acting all tough and angry towards me. 

It entertains me when people walk up to the fence of Sweetie's (Siberian tiger) enclosure and go “here kitty kitty.” Trust me, I know this cat and she won't be coming to you any time soon. Some people call at the animals in a playful way and others are just plain obnoxious. I tell those people to cut it out. There's a difference between wanting a connection with an animal and just plain old harassment. Kids are the cutest when it comes to their desire to connect with animals. If the animal they called at starts coming towards them, their eyes get all big and they think they're the next Dr. Doolittle. I try my best to find time to interact with kids and if I can, I'll bring a cat with me. OJ (Jaguar) and Hana (Siberian tiger) will usually come up to the fence when I'm there, so I try to call them over. If the cats won't come I explain that these cats have personalities and need to be respected. When the cats do show up, it's wonderful to see childrens eyes light up. What I see there is a spark of connection, which I always hope will led to a respect for animals in their adult lives.