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.
No comments:
Post a Comment