To the Zoooo!!

Well...On my travels to London, I thought I would make a day out of it and I went to the world famous ZSL London Zoo!! 

It has changed and improved so much since the last time I went there (which was about 4 years ago). They have updated their enclosures either by building new ones or revamping the old ones to modern enclosures, so much work and dedication has gone into ensuring the best possible welfare of the animals is to high standards and to modernize the enclosures. 

There are many reasons to visit and love a zoo; whether be it architecture, choice of species, design, conservation and/or nature, with many more reasons... but there is one reason why I love going to zoos, and that reason is for the reason of conservation and my passion for these species.

Walking around zoos, I generally look at the enclosures (and of course the animals) but generally evaluate the enclosures. I found that most of these enclosures are better than they were when I last went to the zoo, but some of them could be improved (as does many zoos enclosures, not just ZSL London Zoo). To be honest, in my opinion, zoos will never be able to get the right perfect enclosures, even if they do give the best enrichments, browse, substrates, heating, lighting and general design of the enclosures, to ensure the natural habitat is mimicked as closely as possible, but zoos nowadays will do everything possible to ensure the enclosures and the welfare of the animals is at a high standard.   

One part of the zoo that I have never visited before is the tiger territory enclosure as it has only just recently opened. The enclosure is well thought out to be honest (well from the old enclosure anyways), it has space indoors for the tigers to go if they want to be out of view, it also has good space for the tigers to roam around freely. It has a large tall platform where the tigers can relax up high as they would do in the wild, as they observe their territories from high vantage points. I like the fact that this enclosure has tall browse as well, purely because I feel the more browse there is in the enclosure the more relaxed and natural behaviours the tigers will show.

Mum tiger and three cubs on the platform 
(Taken by author at ZSL London Zoo)

Other enclosures I love are the rainforest walk through where the monkeys are walking/jumping around above you, you can watch for hours (because the monkeys are free to roam in a large enclosure with protection and shelter if needed, the fact that it is a hot and humid walk through enclosure that engages with the public), the new hippo enclosure (because the hippos have a much larger space with private areas for the species to roam; also with two swimming areas- one indoor heated pool and one outdoor swimming pool at the side of the enclosure) 

Outside enclosure of Pygmy Hippos
(Taken by author at ZSL London Zoo)

Inside heated pool of Pygmy Hippos 
(Taken by author at ZSL London Zoo)

and the penguin beach enclosure (this is purely because they have much more space to roam around and a much bigger pool to express their natural behaviours more often, and the fact that the public have much better views looking almost all around the beach with plenty of space to view the penguins without pushing and shoving!). 

Penguin beach information sign 
(Taken by author at ZSL London Zoo)

Penguin beach (Taken by author at ZSL London Zoo)

Another building I also love at London Zoo is the BUGS building, this is because it has small enclosures with lots of information around them- kinda like a museum! Also another one I love is the Reptile House and the Aquarium, the old looking buildings in the zoo, it makes you think you are going back into history (but you get a feel to the fact that keepers ensure their animals are kept in modern enclosures and standards!), you can never get enough of small bugs (they are awesome!!). 

Tarantula (Taken by author at ZSL London Zoo)

Locust enclosure (Taken by author at ZSL London Zoo)

Reptile House building (Taken by author at ZSL London Zoo)

All of the new, modernized enclosures (or even the old ones, maybe not as much though) have made a real difference in the way the public learn, understand and investigate about the species and conservation. When zoos design enclosures, it allows (well I sure do hope it does) the public to get involved in helping and conserving these animals and how important it actually is.

When zoos design enclosures, they should have an idea of what interactive and informational signs they will show, to include the public to get involved, learn and help save these species. I feel that the more interactive enclosures and signs are, the more chance the zoo has to encourage people to start thinking about conservation and how to get involved with helping these species.  

Experience, Experience Experience.....

Well…as most people probably don’t know, in the zoo industry to be a keeper, one of the most important aspects is experience- the more experience you have the better chance you have to getting a job in the zoo keeping industry.

So, to increase my experience as much as possible I have completed a work placement at the Wildlife Heritage Foundation- The Big Cat Sanctuary in Kent, UK and Completed a Five week Work placement at Colchester Zoo. 

Wildlife Heritage Foundation- The Big Cat Sanctuary has 58/59 wild cats in total, all coming from different backgrounds such as zoos, private collections and circuses. This has been a great experience for me, to work with wild big cats and small cats. It was a lot of physical hard work, duties are the normal really- which included feeding, cleaning, maintenance work in the enclosures and enriching the animals. 

The sanctuary is not open to the public, it is only open 4 days a year to the public, but to get the money they need to be able to care for these animals, the sanctuary provides services such as the big cat experience where people pay to feed the cats up close and personal, the Ranger experience where people pay towards a day with a keeper following them around the site on the day to day duties, photography days where people pay to photograph the animals and many more experiences to contribute towards the running of the sanctuary. 

WHF have provided funds to many conservation projects abroad to help towards the populations and conservation of these animals, linking together with many other organisations worldwide that carry the same or similar mission statements as WHF. 

WHF is also a member of EESP which stands for the European Endangered Species Programme, meaning it is a dedicated sanctuary to captive breeding of Big Cats within the EESP, which also provides a base for research and scientific knowledge of these animals. 

Back in may/June 2014, I have also completed a five weeks work experience placement at Colchester Zoo. Working alongside the full time keepers on the Gelada Section. I worked with Gelada Baboons, Meerkats, Flamingos, Colobus Monkeys, Red Ruffed Lemurs, Black and White Ruffed Lemurs and Smooth Coated Otters. Working with a variety of animals has been one of the best experiences I have have ever had! Even though working in a zoo environment is very hard work, working with different species everyday is a challenge. I carried out the normal day to day duties of a keeper- cleaning, feeding, enrichment, transportation of animals and also helped out with public animal encounters. 

Colchester Zoo was founded in 1963 and is now is one of the (well has been named #2) best zoos in the UK. It is well known for its enclosures that have been updated to modern enclosures which help provide a better life for the animals they house. Colchester Zoo supports many conservation projects and has many conservation breeding programmes across their animal collection. All of these programmes and projects are to help protect the endangered species. 

For me, working in a high standard zoo environment such as Colchester Zoo, has been a challenging experience. It has had its ups and downs meaning working in different weathers such as the heat in the sun, the torrential downpours of rain, and working on my feet all day with only a small break (thats the perks that come with the job I guess, lol) but it still has the best way of proving that this is what career I want to pursue in my life. Colchester Zoo has given me the opportunity to gain more confidence (even though I need to build more- which will come in time), more confidence in speaking to the public, taking my initiative and working alongside colleagues and also working by myself. 

Working at both Colchester Zoo and WHF, I have realized that you cannot just go into this industry without experience… You must have some knowledge and understanding, you must have as much experience as possible to be able to increase forwards.Almost all zoos and sanctuaries will take on work experience students or people wanting to progress in this career, this is probably due to the high amount of experience needed. It is better to get experience with a range of animals and not just one particular species, from this you will gain a higher chance of being able to become a keeper

Even though experience is essential, a degree or a diploma in animal management or some kind along those lines is generally essential as well due to you being able to prove you have the knowledge and understanding in working with animals. 

I have learnt on these two experiences that working in this environment is going to be extremely challenging and hard work! But..it does have the perks.. meaning you can get up close and personal to dangerous animals (with taking appropriate health and safety measures of course!) and even touching some of these animals when you may not get the chance to when they are in the wild. Some other perks would be handling and training these animals- which would be mainly to weigh and health check the animals, also carrying out veterinary procedures with the animals. 

As I feel that experience is necessary for zookeeping, I am literally now (as I have some free time) applying for work placements to local zoos and even some zoos that are far away from where I live. This is to make sure I get the best experiences as possible and the most I can get, even if it is just a week at some places, it is still experience! 

More updates on my experiences to come... :D

Videos....

Take a look at this!

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLj66U2wH7lOVrTQKNPixVSI7Rm4rasXom

This is definatley the best videos I’ve seen in a while… Its a record of my Peru study tour trip in February 2014!

It was filmed on a GO PRO camera, which is a small video camera that can be used just about anywhere!

These are such memorial videos of my time in the amazon! 

Hope you enjoyyy!

Adventures...

So Far...

Well.. I have been on many adventures throughout my lifetime, for instance I have been on many family holidays over the world- Caribbean, Europe, USA, Australia and many more!

But I have recently had the chance to complete four weeks in two very different places with my university! I went to Peru and to South Africa in Botswana :D

Both of these adventures were absolutely breath taking! These trips were for conservation purposes not for holidays (although it did feel like a holiday!) for my degree, to study about the different aspects of biodiversity and how the environment changes! These two experiences have been breathtaking and opened my eyes to the world of conservation. 

South Africa working at a wildlife reserve in Botswana; learning tracking methods and research skills to establish population numbers, population areas and the variety of species. In Botswana, I have seen many spectacular species in the wild such as Elephants, Zebras, Lions, Wart Hogs and many species of birds. 

Peru working at a tropical research centre in the Amazon rainforest; gathering information about population numbers, population areas and feeding habits of the primate species but also gathering information on what other species are habiting in the rainforest. In the Amazon, I have seen many species, for instance;Squirrel Monkeys, Titi Monkeys, Red Howler monkeys and many more, I have also seen many species of amphibians, birds and butterflies, not many species of reptiles though!

Seeing these animals in the wild in both Peru and South Africa, has just opened my eyes to the world of conservation, and why we actually try to conserve the biodiversity and ecosystems.

Throughout my life adventures, I have managed to go to a variety of Zoos, Aquariums and Animal Sanctuaries all over the world. I have had the chance to go to Australia Zoo in Brisbane, Port Macquarie Koala Hospital in Australia, Central Park Zoo in NYC, Lima Zoo in Peru, Cheetah and Bush Baby Sanctuary in South Africa and many UK zoos which include ZSL London Zoo, Chester zoo (which has been named #1 best zoo in the Country) and Colchester zoo. 

My next adventures will be Australia again in October this year for a month and then the USA next year for two months!!