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