Today I got this in an e-maill:
Though I am training to be a docent, which is spread out over 10 months, and once done, requires that I give about 60 hours of volunteer work a year, I wanted even more to work as a keepers aid. You get to actually be near and care for a certain species behind the scenes. That will mean I give an additional 96 hours a year.
I had signed up to work with birds & waterfowl (since I've gotten so much interaction with them here and would now like to raise some when I own some property), and the big cats (since when do you ever get to work near lions, tigers, jaguars, cougars and mountain lions......?).
I LOVE cats, but I actually was doing so much reading on the birds and have been able to observe and interact with them so much more in the park that I was kind of leaning towards working with them. The big kitties sleep 20 hours a day it seems, and one slip up and I could get eaten, lol, but scooping their poop is hardly the task of those working with elephants, for example. Always a bright side! Anyway, I'm thrilled, but I just have to switch gears in my head.
Shifts BEGIN at 7 AM ( I am not a morning person!)... but the joy of being with animals, helping others appreciate them and hopefully, get interested in protecting them and their environment makes all the rest a non-issue. On top of it I get great training and experience without having to go back to college. I figure after working with celebrities for the last 30 years, wrangling very large man eating animals at the crack of dawn will be a breeze.
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2 comments:
Ahhhh, this is wonderful! I am an Interpreter/docent at the National Zoo's Invertebrate exhibit. Not only do we work with guest, but we get to feed and help care for our animals, working directly with Keepers. Keepers' aides are invaluable at our zoo because they do everything from preparing food to water changes. I hope you enjoy it!
Wow Judith, that's a coincidence! I have spoken to some of the docents who've been doing it for 20+ years and they're fascinating to listen to... While as a docent you can handle certain animals -- and are encouraged to for educational purposes -- they separate the tasks of feeding and caring for the animals into the job of Keepers Aid. I'll have to see what it's all about and will let you know!
Thursday is the day I get my feet wet with carnivores...
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