IAMA Zookeeper with an hour (probably) to kill before our new giraffes get here AMA [end of the season update]

I thought the title meant you had an hour left in which to kill all your giraffes before the giraffe delivery guy brought you another batch

That's what everyone thought the first time I posted it.

Yeah I totally asked myself "Are giraffes in season?"

I hear the meat isn't very good

send us pics of the new giraffe

Jambo CeCe

Seriously, how do you resist not hugging them?

By feeding them treats. I would probably get kicked if I went in for a hug

Jambo is a great name for a giraffe! Where did he come from?

She came from Louisville Kentucky and she's probably my favorite giraffe

I was gonna ask how long does it take them to hit the ground.

Follow up question. Have you ever seen a giraffe throw up? If so, what's it like.

I would assume it only takes a couple of seconds for them to fall over when they die.

They're ruminants and chew cud, so they throw up several times a day. If you look close you can see the lump going up their neck.

It's spelled geraffe. Stupid long horse.

Really?

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What are giraffes like in the presence of humans? Can you simply approach them and pet them, or would they kick a person (or run away scared)?

How intelligent are giraffes? Do they communicate with each other? Can they be taught tricks? Can they recognize individual humans?

Giraffes are incredibly stupid. That said, you can't outsmart them.

They evolved as prey animals so they are always alert. Any new changes to the yard or their daily routine and they won't cooperate. We put new fencing up in the yard and they didn't approach it for 3 days.

When we bring visitors down to the barn all the giraffe turn and stare, and you have to move slowly so you don't scare them.

What's interesting about giraffes is that they communicate with very little or no noise. I do recall reading in one of the care books that they can use infrasound.

They're not called tricks anymore, instead they're called behaviors. For giraffe you can teach them various things, but we never had time to. I've seen some pretty cool things other zoos have done with their giraffes.

As for recognizing people. I think they can because after a week of working in the barn they knew I wasn't going to harm them. They also recognize our voices when we call them on the deck.

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Was he just naturally curious of the cyclists, or was he standing his ground? I was a bit confused, as the cyclists really weren't doing anything to agitate the animal.

He was probably trying to scare them off thinking they were predators

If they're very skiddish and timid, how does the San Diego Zoo have the "Feed the Giraffes" attraction?

Are they specially trained or is food a big enough factor for them to get over their paranoia?

Most zoos have a "feed the giraffe" Attraction including us. Love of food, especially food they don't get very often, overrides all fear. We give them rye crackers as their special treat and they eat it like candy.

When I fed Kimba, he wrapped his tongue around my hand when he took the cracker. I was simply giddy with joy from that.

He'll do almost anything for some crackers

ಠ_ಠ

But he won't do that!

try feeding him a marshmallow, i give them to my horses very, very infrequently, and they can just tell when i have one, ill be a good 300 feet away and they will come running.

we've done marshmallows before if they won't take a pill.

What is the cutest thing giraffes do? Do they play games?

Just in general they are pretty adorable. They're very curious about whatever you happen to be holding.

As for playing, they don't really. They like to run when the weather is cool and sunny. Some of them liked to mess with the Crowned cranes we had in the yard, those poor birds.

How woulda giraffe mess with them

They'd chase them around or just stand too close and the cranes would get all upset and start leaping at the giraffes

Do giraffes use their long necks to do anything cool other than eat leaves?

The males use it to fight with each other. Their necks can be 6-8 feet long, weigh ~200 pounds, and they have ossicones(horns) on top of their head, along with some small ossifications under the skin along their neck.

Somehow they remind me of horses: nicest critters in the world, but when they fight/play, it's pretty darn impressive.

Indeed it is, who knew 1500lb+ animals could move like that.

I saw a video clip of male giraffes fighting on nat geo or something. It was brutal how hard they hit each other when the necks look so fragile.

Yep, one either backs down or dies. Their necks weigh around 200 lbs and are roughly 6-8 ft long

So when a fight happens, you have to intervene? That must be scary as fuck.

Edit: Nevermind, you only have 1 male.

I don't think you could, much like when the elephants rough house we can't go out and just say "knock it off!"

How does one get into the zoo world? Are zookeepers veterinarians who focus on specific animals? How many different zookeepers are staffed on a zoo (one zookeeper/species)? How close are the conditions in the zoo to the conditions the animals would have in their natural habitats?

Sorry that these are pretty random and varied - just some initial thoughts I had about zoos.

I started working at the Pittsburgh zoo as a Kid's Kingdom Attendant at 18 and went on from there. To go on means I took internships that eventually led to a seasonal job which should lead to a full time job.

We are not vets. We may know a lot about the animals we care for and do some little fixes, but all major things are done by the vet staff.

Depends on the zoo. I volunteered for a wild animal refuge and they only had 4 people taking care of all the animals (probably ~200). At Cincinnati the average for keepers per department was probably 5.

Once again it depends on the zoo. I've seen some real shitty zoos, not just the ones in china and third world countries. Our animals at Pittsburgh and Cincinnati were very well cared for. We give them plenty of food and toys to play with, as well as other enrichment items. We also do training which can be mentally stimulating for the animals.

However, it can never be compared to the wild. I just don't see a future where we won't have zoos because lets face it, we've essentially destroyed the planet.

However, it can never be compared to the wild. I just don't see a future where we won't have zoos because lets face it, we've essentially destroyed the planet.

That's a little depressing :/

Also, the first part of (the book) life of pi was essentially an argument for the existance of zoos and rebuking a lot of misconceptions about zoos. If you've read it, do you agree with the main points?

I have not read it, I probably should though.

Have you ever been to Riverbanks Zoo?

Nope, where is it I'll probably go there one day

Is it true that giraffes are super gay?

Ours aren't

In case anyone thought I was being an ass, here's the TIL

I never saw that before, interesting.

Come on, admit it. They totally are.

I've never seen the females trying to "get busy" with one another, and we only have 1 male.

What will their names be? Who decides this?

Sometimes it's keepers, sometimes we hold polls on names, or if you donate enough money you can name them whatever you want.

If I donated enough money it would be Ul'tharax the devourer of souls, or something else utterly ridiculous.

edit: I accident a word

With enough money....you could do anything....even buy the zoo itself.

Which is what I want to do...

Fun fact. Keepers generally dislike having those polls for names. At my zoo, the public voted to name our new baby sloth... any none of us ever use the name. Especially since the public picked a girl name, and the sloth ended up being a boy...

Do you really think we want to name our animals CeCe or Jambo over their original names of Sophie and Amani?

NOPE! Although, on the flip side, a lot of our keepers were too lackadaisical to bother naming their animals (which makes no sense to me.) The upside of that was I got delegated the task of naming some of our unnamed critters, as it was agreed that I picked cute names hahaha it's the little things in life.

I have played games like Viva Pinata and Zoo Tycoon for most of my childhood, so I too am skilled at naming various animals high five

White Tiger 6 has given birth.

There are not enough shelters in this exhibit.

Also fuck those clouded leopards, I made that exhibit perfect and they were still sad as hell.

How much to name one "perche"?

Someone in Pittsburgh paid $4K to name the giraffes Mel and Buddy. The new ones we got at Cincinnati were donated for $40k and they named them CeCe and Jambo

i'm your guy!

i went around your zoo, you got some BAD animals, man.

you don't have to put up with bad animals man, i'm your guy. i'm the guy that goes around and beats the animals so they behave.

i'll beat up a lion, i don't care.

let me know, man.

When can you start? We have this panda that's being a real jerk.

What was it like working with elephants? What did you do when you worked with them?

Awesome and scary.

Awesome because they're the largest land mammals and incredibly smart.

Scary just thinking they could grab you and you're pretty much helpless

I only did clean up and diets. So clean the stalls, cut up the food, prepare enrichment items for them. I did also go out in the yard with the full timers to help with poop duty and shows. Oh and I helped with the paintings and extravaganzas.

I want to do that! How do I get the job? It's literally my dream job.

Bio degree in school coupled with experience working with exotics.

Best way to do this is to spend your summers and free time doing internships or volunteer work at the local zoo.

I went to a zoo in Florida with my cousin a couple years back. My favorite part was the giraffe. Being 6'4" having something who's neck is as big as you is incredibly frightening and yet awesome at the same time. We got to feed them too which was a great experience.

My question- why do giraffes like to lick trees? I saw one just ignore everything and just lick a tree over and over again.

They like to strip the bark off the tree and eat it. My guess would be he's looking for left over pieces to munch on

Do you think the animals are happy in the zoo? A friend of mine completely hates zoos because the animals are not happy there or something.

I know they are. Most of the animals we have were born in captivity and have never been to the wild.

what is something an animal did that amazed you?

Our youngest giraffe leapt about 3 feet in the air and landed on an island in the middle of the yard surrounded by rocks. Then she climbed down without falling and breaking a leg.

She's been copying the goats in the next pen?

Nah she's just young and limber and wild

What Do giraffes sound like?

They rarely make any vocal noises but when they do it sounds like a sheep. Most of the other noises they make are grunts and snorts.

How do you keep males from fighting over females?

We only have 1 male and won't get anymore. I know a couple of zoos have all male herds and they seem to get along fine. If we did get another male they would probably be out on separate shifts.

I was going to ask you what are your opinions on the Cincinnati Zoo before clicking the thread. What a coincidence you work there! What is your favorite exhibit there?

I really like the new africa exhibit (no not a marketing ploy). It's just very well done for the little space we have left.

It sucks being an old zoo because we have nowhere to expand except within, and we only have ~60-70 acres.

It's 3:00 am, the doorbell rings and you wake up. Unexpected visitors. It's your parents and they are there for breakfast. You have strawberry jam, honey, wine, bread and cheese. What is the first thing you open?

My eyes

What is a cool fact about giraffes that you haven't already mentioned in this thread?

Bonus question: How big is the niche of Biologists specializing in giraffes?

Cool fact? hmmmm. Oh here we go! So you know how when you lie down and get up really fast you feel dizzy?

That doesn't happen to giraffes. Since their necks are so long they developed a special type of valve or netting that controls blood flow to and from their head.

Also their heart rate is about twice ours.

I wouldn't think the niche is very big for specifically giraffes.They do fall under biologists that study all hoofstock which I would guess is very full.

When does a zoo worker ever graduate from poo duty?

Never, we call it job security.

What's the craziest thing you've seen an animal do to a worker?

The giraffes tried to kick the keepers if they were agitated. There was also a story a number of years ago about someone getting their arm ripped off by a polar bear.

Being an animal keeper at a zoo is my dream job, I'm currently in school for animal sciences. What advice could you give me? Getting experience I know is really important, is there anything else that helped you get to where you are?

FINISH YOUR DEGREE!!!

I wish I finished maybe it would help me more now. Also do any internships or volunteer work you can so you don't have to do any once you graduate. Last thing is be willing to move to another state or country to get a job.

Do Giraffes have a favorite food? I got to feed lettuce to some Giraffes when I was in Colorado, and they seemed to enjoy it.

Ours go nuts for rye crackers. Generally we give them an apple, lettuce, half a sweet potato, 10-16 lbs of grain and various browse (tree branches) every day.

I have a super love for giraffes, do you think I could ever own one? All I want to do is hug a giraffe.

Get on the waiting list for lap giraffes. That's the only way to go, unless you have space for an animal that gets up to 18 ft and 4200 lbs.

What's the weirdest thing you've seen a giraffe do?

Weirdest and funniest

She was sitting down and eating all the grass around her. None of the other giraffes do that.

Have you ever been to the Toledo Zoo?

If so, did it live up to the expectations?

It's funny you ask. I actually do take "zoo trips" where I go to another city simply to visit the zoo.

Toledo is super small compared to Cincinnati, but the exhibits are newer and nicer, overall I enjoyed my day there. I also applied to work there but never heard back.

What do you think about Cleveland's zoo?

Haven't been, going on monday or tuesday.

Are they as skittish as I've heard. People say they are curios creatures, but at the slightest jump they will fall over each other and sprint away

It's true, I brought down a new garbage bag and a breeze caught it blowing it violently. The giraffe proceeded to lose their shit and sprint around the yard.

How does one transport a giraffe?

A really tall truck? What about bridges?

Found it!

A giant horse trailer. I'll see if I can find the picture I posted.

So, giraffes.. Too tall?

16.5 feet, maybe just a little bit. Here's what an eye level shot looks like Heads up there's a giraffe penis in this picture

I read this as Zoolander and now I'm disappointed. Can you post a picture of your best blue steel?

There's only 1 blue steel, but here's a selfie

You must get very attached the the animals in your care, what was the saddest moment of your career thus far?

Nothing yet. Had I worked more with the giraffes 2 years ago I probably would have been sobbing when they had to put down the baby giraffe.

why did it have to be put down??

She broke her leg and it didn't mend properly.

Much like horses when Giraffe break their legs it's a horrible situation

What are the coolest animals to care for? The "Frank Sinatras" of the zoo.

Elephants or Big cats. There was hardly a day when we didn't have a "meet the elephant" tour. We also had Extravaganzas that people would pay for $500 got you and one other person a 90 minute tour of the building ending with an elephant bath and a painting. We had one every week all summer

Dude . . . don't kill those giraffes

I didn't plan on it

At my local Zoo, which I go to a lot cause of my kids- there are several Giraffe keepers. They allow you to purchase a carrot or sweet potato piece to feed to the animals. Some of the keepers have no issue with touching the animal's heads or necks (It's on an elevated platform) and some say not to do it. Which is better for the animals?

is touching the animals dangerous to their health? if so, why would they allow people so close, their hands are all over the food and mouth area of the animals.

Ok so ours do not like being touched in the face and I compare it to this, do you want people touching your face?

I have seen places that do a lot of tactile training with giraffes and they will let you pet them.

It all comes down to the zoo, also if it's a public event they probably said it to avoid having everyone touching the animals and possibly stressing them out.

Is it possible to work at a zoo without any degrees or is it a must have?

Also did you get to choose which animal you worked with?

It is still possible to get a job without a degree (I did) but you have to make up for it with work experience. I plan on going back to finish my degree once I have a full time job.

I apply for whatever positions are open so I don't really get a choice of what animals I work with. Once I put in a couple of years I could transfer if a spot I want opens up, but I'll be happy just to have a full time job.

if a spot I want opens up

And people hang onto those damn jobs for decades. I quit the St Louis Zoo because it would have been a long time before I could get a single weekend day off. I didn't realize how much it would suck having Tues and Wed off.

Oh hey that was my weekend, weds and thurs. Yea everyone is always busy when I want to go out, also everyone is going out on Friday Saturday while I'm at home in bed by 10

Yep. I didn't think it would suck enough to make me quit doing what I loved, but it did. Oh well. I have experience now so I could always go back, probably. More likely though I will just do it after retirement. Become a docent!

What do you do now since you quit?

People keep asking if I want to go back and I do, but I just couldn't stand my boss. I didn't care about weekends or time off since I was just temporary, but goddamn did I hate that guy. I could make the barn spotless and finish in under an hour and he would still find something to bitch about.

You will need much longer than an hour. You will have to first tire the giraffes out before you even have a fighting chance. Honestly, 2 hours at least to physically exhaust the Giraffe before you can actually attack it. A heavy blunt object is really the only way as knifes are not long enough to critically wound a giraffe, and their skull protects there brain to well. By the time you are done your hands will be bruised from striking it so many times.

Nah, 30 minutes tops. Close it in a small space with no escape and then just keep stressing it out, it will have a heart attack.

I'm on my 3rd month as an intern at the Toledo Zoo. I'm only in the avian department though. Any advice on how to make a better impression? Did you work with any of the education interns there ? One of my classmates was one a few months ago.

You want to try and mix both speed and quality when you clean. It was hard for me to figure that out.

Was he/she an education intern or a wild encounters intern?

Do you have superpowers when it comes to getting the Facebook riddle?

Nope, still got it wrong. I just had my own giraffe pictures to use

Which do you prefer, giraffes or elephants, and why?

Giraffes. I just like them, I don't know why. Maybe it's because they look cute and are so curious.

What's your favorite color?

Close one between Blue and Green

If you were running Jurassic park, what would you have done differently. Think anything: layout, personnel, exhibits. Both to avoid the disaster and make it cooler.

No carnivores. Everything else looked ok

What is your favorite animal? :D btw I love giraffes cutest things (besides sloths)

I can't decide between wolves, giraffes and camels. They all hold a special memory for me.

What's the special memory about camels, seems intriguing

First animal I trained by myself. Also they're pretty cute

I've been to many zoos before, and every zoo I've gone to it seems like the animals are sad. Are the animals in the zoo that you work at sad? Do you think animals in most zoos are sad?

People try to anthropomorphise animals too much. Humans and animals have different ways to express happiness. Our animals were happy and you could tell by the little things they did.

Other animals, big cats, reptiles, birds, etc. Are happy doing what they do in the wild, sitting around, basking, maybe running a bit.

How do they sleep with their long neck ?

They sleep for about 2-3 hours a day with their head bent around on their rump

I want to work with the elephants. How do I get a job cleaning up the elephant house or caring for the elephants? At the Cincinnati zoo.

Well have you ever worked with any exotic animals before?

No. :( but I'm a quick learner and extremely passionate about animals. Especially elephants. I'm also pretty smart.

Do you live in cinncinnati?

Do you work at all with the zoo's Dendrobatids or Viperids/Elapids?

Nope, that's reptile departments job. I do have my own collection of reptiles at home, nothing venomous though.

Whatcha keep?

Alright I have no more mail so here's the list

2 Leos (unnamed)(sex unknown)

2 Gold Skinks (unnamed)(1 male and 1 female)

1 Tropical Girdled Lizard (Armadillo lizard) (Armando)(possibly male)

1 Beardie (Amani)(Female)

1 New Caledonian Giant Gecko (Terry D)(sex unknown)

1 Ball python (Bertrand)(male)

1 Corn snake (Scarlett)(sex unknown)

1 Woma Python (Xavier)(male)

1 Boa Constrictor (Jezebel)(Female)

How much do you make? Does salary increase with experience?

It depends on where you go. I applied for a job in kansas that was going to pay $8/hr

Cincinnati was a top paying zoo where I made $15.81/hr at the start of the season and $16.21/hr at the end

I live outside of Cincinnati and have a zoo membership (it was a gift).

When is the best time to go (meaning, least busy with most stuff going on)?

Also, do you like working for the Cincinnati Zoo? Is there anything they do that you don't agree with?

Cincinnati is a great zoo (not lying) we're also the greenest zoo in the country.

Best time to go would be now on the weekdays. Show season is over, but even during the summer during the week wasn't too busy.

How do you think giraffes looked before Ford messed with them?

Is this some sort of reddit joke because I don't get it.

I saw the words "giraffe" and "kill" in the same sentence and immediately braced for the worst.

Why would we want to kill our animals?

Are the geraffes dumb

In a sense yes.

Just curious if the people with degrees who you work with are all vet science? Because I'm going to school for animal science and just wonder if that's a common degree to have working at a zoo. I do have a minor in equine.. I could work with zebras!!

Anything Bio related can land you a job as long as you have experience. I do have a friend that got a job with a Music degree and 9 months animal experience

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCJ_lqliGWA

How true is this?

We'd get in super big trouble for that now.

Why are you killing the new giraffes?

I'm not it's just a misreading of the title

Do you not find it incredibly cruel to cage animals just so people can look at then through glass?

Why is it cruel? We give them food, water, shelter, enrichment items, medical care. Everything they need.

Second most of these animals are captive bred and have never been to the wild, nor would they make it in the wild.

Would it be nice to never have any in captivity? Yes, but that's not an option. Shrinking habitat, climate change, and most of all poachers have made it so that we need zoos to help raise awareness and help even more with conservation efforts to save the animals that are left in the wild

Have you seen what poachers do now to get Ivory?

I'm sure you're also aware that elepants and rhinos take a LOOOOONNNNGGGG time to mature and reproduce.

TL;DRAs most of the animals in zoos are captive bred, No. Consider them ambassadors for the survival of their species.

Is that a question you get a lot? I admit I have conflicted feelings about zoos myself. I have also seen some shitty zoos and there is nothing more depressing. What qualities do the best zoos have?

Everytime I mention working in a zoo or post pictures of the animals I care for there's always one "activist" who thinks they shouldn't be in captivity.

Anyone caring for animals should always place the animals first. Make sure they have ample food, water, shade, places to hide from the public. They should also have some sort of enrichment program as the animals we care for are there for life.

Space for the animals is the tricky part of the question. You can go and read about how elephants cover miles in a day, but they're looking for food and water, which we already provide them. So that takes care of the whole looking for food and water thing, but How much space do they need?

Look at dallas zoo or toledo their elephant yards are fairly new and pretty big from the pictures I've seen. We can't do that, we just don't have the space to expand and it sucks. So we do what we know and take the best care of the elephants we can. They all seem happy and content to just sit and eat all day.

No.

No what? You don't consider them ambassadors?

Don't fucking delude yourself. Zoos are businesses that make money. You are not "saving" the animals. You have plucked them from their homes and planted them in a foreign environment. Countless animals have died through the hands of zoo poachers. Don't pretend that zoos are mutually beneficial for both humans and animals. What a joke.

Alright well what's your plan to save them?