Almost every time someone finds out I work at a zoo their eyes light up. “What a fun job that must be!” is the usual first thing they say. And they are right. Working at a zoo is one of the most fun jobs I can think of. It is also one of the most challenging and rewarding. Those of us who work here take for granted all the wonderful, cool, fantastic, incredible stuff/things we get to see/do every day. Seeing that light in the eyes and the hearing the awe and envy in the voice of others remind us that what we do is in fact unique. But it’s not like saying you work at a hospital or an insurance office. Those careers can be easily pictured. The average person has very little idea exactly what goes on behind the scenes at a zoo. I know I didn’t when I started volunteering here 6 years ago. That’s why this blog has been created – to give you a glimpse into one woman’s work at the zoo. So you too can share in the joys and fun (and the occasional heartbreak) that comes with working at Roger Williams Park Zoo.
My name is Tena and I will be your virtual guide to my little corner of the world here at RWPZOO. Here are some of the things I’ll be sharing:
-Life in the education department – any time you mix animals and kids hilarity and inspiration and learning will ensue. I’ll keep you up to date with our doings and tell funny stories and quotes as they occur.
-Enrichment – here at the Zoo we try our best to make our animals life as rich and full as they can be. That could be anything from walking the miniature Sicilian donkey (Willy, the greatest donkey ever!) to giving papier-mâché prey items to the wild dogs. Stay tuned for cool video and explanations from our general collection. Also, I am the enrichment co-coordinator for our education collection and will share the stories of this. There could be video clips of ferrets playing in a big box of shoelaces, pictures of our wallaby (Vincent) getting into his usual mayhem, or all other sorts of craziness.
-Training – I’m one of the people attempting to train some of our education collection to exhibit natural behaviors on programs. You can go along on this ride with me as I try to figure out how to keep getting outsmarted by such things as rats and opossums.
No two days are ever the same here so check in weekly to see what I have managed to get into. And to get to know what goes on here behind the scenes. After all, it’s your Zoo too.
