by Clare Durst
I’ve been a docent now for seven years, working Mondays and Fridays. My daughter’s become a docent too, and she’s at the zoo most weekends. I’ll do almost anything I’m asked to, although I don’t usually handle the animals myself. Yesterday was a usual day: an hour or so talking to people about biofacts at the Africa table, and another hour observing the baby giraffe for signs of action – we’re recording how much he pees and poops and nurses and sleeps, to have a baseline to refer to in case he ever has problems.
My favorite station is the Africa table, in what’s called the “fishing village” (though there is no sign of fish). I love to watch the little kids in their strollers getting wheeled over to feel the soft pelts, and I like to talk to the older kids about the elephant tooth or the zebra tail. With the Nature shows on television now, the kids are mostly well versed in which animal is what, although we have a binder of pictures of all the animals whose parts we show off.
What does a zebra use his tail for? To show he’s happy? Good guess, but think again! The trick is to get the daddies interested, whether they are with their own kids or serving as school chaperones. It’s always a challenge to divert them with something to think about (why do antlers fall off?) so that they don’t jump in with the answers to all the questions I ask the kids! And when I’ve finished my spiel about antlers vs. horns, and elephant tusk vs. walrus tusk, I can always encourage a visit to the elephants to see THEIR tusks, or the giraffes, to see if their tongues really ARE eighteen inches long.
Right now we’ve passed the season when the carriage trade (strollers) is about all we see on gloomy days, and are into the Yellow Fever season, when the lots are filled with school busses. The school groups are so enthusiastic and most are really interested in the animals, and we’re happy to give them the inside scoop on food or care. Sometimes with the stroller crowd, the prime interest of the toddler is steps to climb on his own, more than the animals, and our zoo fortunately is really safe for them.
