ARE YOU THE RAPTOR KEEPER? "No, actually, there’s usually four keepers on duty here at the zoo. And those four keepers could be in any one area. We split the entire area up into four so I’m area three today so I have the ferrets, these guys, the prairie dogs the elk, the bison, the peccaries, the rhea and then in the building next to the rhea there’s two parrots that live inside for the winter." AND WHAT’S IT LIKE BEING A KEEPR IN THE WINTER? "I like it because I’m not a summer person at all I’d rather wear ten layers of close and be warm than – in summertime you just can’t get cool. So I like it but if you ask my other keeper friends, they don’t like it." WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO? "In the wintertime, for all the exhibits, not everybody has automatic waters, so like today, that’s the water bowl from the red tailed hawk and vulture [showing frozen water disk] so you make sure they have water. Of course it’ll freeze again but at least they had it for a little bit. I cleaned up their dinner from last night, which was a rat, and the meatball, which was gone so the vulture ate all his meatball. There’s only a little bit left of the rat. The redtail hawk’s favorite part of the rat is the brain. Just as important as food and water, all the animals get enrichment and that is anything that you can put in their cage that will make them use their natural behaviors. So different food items that are different from their diet, scents like Old Spice or Aqua Velva, herbs and spices, puzzle feeders." YOU PUT THE SCENTS ON WHAT? "Depending on the animal, you can put it on their toys, put it on exhibit furniture. You can spray your shoes and walk around." AND HOW WILL THEY REACT? "For instance the wolves like to roll in certain scents just like your dog would if it found something cool in the backyard and wants to advertise or mask it’s own scent. The wolves also like to urinate on scents that they find, too.” Sierra Allen, animal keeper Elmwood Park Zoo, Norristown. Watch video here.
