What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

Welcome to Our Forums. Once you've registered and logged in, you're primed to talk football, among other topics, with the sharpest and most experienced fantasy players on the internet.

Ask a zookeeper (1 Viewer)

valence

Footballguy
As a result of the job satisfaction thread from awhile back, I received quite a few PMs about my job. I thought I would start a Friday thread with the intention of answering any other questions you all may have. You can ask me things unrelated to zoo keeping and animal training as well

Any other zoo keepers in the FFA that I don't know about?

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Have the monkeys ever thrown poo at you? And if so, did you like it? Did you throw some back?

 
What is the most underrated animal (based on observed behavior that the public probably wouldn't see)?

Most overrated? I always thought Gorillas were overrated. The ones at the Dallas zoo just sit there all day.

 
Have the monkeys ever thrown poo at you? And if so, did you like it? Did you throw some back?
I've had fecal matter chucked at me by chimps, gorillas, and orangutans. I definitely didn't like it or throw it back. I've been peed on by squirrel monkeys. nasty little buggers.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
What is the most underrated animal (based on observed behavior that the public probably wouldn't see)?Most overrated? I always thought Gorillas were overrated. The ones at the Dallas zoo just sit there all day.
underrated: nocturnal animals. Not many zoos have nocturnal houses, but things like aye-ayes, tamanduas, galagos, bats, armadillos, etc are fascinating to watch in a well done night exhibit.Overrated: Lions and Tigers. Male Lions sleep upwards of 20 hours a day. If you get there super early, you can occasionally see some roaring and stalking behaviors, but they are few and far between. Gorillas are actually very interesting if it's a mixed group. If they are all geriatric then you probably won't see much. If they have a good mix of young and old in the troop then their complex social and political dynamics can be pretty interesting to watch.
 
Has any of your animals ever given birth to offspring with human faces?
not that I am aware of, but when I was at the San Francisco zoo, someone was caught trying to molest a cow on free day. I have many, many free day stories.
 
Have you ever thought that you can talk to the animals?
No, but training animals does involve a lot of "communication" between animal and trainer. I definitely feel that I have an "animal sense" in that I can read their body language and react in an appropriate manner.
 
What's the most dangerous animal to work with?
Dangerous is a relative term. any of the usual dangerous animals like big cats, bears, elephants, gorillas etc can be dangerous if you screw up (ie left a lock off a door) or someone else screwed up and didn't tell you, but little things like venemous snakes and insects and hurt you pretty bad too if you aren't paying attention to what you are doing.
 
What is the most underrated animal (based on observed behavior that the public probably wouldn't see)?Most overrated? I always thought Gorillas were overrated. The ones at the Dallas zoo just sit there all day.
underrated: nocturnal animals. Not many zoos have nocturnal houses, but things like aye-ayes, tamanduas, galagos, bats, armadillos, etc are fascinating to watch in a well done night exhibit.Overrated: Lions and Tigers. Male Lions sleep upwards of 20 hours a day. If you get there super early, you can occasionally see some roaring and stalking behaviors, but they are few and far between. Gorillas are actually very interesting if it's a mixed group. If they are all geriatric then you probably won't see much. If they have a good mix of young and old in the troop then their complex social and political dynamics can be pretty interesting to watch.
Is that normal lion behavior or is it at least in part because they are bored?
 
Be honest, you could totally see planet of the apes happening, couldn't you?

Do you ever feel like the primates are "planning something"?

If they did, would you join their cause?

 
(1) Why doesn't Herbert-the-Hippo like monkees?

(2) Can you really train an orangutan to punch when you say the phrase "Right turn, Clyde"?

(3) Ever had to care for a Komodo Dragon?

(4) Ever had relatively good communications/bond with a specific animal? If so, what kind?

 
Why do the monkeys keep throwing things at me?
Usually they are bored or feel threatened. Great Apes are among the hardest animals to enrich as they are very intelligent and get bored easily.
:goodposting: Yo! Little help, here?
We do a lot of puzzle feeders and things to keep them busy, but it's never enough. I would never personally go in with an adult chimp like that though unless I was fully convinced it was tame and imprinted on humans. They have been known to grab and rip off human male genitalia. Baby chimps\gorillas\orangs are no problem, but once they reach adolescence it gets really dicey.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top